Ecstatic Vision – Raw Rock Fury 
Relapse Records
– out April 7
1.5 / 5

Philadelphia’s hard rock foursome Ecstatic Vision slash their way through their second LP. Their approach is part gut punch, part slam-your-head-against-the-wall; that is to say, unapologetic. And while we appreciate their forwardness, their energy and approach, we still have to say: sorry, no. Their aimless jams certainly do not appeal to us, and in total feel like an album-long experiment in playing the same few brazen notes obnoxiously loud.

There’s nothing wrong with loud, no. But there is when 11 is the only volume you understand: there is a deep lack of dynamics in Ecstatic Visions Raw Rock Fury, immediately from the get-go. The ironically titled “You Got It (Or You Don’t)” is the opener, and not much deviates from the formula established here: repetitive rock-god-like slashing, repeat, repeat, repeat again. The music isn’t appealing to us on a few levels, on the lack of dynamics (as mentioned), a lack of diverse songwriting (ie the aimless, unstructured note mashing), and a lack of clear vision, from beginning to end. This album doesn’t feel crafted so much as hewn from a rough piece of granite – which yes, is a cool feel, but we were hoping for an end product more comprehensible than some strange, faux-avant-garde angles. We like the energy, the exuberance and even the burned-out vocals, but the repetitive repetition (did we repeat ourselves?) is just too much to bear.

The title Raw Rock Fury is indeed accurate, but on this sophomore, the album feels, alas, too raw in its writing. Take a pass.

Listen to a track on their Soundcloud.

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