Bloody Bishop - Celestial Monk

 

Bloody Bishop - Celestial Monk
Self released - October 2020
Psych, space rock, doom
Rated: ****

Descending upon Earth from aboard his mighty battle cruiser, the Bloody Bishop (by way of the terran UK) blesses the Earth with debut album Celestial Monk. Per the group's Bandcamp, the eight tracks of doom, psychedelia, and more form a concept album telling a sci fi tale of extraterrestrial rock and roll. The tunes do the story justice, encompassing sounds from space rock, to post punk, and across the heavy spectrum. Opener "Priestess of the Stoned Age" brings familiar droning, low and slow doom, satisfying in its own right, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Bloody Bishop runs wild, bringing decidedly 80s keys, reverb-drenched vocals, and Depeche Mode vibes to the melancholic "Wolf Child". The chorus is maddeningly catchy, and the snappy drum fills give the tune extra teeth, a theme across the album as the skins prove to be the band's secret weapon. "Revelations" takes the more straight ahead stoner approach with a fuzzed, bass-heavy riff driven by the insistent beat, but unsurprisingly there's far more to discover. Eerie keys swirl behind blown out vocals, and the chorus line "these are the end times baby" sums up the equally creepy and groovy atmosphere. The diversity and epic scale of the album simply has to be heard, but one more tune in particular can't be overlooked. "Gods of Space" brings a toe-tapping Sabbath bounce melded with shimmering synth and warped effects, summing up Bloody Bishop's brilliant approach to heavy psych. The unlikely combination of 80s electro, space rock, doom, and more results in an ambitious and heady debut that's an entrancing trip from start to finish.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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