Article by: Leanne Ridgeway
Music to warp your mind to whilst under a blazing summer sun. That’s BLACK MAGIC TREE: elastic psychedelic hard blues through a uniquely Berlin lens. A sonic banshee on the mic, dual riff machines on the six strings, and a rhythm section tight enough to bring Bonham and JPJ to mind.
Founded in 2018 in Berlin, Germany, BLACK MAGIC TREE released its first EP, ‘Of Animals and Men‘, soon after in 2019. The band has now taken the next step in its evolution with the recording of a full debut album, ‘Through The Grapevine‘. The seven slabs of rock were laid down in Big Snuff Studio in late 2019 under the guidance of Richard Behrens (FOH mixer for Kadavar) and Nene Baratto, who also mixed and mastered the album.
Each track pays homage to the hard rock heyday of the 1970s, yet sidesteps the pretensions of the era and instead keeps the track lengths snappy and incorporating elements of modern heavy psych and stoner rock for a touch of unpredictability. The result is a lithe, catchy beast of an album that only gets better as it twists, turns, and grooves its way to its spectacular conclusion.
Today we have a premiere of the band’s first single “Beethoven” off the forthcoming album. “Beethoven” is a straightforward rock ‘n’ roll song with a catchy as hell chorus. The song was written with Chuck Berry’s “Roll over Beethoven” in mind. And as everyone in the band dedicated their lives to rock music, this song is mainly about all the obstacles one has to deal with after choosing the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.
Tracklist:
01. Mandala Lady
02. Beethoven
03. Spider’s Web
04. Domo
05. Long Night
06. Inner Rest
07. Flower
With shades of everything from CCR, Dio, Grand Funk, and Lynyrd Skynyrd to early Tame Impala and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, BLACK MAGIC TREE’s sound spans the decades and carries the hard rock torch firmly into the 21st century. The psychedelic album cover art was designed by renowned Berlin-based artist Martin Meir.
‘Through The Grapevine‘ will be available on January 22, 2021, on digital and vinyl through Karma Conspiracy Records.
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