By Ryan Falla
Despite Evil Triplet releasing their debut LP ‘Otherworld’ February 10th, this band has already gone through the grinder of the music industry; led by Steve Marsh and his 40-year trip throughout the musical universe. Hailing from Austin, Texas, Evil Triplet is a three-piece experimental psych-rock band comprised of Steve Marsh (guitar/vocals), Kirk Laktas (Drums) and Joe Volpi (bass), that aims to pull you off your couch and into space. Evil Triplet is unabashedly experimental in what they do, taking psych-rock and contorting it into something that is only recognizable as “Evil Triplet”.
Immediately after popping in the record you’re pulled almost instantly in Evil Triplet’s incredibly unique and absolutely wild take on psychedelic jam-rock. Steve Marsh’s use of experimental guitar playing techniques adds miles of depth to Evil Triplet’s vision of stoned out space-rock, using vibrators and electric razors to enforce a spaced out backdrop behind a pure and unadulterated vision of psych-rock. Evil Triplet wastes no time in stealing your attention and dropping your soul into the cosmos as you drift aimlessly through the unexplored depths of the universe while observing through ‘shroom-tweaked lenses. One of the many standout tracks on this album, ‘Fungus’, is all about tripping on the psychedelic brain fuel; hitting you with a nasty ‘stanky-face’ bass and drum groove that will turn the coldest of fish into a walking Disco Stu.
Joe Volpi and Kirk Laktas do a phenomenal job of holding down the rhythm section throughout extended jams that last up to 10 minutes, their ability to carry a jam with the flow and presence of their rhythmic abilities being highlighted in tracks such as ‘Post Group Date Scene’ and ‘Pyramids’. While Volpi and Laktas offer a strong, driving rhythm throughout the double LP ‘Otherworld’; Steve Marsh takes the vision of psych-rock and twists it into a strange and addicting take on the genre.
‘Otherworld’ has a genuinely unique tone that takes the usual expectations behind psych-rock and bends it into a package that could only be delivered by passionate and most likely fried-out brains of Evil Triplet; showing you what would happen if Les Claypool ever got his hands on this sub-genre. The seriously whacked-out vocals of Steve Marsh form a light-hearted, experimental take on what is usually a straightforward genre that amounts to extended guitar based jams. The skill behind the rhythm section’s ability to shift into and out of whatever gear they please with fluid precision allows Steve Marsh to run wild with tasty jams that will stay kicking in your skull long after you’ve shut off the record.
Every track on this album can be used as an example of why Evil Triplet succeeds in molding a heavily experimental vision into an unforgettable debut album. Tracks like ‘Worship Satin’, a lovable two-chord jam about a demon and his dyslexic minions, blend heavy tones reminiscent of Primus’ 1995 album ‘Tales From the Punchbowl’ with an amalgamation of multitudes of rock genres to create a vision unique to Evil Triplet.
I’m going to end this review right now so you can stop reading and go listen to Evil Triplet’s debut double LP ‘Otherworld’; words can only do so much justice for sounds as mystifying and intense as what ‘Otherworld’ delivers.
In the words of Black Sabbath; “Listen to Evil Triplet”.
Rating: 10/10
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Record Label: Super Secret
Release Date:February 10th 2017
Track Listing:
1. Star Ladder
2. Fungus
3. Get a Job
4. Planet I’m On
5. Post Group Date Scene
6. Pyramids
7. We Are The Aliens
8. Worship Satin
9. Road Trips
Evil Triplet links: facebook | instagram | soundcloud