Album Details

• Artist: Medusa
• Album: En Raga Sul
• Label: Hawthorne Street
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2009-02-11

Medusa manage to create, for the most part successfully, the kind of combination of sludge and old school rock that many a fan has imagined in his/her head for a long time. Taking the crunching rhythm and intensity of the Detroit punk sound and wedding it to gorilla stoner riffs, Medusa has a slab to please just about anyone who wants to be bludgeoned. "En Raga Sul," lead by the dual guitar punch of Mike "Cobra" Anderson and James "Constrictor" Bauman, is powerful and comforting, in the way that bands who get it right make you feel there is still hope.

Sludgy, old school riffs, sped up, slowed down, slathered with the muck, Medusa delivers killers like "Left Behind," "Throne of God," "Body Count," and the soon to be immortal "Flesh Fly." Lead singer Scott "Medusa" Van Buren croaks when he needs to, but punctuates the riffs with an intensity that is genuine. Lest we leave out two unsung heroes on the bottom end-and omit a couple more nicknames-kudoes to bassist "Cottonmouth" Mann and "Coachwhip" Williams on drums.

 "En Raga Sul" will certainly carve out its space among the glut of hard rock acts who look both to the past and to what the past has done to the present in terms of refining that good ol' overamped, pummeling, gooey goodness that is the underbelly of metal these days. Righteous.

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