Easton Connell

I’ve been waiting excitedly for this record to drop since I first heard about it. Marcos Garcia from Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra crafting fuzzed out High Life style heaviness described by the band as the answer to the question – “What if Black Sabbath played afrobeat?” It’s an even better answer than Brown Sabbath, the stellar album of funky horn-centric Sabbath covers recorded by modern afrobeat monsters Brownout. This is the hazy, psychedelic headclouder known as Here Lies Man.

Doom and stoner metal have long mined the world of Indian ragas for their slow arpeggios, cyclical repetition of themes, and emphasis on layer upon layer of drones. For some reason no one had made the natural jump to taking inspiration from afrobeat and its tendency to repeat a single riff with minor variations for ten minutes straight. West African polyrhythms also lend themselves well to the hard-hitting and driving style of percussion endemic to most branches of heavy metal. Here Lies Man boldly stride into this uncharted territory and walk out with a landmark record.

Their self-titled debut opens with static and feedback, quickly giving way to the sassy and catchy riff of “When I Come To.” High warbles of organ trickle over the muzzled guitar and Garcia’s sparse and coarse vocals add another layer of grit to their sound. The first side of the record culminates with the hypnotic lead single “You Ain’t Goin Nowhere.” After a dozen listens I still can’t pick a favorite track, but “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” is a strong contender. Its toughest competition might be the instrumental swagger of “So Far Away” on the B-side. The cohesion between tracks makes the record as a whole feel like a dusty soundtrack to a night spent shaking hips and chasing tabs of acid with lukewarm lager in an ill-lit Lagos disco, stuck in a time when gods walked the earth and spread their gospel with wall to wall amplifiers.

Here Lies Man is the perfect hybrid of afroflavored psychedelia and riff-driven heavy metal, with songs that irresistibly set your hips swaying while melting your face at the same time. The music moves like dancing in quicksand, somehow naturally marrying leaden headbanging fuzz with infectious grooves. Here Lies Man have succeeded in Garcia’s stated goal of “expanding on a musical tradition rather than pretending to be creating something new.” I can only hope that they bring more of this genius into the world.

You can cop Here Lies Man on vinyl, CD, or digital download from Riding Easy Records here or from your local retailer of the finer things.

HERE LIES MAN

HERE LIES MAN AT RIDING EASY RECORDS

HERE LINES MAN AT BANDCAMP