RSS Feed


MANTIS CARAVAN
We, The Undead

Self-released (2021)
Rating: 7.5/10

I don’t like bands with the word “caravan” in their name – it’s just too Sabbathy. But I do like bands that play psychedelic doom rock. So, all-hail Mantis Caravan, a trio of musicians who go by the names Count Jacula (guitar), The Necromancer (bass) and The Caveman (drums).

We, The Undead is the second full-length dose from this Idaho bunch, and from the trippy horror front cover depicting a hooded skeletal spectre to the fuzzed out intro I’m already hooked on this bad acid trip of a record.

You get four tracks running to a duration of just under half an hour, which is just enough time to form your own satanic cult and chant along to this instrumental orgy of this psychedelic nightmare.

The first tab of ecstasy comes with the title track, a creepy yet distorted groove chug that would no doubt have benefitted from a vocal, but as it stands it’s still mesmeric. ‘We, The Undead’ is a kaleidoscopic swirl of jabbing drums, fuzzed up bass and well-stirred guitar, finally culminating in a slow motion tumble of drums and late-60s, early-70s megalomania and insanity.

‘Return Of The Wretch’d’ comes complete with atmospheric horror sample, witchy cackle and more of the same in a sense. The lack of overall diversity should be noticed and maybe that 3D-style cover art flatters to deceive, but there is still something organic, fusty and spaced out about Mantis Caravan with that bony drum kick, that deep-rooted suspenseful distortion and overall grinding menace. ‘Return Of The Wretch’d’ has some nice mellower passages, almost as if the trio are suddenly teenagers again jamming in their parents garage until once again that steadfast, laborious doom trudge kicks in.

‘Invocation Of Perversion’ is equally perverse in its stoned miasma of melodious maudlin. The stark percussive jab and lone, less wah-wah chord is haunting before becoming fluffed up again, and I’m not sure if I’m blinded by the sizzling rays of a San Francisco sun in the 60s or strolling on down to Anton Lavey’s black lodge to renew my membership.

The whole feel of this affair is one akin to a spaced-out stoner jam with extra lashing wah-wah whip, and ‘Dragged To Your Grave’ continues the ooze of syrup juice all stemming from the black abyss of Black Sabbath’s coked-up tomfoolery. Of course, there’s no Ozzy Osbourne wail to drag this through and I’m kinda thankful, as it lets the fuzzed up fluidity of this thing drip into my ears like swirling oil that creates its own black rainbows of Technicolor terror.

Sure, a few more horror samples wouldn’t have gone amiss, but as The Caveman’s persistent prods and nods kick, I admire Mantis Caravan and the miasmic mantra they’ve created.

Yep, it’s background music for those who sink into the pentagram of their own midnight haze, but as the foul odours of weed swirl across the flickering light bulb and the trio absorbs itself into solid, sludgy riff of distortion I feel happy that I’ve hopped onto this magic bus… or should I say “caravan” of cryptic, cultish charm.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share