Band:	Last Barons
Album:	Cheval De Troie
Style:	Stoner metal
Release date:	November 2012

01. Shaman's Warning Song
02. Nomad Soul
03. Rubber Boots
04. Hidden Sun
05. The Violent Kind
06. Going To Varzi
07. From Beyond
08. Soul Grinder
09. Anthik Technik
10. A Last Devotchka
11. Cosmogony And Dimensions Of The Mind
12. End Of The Beauty

I'm a fanboy for old, classic acid rock. The Doors, Hendrix, Country Joe & The Fish, and Jefferson Airplane all top my list for both essential 60s music as well as essential music to sit back and just mellow out to. Stoner metal, however, sometimes tends to fall short of this legacy for me, the large majority of stoner bands I discover tending to go more towards a monotonous groove than towards the dreamlike, hypnotic atmosphere that is the legacy of the acid rock movement. Every now and then, however, you come across some bands (Yob, Aarni, etc) that do pay homage to this legacy, blending some of the more melodic, atmospheric underpinnings of it with the traditional thick, heavy sound of stoner metal. France's Last Barons are one such band, their 2012 effort, Cheval De Troie being a good example.

Granted, Cheval De Troie does definitely have plenty of moments where the band gets into some traditional, heavy stoner-ish grooving ("Nomad Soul," "Rubber Boots," "Soul Grinder"). But this isn't all there is to the formula, as Last Barons seem here to be just as focused with throwing in some more mellow, melodic moments as they were with their previous effort, 2010's Elephantyasis. "Hidden Sun," for example, kicks off with a delightful bluesy acoustic guitar that would probably make even the likes of Bobby Krieger smile, and "Soul Grinder" follows in similar suit with a middle section to it that is quite easy to just sit back and relax to, as does "Cosmogony And Dimensions Of The Mind."

There are really no tracks on Cheval De Troie that are purely psychedelic, except for the brief little instrumental "From Beyond" and the closer "End Of The Beauty" (the strongest track on the album, in my opinion). Really what the music Last Barons put forth on this album is traditional stoner metal interspersed with a few more atmospheric moments here and there. And while said moments definitely help make the music more interesting, at times it can feel like they simply aren't enough, and that Last Barons should have pushed them a bit further.

Other than the fact that the psychedelic elements of Cheval De Troie come across as a bit underdeveloped, it's a pretty decent stoner album, with catchy riffs and catchy vocals galore (just throw on "Going To Varzi," or "A Last Devotchka" and you'll see what I mean). It's definitely not your average stoner metal album, further testament to the fact that the Frenchies have been drinking some strange new type of wine for the past decade that's been pressing them more towards experimentation than usual. Personally, as I said, I wish that Cheval De Troie had gone a bit more in the psychedelic direction, but for what the effort is, it's definitely effective. If you like groovy, memorable stoner metal with a few mellower, atmospheric moments thrown in here and there, you'll probably dig it.

Listen on Soundcloud and find out.