Samsara Joyride, the Vienna Austria-based blues, stoner, psych rock band, has been making waves in the music industry with their unique blend of Psych/Stoner/Blues jams since 2020. Released on February 23rd, 2024 the album is available on most streaming platforms and the band’s Bandcamp page. Let’s take a trip to the desert via Vienna and enjoy the ride as they take us into “The Subtle and The Dense.”
To Capture the Essence
The limited-edition Vinyl comes in Oxblood color and with an 8-page booklet (Artwork by Daniel Batliner and Laura Fichtenkamm) + additional download card.
Heaviness Found: “I Won’t Sign Pt.1”
The journey begins with high volume yell to call out what is to come next! The distorted bass rumble of Daniel Batliner and drum groove played by Andi Mittermühlner are the foundation upon which the songs get its drive. Then once the dual riffing and solos of Florian Miehe and Michael Haumer kick in you are in for quite the sonic extravaganza.
The Rising Crescendo: “I Won’t Sign Pt. 2”
The second part of the first track Pt 2. is purely an instrumental affair that starts on a slow boil of atmospheric riffs building to an aggressive crescendo of heavy drum fills and blazing guitar solos until the end of the track.
The Stomp of Doom: “Too Many Preachers”
This track begins with a slow doom style riff and drum beat that has a Black Sabbath/Alice in Chains dirge. As the song progresses there are guitar harmonics, stop and start accents and a general sense that dread is about to befall all who dare to listen. The section from 4:15 to 5:50 is a section that is calling all to bow down to “The Rock”! Any stoner/hard rock fan will clearly know the band means business after listening to this track.
Dark Rhythms Are Calling: “Sliver”
The rhythm section here provides a very solid foundation for the guitars and vocals to shine. Mittermühlner has a great bass drum sound and crack to the snare with a hint of reverb that provides an additional accent to each drum hit. Once again Batliner has the right tone, deep and bass heavy without being muddy. The vocal highlight is at about 2:30 when both Haumer and Miehe are giving it their all and with the dynamics of each it makes for an interesting vocal. The outro is a chug fest that any hard rock/doom fan would enjoy.
The Dream is Real: “Who Tells The Story”
This track highlights SJ at their best. The full sonic palette is on display with tasty guitar fills, reverb enhanced lead guitar lines, distorted bass lines and high-powered vocals. At around the 4 1/2-minute mark the song begins to slow down with Batliner’s distorted and possibly flanger effected bass taking the point to send the song in a new direction. With the lead and background vocals taking center stage to exclaim, “Who Tells The Story”. This section is slowed down with cleaner guitar tones until the dual lead guitar lines break back in for the tempo to pick up and drive the song to its conclusion.
If You Want to Be Free: “No One Is Free”
This track starts out as a slow burn blues rock jam with tasty lead guitar licks before picking up the tempo about halfway thorough to become a hard charging heavy rocker that is certain to get your attention.
Light It Up: “Safe and Sound”
The album closer is a great change of pace from the sonic blast of the previous tracks. With a blues jazz swing type of vibe with saxophone accents and very solid background vocals from Laura Fichtenkamm. The vocal interplay between the deep baritone of Miehe and the higher register of Fichtenkamm works very well here. Tracks like this demonstrate the unique influences and creativity of the band and the ability to stand out among the crowd. For those of you who may be fortunate enough to visit the Southern California high desert of Joshua Tree this is your jam to play while star gazing!
Line Up:
Florian Miehe – Vocals/Guitar
Daniel Batliner – Bass
Andi Mittermühlner – Drums
Michael Haumer – Vocals/Guitar
Conclusion
In “The Subtle and The Dense,” Samsara Joyride has created an album that solidifies their place in the pysch/blues/desert rock landscape. The album takes listeners on a journey through heavy blues rock jams with hints of psychedelia and harder edged rock with enough guitar shredding to make any guitar fan enjoy the proceedings. The band has expanded their sound with a concerted effort to drive songs with heavier riffing, while at the same time knowing when to dial things down and marinate in a slower atmospheric brew of guitar reverb, fuzz bass and even saxophone at times.
The musicianship as expected has only grown stronger since 2022’s self-titled release. The rhythm section of Batliner and Mittermühlner complement each other well and with the addition of some well-placed bass effects adds a subtle heaviness under the guitar lines. With two fully capable players in Miehe and Haumer the challenge may often be who gets to shine and who would take a backseat as both can craft great lead and melodic lines. There is no shortage of interesting guitar lines and high intensity solos, and yet when called upon both players know when to let the groove take over and give songs room to breathe a bit. Overall this is a great effort by the band that has an appeal to a wide range of listeners.