Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Forgotten Gems-Supernaut-s/t

Supernautfront

This is a strange one, folks. Strange because of it's origins so let me share that before getting at the music. Kissing Spell records released this album in 1999. This Supernaut were from England and are not be confused with 70's Australian glam band of the same name. This Supernaut supposedly formed in 1973 and had entered into negotiations with Vertigo records, but the record company decided not to release it because "it was too heavy". Too heavy? Well that sounds too good to be true...and it may be. The problem here is no one ever seems to have heard of these guys prior to the 1999 release of this self-titled album. Yet we are lead to believe that Black Sabbath's label had serious interest in a very raw instrumental band. Sounds funny to me like it's a lost recording yet there was some real interest in it. The two sides don't quite mesh. Now I listened to it thinking it was made in 1974. My thoughts were about how heavy it was for the time with really thick chunky riffs and deep tones despite the recorded in the basement feel. About halfway through the second track I began thinking there is no way this was done in 1974 and people didn't know about until 25 years later. Had this been in 1974 even if they were not signed back then it still would have bootlegged to death at some point in the 1980's at least. With the NWOBHM not far off after 1974 some band from that scene would have known of these guys and shared their praises. The sound incorporates early Sabbath heaviness mixed in with some Deep Purple, Bang and shades of other proto-metal acts. They have keyboards that try hard to be of the early 70's variety, but I heard few parts that had me thinking they either pre-dated Rainbow's Rising (1976) or they heard it and couldn't keep from letting it slip in thus revealing that it wasn't recorded in 1974.They thrive on repetition, but frequently conjure up some interesting odd bits to tuck in the mix along the way. Almost every song sounds like a very loose jam, a very early demo or both. There is some charm in that whether it's real or not. This is a slightly interesting listen and it's fun for a minute to imagine these guys tucked away in some apartment listening to Sabbath, Uriah Heep and Budgie albums. Then they get up, fire up their gear and set out to work on trying to carve out the heaviest music they can think of.  I guess someone else thought that sounded like a good idea too. Probably someone involved with Kissing Spell records in the late 1990's would be my guess.

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