Weird Tales – Y’all Motherfuckers Forgot ‘Bout Good Ol’ Son of a Bitchin’ Blues (EP)

Band: Weird Tales
Title: Y’all Motherfuckers Forgot ‘Bout Good Ol’ Son of a Bitchin’ Blues (EP)
Label: Interstellar Smoke Records
Release date: 15 January 2021
Country: Poland
Format reviewed: High-quality Digital Recording

Until a few days ago I’d never heard of Warsaw, Poland’s Weird Tales, but I guess the title of their latest EP was interesting enough, for me to check out the lead track “Got the Blues for Murder Only”, with its punkish, waltzing delivery that made me question if I’m on a pirate ship. That track was interesting enough for me to download the promo and something about the cover art painting of a bound finger hanging by a noose alongside the EP’s title tickles me. Turns out Weird Tales are a damn fine Stoner/ Doom Metal band, with great big heaving riffs and spaced out psychedelic, rocking jam fests. That’s clear on the band’s earlier releases, here they seem to be reinventing themselves.

Opening track “Got the Blues for Murder Only” takes an old Blues number and turns it into a bluesy, Punk Rock sea shanty, but with these big walls of heavily distorted guitars coming from both sides. The intro to “Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues” could be from Rollins Band’s “The End of Silence” album, with a rumbling bass and drums intro, before moving into a verse that sounds more like early Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, then the distorted guitars kick in again and we seem to have a Doom song. Mid-track the song then breaks into something more like the Noise Rock of Unsane, with a little something of Mastodon or Today Is The Day about it, with a huge, sliding guitar riff and howling vocals.

In some parts the tracks resemble heavy Sludge/Doom with big, vicious riffs, but it often seems to be when the vocals come in, the band goes for mid paced Punk/Rock and these two sides of the band don’t always seem to gell. When they really lean into their Metal tendencies it sounds more convincing.

Going back and listening to the band’s first album “Hell Services Cost a Lot” and the collection of their first two EPs “The Fall”, where the band’s Stoner/Doom/Sludge style is more clear cut I appreciate this latest release more. Instrumental “Too Fucking Cold, Too Fucking…” runs on a slow, crashing guitar riff that is very Type O Negative, but the jamming guitar leads sound more like The Stone Roses and the track goes off into a surprisingly melodic solo.

Final track “Take Sick and Die” has a Melvins feel about it in the beginning. This track more than any seems eager to embrace a catchy, but pretty generic chorus, that makes them sound like Punk/ Pop. On the band’s previous releases the effects soaked vocals fit right into the slow, heavy, stretched out grooves and the Black Sabbath influence is clearer, but on this release vocalist/guitarist/synth player Dima’s vocals are exposed, with more melodic songs and less effects, they lack a bit of oomph.

There’s no reason the band broadening their sound should be a bad thing. “Y’all Motherfuckers…” is catchier and more varied than the band’s past releases, but not always as satisfying. If you like Stoner/Doom Metal, 100% go to Bandcamp and check out “The Fall” and “Hell Services Cost a Lot” (you can pay what you want). Weird Tales are definitely a band worth checking out, though this release might not be my favourite side of them 7.5/10 Tom Boatman

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