Lo-Pan - Salvador (2011)

Lo-Pan is a powerful yet dynamic 4 piece coming from Columbus,Ohio with influences ranging from Kyuss to ZZ Top. Heavy riff based material is offset by strong yet melodic vocals and backed by a kick-you-in-the-face rhythm section. Sasquanaut, the second album from Columbus hard rockers Lo-Pan, casts the quartet as a band very skilled in creating and recreating moods. Though the snarling guitar of Brian Fristoe, the thunderous bass of Skot Thompson, and the precise drumwork of J. Bartz all prove to be mighty weapons, the players are very patient in building a groove and seem to enjoy playing with a wide variety of tempos and dynamics. The emotive vocals of new lead singer Jeff Martin fit very well into this model, as his whisper is as effective as his howl. The lyrics bring to mind adventures, wars, and struggles that seem to independent of time and place. These ingredients mix into a swirling heavy stew that is part backwoods hesher jam and part outerspace boogie. Highlights include the merciless “Savage Henry,” the faster “Vega,” and the epic 10+ minute finale “Wade Garrett.” Since the average track length here is 6+ minutes, the songs benefit greatly from the band’s experiments in tempos and moods. Though there are a couple shorter rock tunes on the album, the longer tracks often build up, crash down, and then slowly rebuild, easily retaining the listener’s attention along the way. The album marks a strong step forward for Lo-Pan as they continue to refine a style that is somewhat unique in Columbus. Current line-up Jeff Martin - Vocals Brian Fristoe - Guitar Skot Thompson - Bass J.Bartz - Drums Review: I feel that 2011 will be a memorable year for the guys in Lo-Pan, a re-release involving a remastering and and remixing of their 2009 effort Sasquanaut, and this year is their debut record for the label kings Small Stone who seem to be on the top of the world at this moment looking at their roster. It is truly inspiring to see a label reignite the vigour and fill the void Man’s Ruin Records left behind in the early 2000s. It is even more exciting seeing Lo-Pan’s brand of massive stoner rock be a hit with so many stoner rock fans, and why not? I think Lo-Pan are doing something special. The aforementioned record Sasquanaut, Lo-Pan’s previous excursion, is a formidable record, chunky, robust, powerful, huge riffs and vibrant vocals. It has hints of top tier quality, but on a personal level it lacked an element that left me feeling unsatisfied. What I felt was missing in Sasquanaut was bite, an edginess, a, perhaps, missing maliciousness withheld in the riffs, they provided a massive groove for sure, and is definitely enjoyable, but what I found was that it, to use an allegory, stoked the fire and kept it hot, but there never is a moment where the fire became a fierce blaze. It didn’t catch alight the way I thought it had the potential to do. Step in Salvador, Lo-Pan’s Small Stone debut and their best record to date. I believe that Salvador is a big milestone for Lo-Pan, this record is where they’ve announced themselves, more exclaimed themselves, that this is what we do, we riff, we kick ass, we are rock and fucking roll. With Salvador comes that bite I’ve been yearning for, a slicker yet more aggressive release that stacks up the desert-stained venomous riffs, that grooves and pummels in equilibrium, that squeals and kicks out with vicious leads, this is the Lo-Pan record that puts them firmly on the map. However, I’ve found it hard to write to about Salvador. There’s an attribute of the record which dumbfounds me, not to put it unkindly, but the record doesn’t leave me astonished, but it does do something to me that leaves me blank. To use another allegory, it’s kind of like how the tide drags a beach clean, pulling anything out to sea, Salvador does the same effect to me, it leaves me with just the music, I’m not thinking when it’s playing, it has my full and undivided attention. I’ve attempted to write this review twice now, but each time I’ve played the record whilst typing, each time it’s left me staring into space letting the riffs wash over me and drench me in solos, the vocals pierce my thoughts and that all I can hear and think and do, listen to Salvador. It is certainly strange, though it does point to and reinforce the fact that this record is phenomenal. Another improvement since Sasquanaut, are the shorter track lengths, this I suppose helped develop the record to be much more punchy compared to the 2009 release which I did feel to be longer than it should be, and I often found myself skipping the last song that rounds of Sasquanaut at a bumper 10mins. Salvador‘s concise and precise composition entailing of hit fast and hit hard works well, there’s many memorable hooks and doesn’t rely too heavily on the vocalist to depict which section the song is in. For Lo-Pan, Salvador is an utter triumph, it is meaner with more aggressive riffing, the vocalist is much more relaxed when I felt he sounded more uptight on Sasquanaut (I don’t know why I think this, I just do), and the record doesn’t outstay it’s welcome, it does exactly what you want it to do, deliver huge and powerful riffs. Which the record executes in abundance. Genre = Stoner Metal Format = mp3 Bitrate = 192kbps File Size = 63.23 MB Tracklist 01. EL Dorado 02. Bleeding Out 03. Seed 04. Bird Of Prey 05. Deciduous 06. Intro 07. Chichen Itza 08. Spartacus 09. Struck Match 10. Generations 11. Solo

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