Text by Matheus Jacques
It can't be a simple task for a band, given the clear desire to evolve and progress, to maintain a certain freshness and air of originality and goodwill after more than ten years of existence. That's enough time to get lost in routine, as a rule. But that's not what's happening here with the Lisbon-based quartet Miss Lava .
Forged in the powerful Portuguese heavy rock and rock 'n' roll scene, the band, formed in 2006 in the Portuguese capital, arrives with a renewed aura in their fourth studio album. They may not yet have exploded outside their country, despite overseas tours and appearances at major festivals. But they are certainly a band that demonstrates clear inspiration and the ability to incorporate innovation into their sound. With Doom Machine, released on January 15th by the labels Kozmik Artifactz (Germany) and Small Stone Records (USA), the band proves once again that they can extend their reach and impress beyond their homeland.
Doom Machine is a cohesive, exciting, and highly inviting twelve-track album (plus bonus tracks), firmly rooted in compelling and electric riffs. Bands like Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss would certainly be proud of the sparks these Portuguese musicians emanate. The sound here is an amalgam of Stoner Rock, Rock 'n' Roll, and elements attributed to "alternative rock." The creativity present in the riffs is perhaps the first thing to highlight, evident in tracks like "In the Mire" and "Brotherhood of Eternal Love," among many others. For those who have followed the band for some time (like myself, since around 2012 or 2013), it's clear how they've allowed themselves to advance in "musical body," creativity, and atmosphere, perhaps making small concessions to a reduction in "heaviness" here and there. Maturity.
These touches of inspiration and differentiation flash here and there, as in the intro to "Brotherhood of Eternal Love" itself. Miss Lava demonstrates that they are one of those bands that don't mind taking things step by step, building without haste. Acclimated intros, groovy and well-rhythmed progressions, all in their own time. It's not a sound that can be easily labeled as "this" or "that," but one that can easily be digested and sound familiar to those already familiar with the genre. Time has brought the quartet ever greater mastery of the nuances of their sound's range.
Among the album's highlights are tracks like "Alpha" and "The Great Divide," which touch on the atmospheric and almost transcendental, while still relying on the dense and solid, driven by Johnny Lee and capabilities. The rhythm isn't serpentine, it's not a rollercoaster, but it certainly helps to create a good overall picture, and we have the band's always sharp rhythm section, composed of Ricardo Ferreira (bass) and J. Garcia (drums). And of course, the ever-efficient presence on the six strings of Rafael "Ripper ," born in Brazil and now "based" in Portugal, who has been delivering remarkable performances in his position in the band since the beginning.
Perhaps less dense and "garage-like" than its predecessors, but equally captivating and perhaps more mature and self-assured, the album Doom Machine presents us with a band that shares the same language, even though they sing in English, and that evokes the elements of a scene (Portugal) that is incredibly rich in all forms of sound, from stoner to extreme metal and much more. If on one extreme we have totally representative names like Besta and their devastating grindcore, on the side of "stoned rock" and heavy rock we have one of the most powerful names that Portugal has ever produced: Miss Lava and their excellent new work, which I hope will capture an ever-growing audience and has already left me eagerly awaiting the next one.
