REVIEWS OF “EL SANTO VS. THE BLUE DEMON”


“EL SANTO VS. THE BLUE DEMON” E.P.
YAKISAKANA RECORDS, FRANCE, 2005

Terminal Boredom, USA
Los Raw Gospels "El Santo vs. The Blue Demon" EP
Second single from this Euro-via-London three-piece, and far better than their first. The opener is just the lyric "Fight! Fight! Fight!" over the guys laying down a total shit-stomp. Brutal. The title cut is the second track on the A, and I'm partial to it, since I actually own a Blue Demon mask, bought in Tijuana years ago. If you're gonna like a luchador, make it old school. The B-Side offers two more cuts: the flying dropkick of "Deathgrip", and a fab instrumental called "Vendetta" that reminds me of some of the reverb-laden instro cuts the Drags would stick on B-Sides back in the day. Very well done, and recorded by Mil Mascaras no less! Scum stats: 500, with Bongout screened sleeve.(RK)

Reviews in finnish

Levyarviot
Ranskalaisen Yakisakana recordsin julkaisema vapaapaini aiheinen suomalaisenglantilaisen Los Raw Gospelsin 2. vinyyli ep jatkaa bändin hyvin omaksumaa garage linjaa, vaikkakin on sanottava, että soitannollistakin kehitystä on tapahtunut. Ensimmäistä " Fight " rypistystä lukuunottamatta, biisit kulkevat hyvinkin perinteistä rock´n´roll kaavaa sävellysten osalta, onneksi kuitenkin vimmainen soitto ja raaka tuotanto etäännyttävät pahimmasta kaavamaisuudesta. Alkuvoimaa tarvitaan aina! Odotamme innolla bändintulevia suomen keikkoja!!


REVIEWS OF “EL FANTASMA”


“EL FANTASMA” 7” E.P.
Dull City Records, Norway, 2005

Trakmarx webzine, UKEl Fantasma
Norway’s Dull City Records – the label that brought you The Coyotemen, The Bad Preachers, The Sternosnake, Sloggy, The Mutants, Lo-Lite & Jolly Jumpers – now bring you Los Raw Gospels! Hurrah! Featuring a member of Black Time, Los Raw Gospels deal low-slung, dirty-assed rock’n’roll directly from the hip. Los Raw Gospels take out the trash – make no mistake. Their twin-guitar slinging frenzy is admirably held down & slapped about a bit by drummer Fiery Jack – leaving Jay Deluxe free to scream - & Tony Mortis free to shout.
Los Raw Gospels – coming to a street corner near you - anytime now.

http://smashintransistors.homestead.com
A trucker cap, a Motorhead T-shirt, cop shades, a shirtless guy...I was fearing some Scando-Rawkin' bullshit by looking at their picture on the back of this record but NO! NO! NO! My glances were deceiving me and first impressions were WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Infested with rabies and swinging at a hornets nest here's a record that should be played inside a party happening inside a locked, hot and moving boxcar. Billy Childish on a week long bender thinking about barefoot girls sitting on the trunk of a car and sharing a dry-n-loud shattered sound akin to Black Time (both bands shared a member though so that might explain it) the Los Raw Gospels slap the trash on the fryer and serve it up hot.

SCREAMING BLOODY MESS, Australia
A Pom, a Fin and a Spaniard walk into a bar that is filled with the London music scene. They look at each other then at the crowd of scenesters and drug addicts dating super models. They then form a band and rip new arseholes into every fake poseur in the joint. Introducing Los Raw Gospels, super scuzzed and scabbed up rock and roll low life’s whose aim is to fill a gap in the London music scene that, to quote the band is, “full of bands into power indie punk, punk indie power pop and stuff”. How do they go about this? “Playing raw rock and roll and drinking tequila”. Tipping their flea bitten hats to the likes of the Cramps and the Gories, they don’t fuck around with a bass – just two guitars and a shitty drum kit. It sounds like chimpanzee sex.

