It’s Tuesday again and time for another edition of Steal This Track, your weekly dose of free music downloads from some of Colorado’s top artists.
This week, we bring you a brand new track from Denver doom metalheads and a sample track from the recently released collaboration between two hot Denver rappers, . Be warned. This week’s tunes might just blow your speakers!
Black Sleep of Kali — which takes its name from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” — has wielded its stoner and doom metal hammer since guitarist and frontman Taylor Williams moved to Denver from Salt Lake City two years ago.
The outfit’s origins echo the oldest story in rock ‘n’ roll — aspiring rocker places a classified ad, weeds through flakes, forms band — but from those humble beginnings the quartet of Williams, guitarist Patrick Alberts (who replaced original second guitarist Morgan Carpenter after the band’s debut EP), bassist Austin Michel and drummer Gordon Koch has evolved beyond those roots into a metallic force to be reckoned with.
“Our Slow Decay,” Black Sleep of Kali’s first full-length record, just released on Small Stone Recordings, combines the bass-heavy riffs of doom metal with a surprising sense of melody and hooks. The result is a record that is far more accessible — and far less soul-sappingly despondent — than most in the genre. Engineer Andy Paterson places Williams’s powerful vocals front and center, giving the album’s most radio-friendly songs an approachability that just might appeal to fans of Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures. Your first taste is free with “Cries of the Crow,” right here.
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If you dig what you’re hearing, make sure to catch . Also on the bill are Louisville, Ken. act and Denver doom favorites Kingdom of Magic.
Feeling the need for something a little lighter after the heaviness of Black Sleep of Kali? Turn your ears on to “Blacc and Deca’s Lost Tape,” the latest release from indefatigable Denver hip-hop producers and . Though word of this release has been circulating around Denver for nearly three years, the project has finally come to fruition and was well worth the wait.
Also known as the voice of Dankside Entertainment, has a long history in Denver hip-hop. His soulful singing voice and streetwise raps take center stage on his recently released record, “Blacc the Ripper.” Blacc also provides a strong counterpoint to the progressive style of , a Mile High rapper whose underground style places him squarely in the , which includes , , and more.
In spite of its somewhat amateurish cover art, the cleverly named “Blacc and Deca” project is a who’s who of Denver hip-hop, with contributions from , InkLine, , and many more. Though not all of the record’s 17 tracks hits on all cylinders, there’s more than enough hot material here for anyone looking for a taste of what’s happening in Colorado rap. As an example, we suggest you steal the record’s centerpiece, the aptly titled “D-E-C-A B-L-A Double C.”
Stream it:
Steal it:
(right click to save to your computer)
If you’re feeling what that track brings, you can download the entirety of “Joe Thunder and Selector Sam Present: Blacc and Deca Lost Tape” , thanks to the kindness and generosity of Joe Thunder and Selector Sam.
Please note that downloads offered via Steal This Track are intended to whet your appetite, and are NOT CD-quality recordings. If you want those, please support the artists by buying their music and/or seeing them live.
If you’re a band or musician ready to expose your fresh sounds to the readers of Reverb, email your tracks to Eryc Eyl for consideration.
Eryc Eyl is a veteran music journalist, critic and Colorado native who has been neck-deep in local music for many years. Check out every Tuesday for local music you can HEAR, and the every Friday. Against his mother’s advice, Eryc has also been known to . You can also follow Sorry, Mom.
