Danava

(Kemado)
by Hansel Merchor

Imagine an acid-drenched Black Sabbath and Yes with less virtuosity and you’re getting close to the sounds of this Portland, OR quartet. To actually nail it, you’ll have to go the extra mile, beyond Technicolor psychedelia and into ambitious instrumentality, masturbatory thousand-note a minute songs and endless jams to actually describe Danava‘s sound. By now, it’s not groundbreaking, but songs such as the opener “Longdance” are exactly that; long jam exercises in excessive proto metal. Vocalist Dusty Sparkles is the jack of all trades here: With his helium-high voice, the man pulls triple duty, also playing guitar and synthesizer. It is this last instrument which may just be the most singular aspect of the band. Much of Danava’s material relies heavily on standard ’70s-style hard rock, but if not for the band’s inclination towards progressive rock, much of this material could come off as dated. Had Captain Beyond been more fucked-up, they would’ve sounded like Danava.
(www.kemado.com)