Got that ol’ Ripple mojo workin’ round these parts! The good doctor Todd sent some cool picks winging my way and the first to hit the Ray-O-Matic player is “Rumble&Roar,” the 3rd full length-er from German band PARALYZED.
PARALYZED came rumbling onto the scene in 2019 and it seems like they brought with them half of 1971. Now, I dig the Sabs as much as anybody else. I do. But it’s pretty cool when a band can take the DeLorean Time Machine back some 50-odd years and come up with something that ain’t Iommian.
You don’t have to go any further than the opener here, “Machine Without A Soul.” Before we even get out of the box, PARALYZED hold us rapt with a beautiful, patiently played intro laced with gorgeous wah leads. Then they shift into the song-proper and it’s all about catchy stop-start rhythms, gutsy Morrison-esque vox and some more sweet lead axe to boot. Think Hairy Chapter x Fraction & you may be close.
“Railroad” is interesting right off because the rhythm sounds like “Jumping Jack Flash!” Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing! Seriously, it’s not exactly the same but it reminds me of it and, like the old Mick & Keef ditty, this one grooves, including the laid-back, “take it down low” part after the solo.
One of my favorite tracks is “Rosies Town.” This has got one of those catchy choruses for the books! I love the way Michael Binder lays down his roaring Jim M vocals and gets all exploratory with his axe leads as well. Such a good song….
And, once again, as we so often see, that’s the key here. It’s all about the SONGS. I don’t give a damn if you’re doing metal, jazz or Carl Perkins “Blue Suede Shoes,” you’ve gotta have the tunes & this band does. “Heavy Blues” may have a generic title but unlike what that may have you expecting, this sucker comes a-barreling & it cooks like hell!
“The Myth Of Love” gives us a little mid-album break, with its short acoustic medieval dark vibe & cavernous vocals to match. Then, it’s “White Paper.” It carries on the mellow feel to start but within seconds, becomes a belter Conny Planck could’ve produced in ‘72. Dig that Budgie-like creeper riff around 2:50.
We start heading for the home stretch with “Leave You.” Now, here’s DA BLOOZ!!! But far from typical, Binder really sells it with his cool-ass vocal phrasing & then the entire band leaps into an ending crescendo that sounds like a runaway freight train. “Railroad II,” maybe?!
You gotta either have some brass balls or the whole package of goods to put out a song these days called “The Witch,” but damn if PARALYZED don’t make it happen. Like “…Myth…,” this one wanders into the dark woods on a haunting medieval line & then…woah!!! Man, they really amp it up at the end, turning up the intensity full bore.
At last, the band plays their final card “Truth And Lie.” Opening with some riffing that storms along like a cousin of Heep’s “Easy Livin,” we find ourselves transitioning into a dark middle and then another building & mounting end, replete with more paint-peeling lead guitar.
Gotta say, PARALYZED has me impressed with this one. It’s been an easy fix these days to fill the ol’ Sabbath prescription, take a few pills & call me in the morning. This German unit isn’t content to do that. They’ve got a new drug and it sure didn’t expire in 1971!!! Definitely don’t operate heavy machinery when you press play here, ‘cause a bunch of it is gonna come out of the speakers already!
PARALYZED:
Michael Binder - vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar.
Caterina Thiele - rhythm guitar, Hammond organ
Philipp Engelbrecht - bass
Florian Thiele – drums
-Ray Dorsey
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