Review: Clouds Taste Satanic ‘Berlin 2023’
I’ll start with a confession. I absolutely love Clouds Taste Satanicand rushed to take the promo off The Shaman as soon as I saw it. Having had the pleasure of watching and then chatting with the quartet after their spellbinding performance in Rotherham back in May 2024, I can also say that they are a thoroughly decent bunch of blokes.
Whilst chatting that evening, they mentioned their Birmingham 2024session, which had been recorded a few days previously, so it was great to see another Live In Studio instalment. This time it’s Berlin 2023 and sees them capture their tour setlist with no overdubs, raw and unfiltered at their imperious best.
The band have been going since 2013, formed by guitarist Steve Scavuzzo, and they grabbed my attention with their mammoth stoner doom compositions, some stretching past the twenty-minute mark, which are so compelling and inventive, that they take your mind to faraway places.
They open proceedings with 2019’s Second Sight, which sees Scavuzzo and fellow guitarist Brian Bauhscombine and swap solos all over the place. There are moments when Greg Acampora (drums) takes the lead, and others when Rob Halstead produces killer basslines as each member is given their moment to shine.
Some might not like songs that are twenty-one minutes long, and yes, I agree that they can, at times, drag on a bit, but make no mistake, this is epic, and you are completely immersed in their magical world. There are all sorts of sounds blasting out to captivate and enthral the listener, and you’ll never get bored. With two of the four songs taken from the 2023 masterpiece, Tales Of Demonic Possession they demonstrate their talents, and it’s easy to see why they are so highly thought of in the world of riff-driven instrumental doom metal.
this is epic and you are completely immersed in their magical world…
They all seem comfortable together, and the way they merge different genres is what I like most about them. Whether its progressive metal, stoner rock, expansive space rock or traditional doom, they excel at what they do but are always looking at pushing their sound further. Like on Sun Death Ritual Parts I-III, it’s an explosion of sound that gives you a full demonstration of them continually refining and expanding their music. The riffs are gripping and mesmerising, which will have your head rocking for days.
I could sit here for hours typing and eulogising over their work and say that I regularly play their vinyl, because I find the music incredibly relaxing, especially with a single malt in hand. However, it’s their nuanced approach which is refreshing and on shorter pieces like Spirits Of The Green Desert Part IV, you get a more focused approach with a huge bass, thumping drums and expansive guitar sound in a condensed timeline.
Final track Beast From The Sea is taken from 2015’s Your Doom Has Come and gives a shorter, heavier confirmation of their incredible live performance. It’s stripped down to give a multi-sensory experience of a band doing what they do best, and by documenting their live shows, we can all bear witness to their undoubted talent.
With Clouds Taste Satanic, you get the minimalism of Sleep, combined with the instrumental prowess of Bongripper, and if that’s not grabbing your attention, I don’t know what is!
Label: Kinda Like Music
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Matthew Williams
