A Raining Sun Of Light And Love For You (Vinyl)

Brooklyn-based, semi-instrumental quartet Titan have been unleashing their unholy blend of neo-psychedelic rock and progressive stoner metal on homemade EPs (CD-R basement freakouts) for†some time now, so the arrival of a full-length studio album is a cause for celebration. Like†Boris,†Comets on Fire, and†Blue Cheer, Titan don't concern themselves with genre boundaries. Heavily†improvised cacophony can often become the audio equivalent of a traffic jam, but in the right hands†it can transcend the endless line of cars and take the listener home by unforeseen paths. A Raining†Sun of Light and Love achieves this through the twisted hands and minds of its creators (these guys†can actually play), and once you get past the†Comus-inspired acoustic intro that's oddly†reminiscent of†Ween's "Squelch the Weasel," the 45 minutes that follow traverse the annals of rock†history like a roller coaster car with a grenade in it. Fat†ELP†organ runs explode into heavy†Sabbath†riffing while†Rush-inspired time signatures signal the arrival of "Careful with That Axe Eugene"-era†Pink Floyd. Feedback washes over Tuvan throat singing, roadside noise morphs into crickets, and†bluesy slide guitar and wall upon wall of distortion fall on each of the four tracks like a monsoon,†signaling the arrival of one of the most promising metal acts of 2007. -†James Christopher Monger

• Format Detail: LP, Gatefold Sleeve
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Rock