THE DEVIL'S BLOOD

This album has a way of getting inside you and rattling around your insides for days on end. There is something foreboding in the brilliant classic/occult rock melodies that seem harmless and totally addictive on the surface until you realize that the melodies swirling relentlessly in your head are as much about otherworldly invasion as they are melodic infection. "Come, Reap" from The Netherlands' THE DEVIL'S BLOOD is a 30-minute magnum opus "MCD" that is one of the best classic rock albums you'll hear this year and if you're into to the blatantly occult/satanic thing, then you'll be all about this sucker!

You'll see terms like "occult rock", "psychedelic rock" and occasional "doom" get thrown around in reference to "Come, Reap", and those aren't necessarily inaccurate. But let's really call it what it is — classic rock. The occult part does make sense in a big way from a lyrical standpoint and the psychedelic overtones are certainly there, especially in the brilliantly sonorous, witchy crooning of the vocals. The fact remains though that you'll hear a ton of 70s (and sometimes late 60s) classic rock songwriting that would have gotten played all over FM radio back in the day. And don't forget the magnificently vintage guitar sound.

The songwriting is so strong that one wonders how the follow-up could be anything but a letdown (it probably won't be though). "River of Gold" is a grand example of that knack for hook-laden song craft and I'll be damned if it isn't the best JEFFERSON AIRPLAINE song that JEFFERSON AIRPLANE never wrote. "The Heavens Cry out for the Devil's Blood" is right there too, yet rocks even harder. And how fitting is the cover of ROKY ERIKSON's "White Faces?" It is by far the shortest track on the album at less than three minutes. And when the band wants to let their psychedelic side shine they do so with aplomb on "Voodoo Dust". The dreamy riffs flow alongside an entrancing cadence and a soaring wail. The last several minutes of the nine-minute track feature the kind of grand finale guitar soloing that you rarely hear these days, before an acoustic outro finishes the job.

The short of it is that "Come, Reap" is an excellent rock album no matter the light in which it is viewed. Few bring it like THE DEVIL'S BLOOD. It is a case where familiarity does not breed contempt.