Titan - A Raining Sun Of Light And Love For You (CD) |-

Brooklyn-based, semi-instrumental quartet Titan have been unleashing their unholy blend of neo-psychedelic rock and progressive stoner metal on homemade EPs (CD-R basement freakouts) for some time now, so the arrival of a full-length studio album is a cause for celebration. Like Boris, Comets on Fire, and Blue Cheer, Titan don't concern themselves with genre boundaries. Heavily improvised cacophony can often become the audio equivalent of a traffic jam, but in the right hands it can transcend the endless line of cars and take the listener home by unforeseen paths. A Raining Sun of Light and Love achieves this through the twisted hands and minds of its creators (these guys can actually play), and once you get past the Comus-inspired acoustic intro that's oddly reminiscent of Ween's "Squelch the Weasel," the 45 minutes that follow traverse the annals of rock history like a roller coaster car with a grenade in it. Fat ELP organ runs explode into heavy Sabbath riffing while Rush-inspired time signatures signal the arrival of "Careful with That Axe Eugene"-era Pink Floyd. Feedback washes over Tuvan throat singing, roadside noise morphs into crickets, and bluesy slide guitar and wall upon wall of distortion fall on each of the four tracks like a monsoon, signaling the arrival of one of the most promising metal acts of 2007. - James Christopher Monger

• Format Detail: CD
• Format: CD
• Label: Tee Pee Records
• Catalog Number: CD-TPE-900742