Rating: NNNN
“Bombastic” isn’t a bad word for Comets on Fire. The two prior studio blasts from these crank-happy, San Francisco-based psych savants made Dead Meadow sound like Bright Eyes. Blue Cathedral still packs a mighty wallop, but they’ve progressed beyond the one-louder approach. The addition of folk-schooled guitar sorcerer Ben Chasny as a full-time member has clearly served to expand the group’s musical horizons beyond the whirlwind of sonic skree that’s generated by the usual head-down thrashing and echoplex effects. There are chords! Melodies! Heck, even delicately picked acoustic passages! A grand achievement.
