BALL – ‘LIKE YOU ARE… I ONCE WAS… LIKE I AM – YOU WILL NEVER BE’
“For the love of Satan, keep on fuckin’!” bellows S. Yrék Ball on “Black Magic”, the second track of Ball’s absurdly titled sophomore LP, “Like You Are…I Once Was…Like I Am – You Will Never Be”. Should let you know what kind of headspace this band is in. Every song on here is an ode to sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and of course, the great horned one himself; an orgiastic bacchanal spread out over a half hour of ripping 70s hard rock riffs. The overall sound is friggin’ great, the band’s combination of Black Sabbath heaviness and Stooges-like intensity places a big emphasis on groove and is perfectly served by the fat, blown out production which allows the tracks to fester away like Anton LaVey’s stash of cum-drenched nudie mags. There’s occasional flashes of beauty in amongst all the greasy fuck music (dig the outro of “Sacred Snow” for a dose of transcendent coke-rock majesty), but not a moment passes where Ball aren’t showing you just how goddamned hard they can rock. Are they doing anything particularly original? Not really. Are they demonstrating complete and utter mastery of the hard rock trio aesthetic pushed the the very limits of good taste? Abso-fucking-lutely, and for that, they should be highly commended. My one and only complaint about the record is that it’s over too soon. If you have even an ounce of rock ‘n’ roll in your soul, buy it immediately.
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