Sasquatch - IV

Fourth album of big-footed stoner metal from LA's premier power trio.

It's a bold act that decides to release albums in a numbered sequence. Those big name acts that have done it previously seem to have pulled it off though; Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel and Scott Walker have all put out firm musical statements that more than justify those heavy Roman numerals.

Now here come Sasquatch, heaviest of the heavy with IV, an album which bludgeons the listener from start to finish with supercharged, propulsive rock. Drawing from the best of the past – acts such as Grand Funk, Blue Cheer, and Black Sabbath, the '90s North-west grunge scene, as well as their contemporaries on the stoner and doom scenes, Sasquatch have once again come up with the goods.

Opening with straight-ahead rocker The Message, the album then broadens out to reveal plenty of surprises. There's the circular, descending riff of Eye Of The Storm with its mystical, loaded lyrical references to white horses and seventh moons; The devilish tritone interval used to full effect on Smoke Signal; the blues-rock overdrive mode achieved on Me And You, as well as the classic rock-isms on Corner.

Alongside the album's metallic roots there's the odd notable influence of the last 10 years of electrified country blues. Check out the bluesy riffing on Sweet Lady which bears a likeness to The Black Key's I Got Mine, complete with its Jack White-esque, octave-leaping guitar break. Mostly they sound utterly like themselves though. Four album's in for a band that show no sign of running out of steam or ideas. Long may they rock.

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