From the moment of listening to ‘Let Me Go, Satan’, it was almost as if Radiohead was alive again. That was the first reaction. But this was different. A very different realm as I entered the world of the Cult of Dom Keller’s territory. This Nottingham-based group has been around for 19 years, unleashing five studio albums from 2013 to 2021. Now, mind you, I had no idea on what to expect as I sat down in my chair, listening to their latest album, Unholy Drum, and prepared myself to go into this cosmic voyage that is beyond our stratosphere.
Released on the Fuzz Club label, Unholy Drum isn’t for the faint of heart, but what a way this group has endured as a listener by taking its massive powder keg, waiting to explode at any second. The trio consists of Neil Marsden on keyboards, vocals, and synths; Alistair Burns on drums; and Ryan DelGaudio on vocals and guitar. With LIARS’ Angus Andrew handling the production, you know something enduring is about to happen.
On ‘Leaders With Hooves’ it starts off with a shoegazing, haywire effect consisting of backwards tape and mellotrons before it launches off into this space-rock voyage, which mixes in the wonders of Motorpsycho, Hawkwind, and doom metal with an eruptive blast that comes out of nowhere with a fuzztone sound but adds in that post-punk vibration.
Believe me, Dom Keller aren’t there to play games; they are there to get the mission done with no excuses. ‘Void Horizon’ almost sounds like an eerie Slim Whitman howl, crying out into the night, but adding in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop honouring the late, great Delia Derbyshire. It reverberates with banjo, bass, electro-driven arrangements, and elements of the krautrock genre that blends into the void.
‘Shoot My Mind’ heads into some surreal Spaghetti Western atmosphere but with a late ‘60s psychedelic reverbing guitar, church organ, eerie vocal lines, and chanting the line as we witness someone going completely insane in the heart of Arkham Asylum before heading into the world of Ash Ra Tempel’s ‘Traummaschine’ and Air’s score to the Virgin Suicides with a powerful, yet intense vibe on ‘They Cut The Heart From Out Of The Sky’.
When you hear a title like that, you think straight away, a story from Heavy Metal magazine, or something that Alan Moore could have used after his Watchmen era to blend in the macabre and more of the dystopian universes he has waiting for his readers. It’s hard to describe Unholy Drum. Is it Prog? Is it psychedelic? Is it shoegaze? Is it post-punk? The answer? It’s all of the above.
It has this ritual and attitude that you need to have repeatable listens to get into. Whether you get it or you don’t, you have got to respect the Cult of Dom Keller for taking the risks and making bold chances to show how much they pour their heart and soul into the new album.
