‘Mind Control’ is apparently a concept album though I didn’t have any lyrics to check this out but there is certainly an atmosphere of fear drenched Charles Manson, Spahn Ranch, hippies gone bad cults throughout.

Musically we are in ‘Volume 4’, ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ territory which an added dash of Stooges/MC5 power mixed with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The sound is very thickly analogue, dirty, fuzzy and loud!

There are some great songs here if you are a fan of the above bands. Starting with ‘Mt Abraxas’ which sounds to me like Sabbath seventies mates and sound alikes Quartz, we are firing on all cylinders as we embark on a sludgy slope to hell quickly followed by ‘Mind Crawler’, a full on Stooges barrage of riffs with a poppy hook laden chorus which even features harmonies in a Hawkwind style and some background piano!

Next up is single ‘Poison Apple’ which for reasons I can’t explain reminds me of Aphex Twins ‘Come to Daddy’ even though it sounds nothing like it. The song bounces along in a jaunty fashion and vocals here are very sixties psychedelically styled over the monstrous lead riff. There’s a nice solo in the middle too!

‘Desert Ceremony’ is next and starts with thumping drums and a cool riff like something from the first Montrose album. Huge Sabbath riffs follow and again the close harmony vocals. The mid-section features a great Iommi sounding solo with duel guitars spinning a web of sound over the main riff. Good stuff!

The spirit of NWOBHM rises on ‘Evil Love’ which sounds like something from the first Angelwitch album and the harmony vocals here almost become the evil twin of the Beatles. The song sounding like a lost Lennon and McCartney song which has been excavated and metallised! Towards the end it turns into a Thin Lizzy duel lead attack but still the harmonies continue to shine through.

Things cool down for next track ‘Death Valley Blues’ and again we’re treated to Beatles like vocals, in stoned hippie mode.  Things get quite theatrical as we move on with early Alice Cooper coming to mind with the mix of psychedelia and pop sensibility which appears again on ‘Follow the Leader’ which is very ‘Sergeant Pepper’ gone bad with hazy stoned vocals a la ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ and the guitars sounding like sitars and banjos!

Back to the doom fuzz riffs next with ‘Valley of The Dolls’, a creepy crawler of a song which slides along like a desert rattlesnake about to strike until we come to final track ‘Devil’s Work’ where the riffs get hard and heavy again with some Ozzy style vocals over a plodding beat.

All in all a great fun album for fans of any of the aforementioned bands. It ain’t ground-breaking but it is hugely enjoyable!