Album Review: Medusa – In Bed With Medusa

Medusa began this journey in Blackburn England back in 1998 by guitarist and vocalist Julian Molinero, 8 years past before they released their first album, the self titled “Medusa”, now fast forward another 14 years and 2 other albums, they have put together the latest in this journey of musical wonder “In Bed With Medusa” is the result.

If The story behind the making of this album is anything of a marker, then we are in for a ride.

“It was recorded in December, in Chicago at Steve Albini’s studio Electrical Audio [in Studio B] while Kim Deal from Pixies and The Breeders was recording new Breeders material in Studio A.

It was recorded in only 4 days studio time for 10 songs and there wasn’t time to record all 10 tracks, so the 2 acoustic songs were recorded in Transylvania. They were intended to be acoustic anyway and different from the rest of the album so a 4-track home studio acquired that uses tape and they were recorded using a classical guitar in a hotel room overlooking Bran Castle, known as Dracula’s Castle, in Transylvania.

In the band’s struggle to find a new drummer, at the last minute they used Snell, the drummer from Towers of London whom also has been in The Prodigy, and Day 21 [which had Jimmy Pursey, the singer from Sham 69 on vocals]. Half of one of the music videos has already been filmed, for the song ‘River Phoenix’, last year in Hollywood, including having a drone flown over the Hollywood sign and miming vocals outside the Viper Room of Sunset Boulevard, which is where River Phoenix famously collapsed, before dying”

The feel to this album is so much different to pretty much all of the previous three, from the off you are left wondering if it is actually a live recording, which it is not, but without doubt it holds that quality of earthy unadulterated sound, no over production and no multi layers are without doubt a plus for this album.

The whole album is filled of songs that strike of early punk hardcore in there depth and ferocity, beyond this though, Medusa have taken a deep growling guitar sound that underpins the majority of the tracks, most notably found in the likes of “Love Not Included” and “Lost In Dystopia” added to this are some of the rawest licks and riffs you would find on any rock/punk album that has or is still to be written.

Julian Molinari’s voice has so much raw intensity that at points you feel that you have been transported back to a time when the music world was filled with true purveyors of emotion and honesty, Kurt Cobain shows up in “Ride The Styx”  Mark Arm seems to be flowing through “Lenore”  you get the picture.  

To add to all the sublime moments within this album, and there are so many, you also get two tracks of straight up acoustic perfectness, “Inverse Paradise” being the best of the two, pure in the moment heart rendering stuff.

The true quality of this album, is that by the last note or word, you are left felling that actually you were “In Bed With Medusa”

Played how this music should be played and sung even better!

Medusa have also released a 5-minute documentary about the making of the new album, too!

You can see it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03uiBC393Vo 

Get to Medusa’s Bandcamp HERE