www.i94.com, Australia
With more than a nod of the head to Billy Childish, Los Raw Gospels come clattering out of the dark recesses of some sodden English bolthole of a studio and unleash six lo-fi explosions. These guys are a three-piece (two guitars and drums) populated by a Pom, a Finn and a Spaniard. Their coming together could spell the end of the European Union. Tommy Nortis does for vocalising what coke did to Kate Moss' modelling career. He launches "Hardcore" with one of his shrieks and it's all downhill from there. Fans of the Mummies will approve. If Norway's best little label doesn't want to break out of the vinyl format and do an album I suggest Voodoo Rhythm send out a smoke signal.

www.sleazegrinder.com, USA
The band name and title hint of Latin origin, but no cigarillo, senor, as the Raw Gospels are actually from London (they don’t say which one, but I’m assuming England, as neither Connecticut nor Canada is big on primal grease-boogie trash rock), although they do have a Finnish guy in the band, which at least makes ‘em continental. Their sound is as raw as an open wound – in fact, that’s pretty much what this sounds like, like somebody getting their leg sawed off while a Mexican wrestling mask band plays the Batman theme in the background. Very groovy, very ghoulie, this one. The blotchy Xerox cover art is nice touch, too.

www.savagemagazine.com, Sweden
A pretty cool wax of Goriefied slop from this London trio now sporting Black Time Lemmy Caution on drums. It’s raw and distorted, not too far from Black Time but as original. Pretty cool though, you should definitely check this out if your into the In The Red and Crypt kinda shit.
(Thomas)

LowCut magazine, Denmark
"A six shooter of eerie and fucked up country hick-ups meet bite my burito-blues. The London trio aim for ferocity rather than fidelity, and with songtitles like "Goodbye To Rye", "Seany Bean's Snake", "Desperate Blues", "Hardcore", 45 Special" and "Fryin' Brains, it's like watching a Benny Hill vs. Billy Childish showdown from the best seat in the saloon. Apparently Black Time related (via the drummer) and judging from the sound, the songs were recorded on the same broken tape recorder, as "Blackout" was, stuck somewhere between "creepy" and "crude". (LowCut)

www.rraf.net
Another fucked-up Dull City Records release! In the sense of something very cool and fucked up. This is the first release by this trio from London, and what do you know - Dull City Rec is the one to put it out! How do Mr. Dull find all these bands?! Well, you gotta give it to him. It would´ve been sad without his stuff. The music sounds like early Oblivians and Monsieur Jeffrey Evans and his ´68 Comeback (which included some of the Oblivian brothers). Raw, electric Memphis-blues (except for one track, Hardcore, which is too fast and too much.), played on two guitars and drums, just like the Oblivians way. It says on the sleeve it´s recorded at The Cave, like that´s a studio. It might as well been recorded in a freeze box. Pretty cool sound if you ask me, and Desperate Blues even got a Chuck Berry-ish intro, way out of control.
Yeah, we´re all the way to Memphis!

Reviews in finnish

Desibeli.com, Finland
Norjalaisen, muiden muassa Jolly Jumpersia ja The Mutantsia julkaisseen Dull Cityn seiskatuumainen vinyylieepee esittelee Lontoolaisen, rupista rockvääntöä tuuttaavan Los Raw Gospels -kolmikon. Yksi soittajista soittaa Black Time -nimisessä orkesterissa, yksi herroista on Suomesta. Kuuden biisin levy pitää sisällään alkuvoimaista ja metelöivää garagerockia, jossa Jay Deluxen ja Tony Mortisin raa’at kitarat ja todella rosoinen laulu/huuto lyövät kättä Fiery Jackin hikisten rytmien kanssa. Tämä on sitä rockia, joka ei juuri sievistele vaan sheikkaa. Silti omassa rupisessa kellarisarjassaankin Los Raw Gospels kuulostaa likaiselta – hifistelijät pysykööt kaukana. Biiseistä esimerkiksi vaaniskeleva 45 Special on ihan kelpo biisi, mutta kokonaisuutena levy jää vielä hiukan yksipuoliseksi runttaukseksi. Rujoa surffausta ilman turhaa kikkailua. Jalka vispaa, huuli mutristuu...
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