ALBUM REVIEW: Black Mountain Blaze Their Own Highway to Hell on ‘Destroyer’

Exploring the harder side of their ‘70s-indebted sound

When Black Mountain awoke from their slumber, they got right up, put the keys in the ignition and drove straight into the desert night.

The Canadian psych rockers fifth album, Destroyer, celebrates the darker, harder side of the ‘70s sound they have always traced their roots to, sliding the psych-rock to the background to make their most introverted record yet.

Clearly inspired by old heroes like Hawkwind and Judas Priest, they remain true to the Black Mountain universe, creating an atmospheric and gloomy album that’s still packed with energy and power.

It’s also a theatrical album – you know, the kind that kick-starts little stories in your mind? Opener “Future Shade” makes me want to jump into a Pontiac Firebird, find the desert highway and never look back.

When the second song, “Horns Arising,” hits, it’s like I’m already there, chewing up highway underneath the stars while conversing with my inner demons. The end of this song is especially amazing, slowly building up from an acoustic guitar interlude and exploding into a cascade of heavy sounds.

With its intense and sexy beat, “High Rise” is one of my favorites on this album. It’s one of those songs where you can feel the rhythm physically, and even has the potential to soundtrack some great sex.

As a whole, Black Mountain’s latest is a really killer rock ‘n’ roll album that embraces heavy and prog rock, and never forgets the band’s original sound.

Score: 🤘🤘🤘🤘/5