The Third Eye

I recently rediscovered a band that I had previously only heard two albums by and sadly forgot about due to the massive number of albums that cross my desk daily. That band’s name is Black Sky Giant, and their newest album, Primigenean, was released on January 1st.

Background

While preparing for this review, I went back and listened to the Falling Mothership, Planet Terror, and End of Days Pilgrimage albums, two of which were released within six months of each other in 2021, with 2022’s End of Days Pilgrimage following about 7 months after Falling Mothership. It had been a while since I had listened to any of them, but going back reminded me of the high-quality music that Black Sky Giant creates.

For example, from Falling Mothership is the second track, “Batriders.” This one really brings in the perfect blend of psych and stoner rock. In my humble opinion, this is the coolest tune on that album and is also the one that exemplifies what B.S.G. does throughout it.

Planet Terror was released 6 months before Falling Mothership, and it comes in as fairly similar to F.M., which makes sense given that it’s the same band and only 6 months older than it. B.S.G follows the same psych and stoner rock blend, but with no less quality than F.M. “Asteroid Hermit,” “Ghost Valley Truckers” (best track on PT), and “Ulameth (Endbringer)” are the highlights of this album. It also has my favorite cover art on any of the band’s releases.

Then I got to End of Days Pilgrimage, released in January 2022. I had never heard this one before doing some background listening, and it begins with a much heavier sound than F.M. or P.T. “Behold the Sumerian (Part I)” comes in with a heavy vibe overall, which seems to hold true for the entire album. “Behold the Sumerian (Part II)” and “Desert Son/Cult of the Wurm” are the other standout tracks.

About Primigenean

Consisting of 6 tracks, Primigenean is the fifth full-length record by this band of Argentinian musicians, released almost a full year after End of Days Pilgrimage. It is also about half as long as E.O.D.P., making it an easily digestible album for fans who don’t have an hour to spend all in one shot.

As much as I loved their discography until this point, I’m also glad they took a year to put this out. The songwriting shows more growth than their normal six-month time span between records, and the overall sound is much better as well.

Opening the record with the title track, “Primigenean,” is a perfect example of how nicely they blend psych and stoner rock. The riffs are catchy, not overly heavy, and exhibit a slight prog feel. I also liked how seamlessly it slid into the second song, “At the Gates.”

“At the Gates” is a gem of a song, following the style of the title track, but with a bit of a mellower feel, more psych overtones than stoner ones. The proggy vibes are still present, and the way B.S.G. uses them fits into the psychedelic elements quite well. The lead guitar is stunning and is the one section of the song where the stoner influences are felt the most.

Next is “Stardust,” which is all psych, all the time; it also features some of the finest bass playing on the album. There’s a bit of a King Buffalo feel but done as only Black Sky Giant can. I absolutely love this song and think that you will as well.

There are three other compositions on the album, “The Great Hall,” “Sonic Thoughts,” and “The Foundational Found Tapes,” and each of them is incredibly good in their own right.

Final Thoughts

Primigenean is Black Sky Giant at the peak of their powers, raising the bar for themselves and their peers. The music is structurally sound, the production quality is equally superb, and their skills as musicians shine through across all six of the songs on the album.

I’m obviously going to tell you to go check them out for yourselves, so instead of me saying just, just go do it. I promise you that it’s with your time, as are all of their earlier recordings. Enjoy!!

Support Black Sky Giant by checking out their Bandcamp, or finding them on social media (Instagram, Facebook).

This review was written by Tom Hanno, who has been writing reviews for the last 7 years but has been sharing his love of music for the majority of his life. Originally starting out at the now defunct Chimera Magazine, he is currently contributing to Doomed and Stoned, The Sleeping Shaman, The Doom Charts, Tom’s Reviews, and The Third Eye. Read more of Tom’s reviews by checking out his Linktree.