Live In San Francisco

Feral Ohms are a Bay Area power trio led by guitarist/shouter Ethan Miller, previously of noise-psych freaks Comets on Fire and more recently of the more melodic and expansive (but still intense) Howlin Rain and psych-folk ensemble Heron Oblivion. Rounded out by powerhouse drummer Chris Johnson (Drunk Horse, Sir Lord Von Raven) and bassist Josh Haynes (Nudity), the three play loud, primal, ferocious rock & roll at high speeds. Miller's gargantuan riffs, acid-soaked solos, and wailing vocals combine with breakneck drumming and limber bass playing to create a highly volatile form of frantic hyper-garage that is equally reverent to the most reckless '70s hard rock, vintage punk, and Japanese noise-psych bands like Mainliner and High Rise. It's easily the most back-to-basics group Miller has been a part of -- it's still excessive, but with a standard rock trio lineup, and in a way that doesn't take up a huge chunk of time. Following a few blistering 7" singles, the group's first appearance on CD or 12" vinyl is an installment of Castle Face's prolific Live in San Francisco series, and it only clocks in at six songs. If this were a release by any of Miller's other bands, a six-song album would probably be close to an hour long, but this one stops a second short of 18 minutes. Each song could fit perfectly on a side of a 45. Of course, that would mean continually interrupting the music to flip the records over, drastically dulling the impact. This burst of lightning is meant to be experienced in a single restless blur -- the bandmembers themselves rarely pause for breath, and one song often runs right into the next. It's hard to pick out highlights, and it almost seems beside the point -- this is pure energy being created and launched into the stratosphere, not some guy sitting down and carefully penning catchy ditties for his bandmates to play. However, the righteous "Teenage God Born to Die" strikes a nerve, and "Super Ape" is a few decibels and the Pacific Ocean away from being Guitar Wolf. "The Glow" ends the set with a furious, violent explosion, and if Feral Ohms weren't the last band on the bill, whoever had to follow was probably underwhelming. ~ Paul Simpson|