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Ever had The Blackwater Fever? They say it does strange things to a man but in Brisbane it happens to be a three piece, dark alternative, bluesy rock’n’roll band. Previously, we have reviewed a few singles, but as of October 27th, the new album came out containing these and so much more. Temptator! is the album and the band consists of Shane Hicks (vocals, guitar, bass, keys, percussion), Trevor Gee (drums, percussion) and Jed A Walters (bass, keys). If Jed’s name is familiar, you might have come across his other fantastic project, Chiffon Magnifique.

Some albums are hard to review. Not because they are bad….well some are, but there are others that when you listen, it kind of feels a little wrong to be taking it track by track. Instead I am going to tell you that The Blackwater Fever never leave their blue roots but they do indeed traverse a lot of styles. A mixture of imagination and soul, woven around real experiences of love, loss and betrayal.

The rock’n’roll of “Love Is Strange” about a beguiling female or the bayou slow blues of “The Hurt” are examples of burning resentment of being badly treated, smouldering and flamed by pain.

Weaving immersive stories like “Ode To Ol’ John Doe“, the dumped human remains in a body of water, just below the surface, for no one to mourn as the creatures below slowly consume them or there is the gothic stirrings of “The Highway” in a world gone mad.

And one always needs at least one track about love and lust. The dulcet Stone Temple Pilot styling, of absolute need in “My Weakness” that gets you in the throat, heavy and tangible obsession with those amazing, stirring vocals. There is so much depth within Temptator!, and The Blackwater Fever dances with dark themes that make for interesting music, melded with such passion, you might find you really do have the Fever.

Temptator! | The Blackwater Fever (bandcamp.com)

The Blackwater Fever | Dark & Moody Rock ‘n’Roll

The Blackwater Fever | Facebook

The Blackwater Fever (@theblackwaterfever) • Instagram photos and videos

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Brisbane, three piece band, The Blackwater Fever, just brought out on November the 20th, their new single, “My Weakness“. The trio comprises of Shane Hicks on vocals/guitar, Jed A. Walters playing bass guitar/rhodes and Trevor Gee on drums/percussion.

The first dropping cords kick in and that blues style can’t be mistaken with its laconic guitar interludes accompanied by piano. Married with an insistent grunge sound in the chorus plus lyrics that convey a one sided love affair, bring to mind acts like Stone Temple Pilots. Hicks‘ vocals are like honey dripping into your ears as he tells you his tale of woe and want.

THE BLACKWATER FEVER

There are songs that paint pictures in your mind and are almost tangible to taste and smell. Grimy desperation, mixed with hot, sweaty lust, all in the name of a woman that would leave you to rot, if she so desired, yet they can’t let go of her. The red back spider on the cover, is an Australian member of the black widow clan, highly poisonous and will cannibalise its mate.

After five albums, these are seasoned professionals and it shows in the production as well as writing skills. This is delightfully moody and carnal, so if you have an itch that you can’t scratch, may I recommend The Blackwater Fever and their remedy, “My Weakness“.

https://www.facebook.com/theblackwaterfever/

https://theblackwaterfever.bandcamp.com/track/my-weakness

https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/in-stereo-remixed-remastered/id1256563616?mt=1&app=music

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Pablo Zumarraga is the man behind the act known as Trust In None. He hails from the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires and this year released his EP, Inhale, with five tracks in all on it.

“The Law of the Weak” is the intro track with a near imperceptible beat before a sudden explosion of guitar. I feel like I’m listening to some lost Trent Reznor track from the Pretty Hate Machine era.

A nice piece of guitar work and the second track that seems to be nameless brings in the drum machine. The whispers become musical screams that say “I never, never trust you!”. This has an extremely bluesy feel even though it is also very industrial at the same time.

pablo Z
Trust In None (photo – Zoe gouzene / @zoilandia)

“Inhale” has echos of White Zombie/Rob Zombie with the drum machine having little metal blast beats and is quite a heavy number. Lots of distortion and feedback with a revisitation at the end just to remind you of where you have just been.

The rather interesting named “Squirt”. Pablo mixes his violent whispers whilst dueling with his guitar work. This is full on rock and roll and you could roll on down the highway with this blaring out. The guitar riffs just keep on coming and persistent, spiraling out of control.

Last is the single, “The Circle of Shame”. Again you here Zumarraga’s love of the blues coming through. Heavy and dirty. The vocals are distorted and pain filled. The guitar work here reminds me of the old Soundgarden sound from BadMotorFinger

Not kidding when I say it reminds me very much of the early industrial days of Nine Inch Nails, especially vocally. This is brooding and dark and with the distorted guitar work, is indeed heavily blues influenced and yet this adds to the sinister heaviness of it all.

So if you are looking for something that ignites your blood with punk attitude and industrial smarts, then check out Trust In None.

http://www.trustinnone.com

https://www.facebook.com/tinpunks/