Album Details

• Artist: Chilgalera
• Album: Dose
• Label: Pacific
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2008-10-08

Nope, no Steve Albini this time around. For their sophomore release, Chingalera turn to Sylvia Massey and her twisted little Weed Palace Theater studio. Whoever is behind the controls, the band dictates the show. "Dose" is a heavy, doomy slab of metal with prog overtones, a meaty stew of long tunes, flashy chops and 70s seriousness. Unlike Donny Osmond, this band is more than a little bit rock & roll.

Walls of guitars come in relentless waves on tracks like "The Endless Bummer," "Twnety Three" (which features a vocal cameo by Circle Jerks' Keith Morris) and "Evel," a juiced up tribute to Mr. Kinevel. On the moody side, the arching drone of "Fake Maria" recalls the heights of progressive rock exploration, and the sixteen minute plus head trip that is "You Were Happy When You Came in Here" sits roughly in the middle of the set like a door into another dimension.

For only five songs, "Dose" is a mighty dose indeed. This will appeal to stoner and sludge fans, as well as to aging hipsters who brood weepily at YouTube clips of Hawkwind. Chingalera are formidable, and seem to have a good, ear-frying plan to keep them going for years. This is cult-ready music, so get in on the ground floor before your neighbors.

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