Ground Holes

The year is nineteen-sixty-something, and after endless millennia of watery sleep, the stars are finally right. Old R'lyeh rises out of the Pacific, ready to cast its damned shadow over the primitive human world. The first to see its peaks: an alcoholic, paranoid, and frightened Jack Kerouac, who had been drinking off a nervous breakdown up in Big Sur.

Dwell Records specializes in the nexus point where grunge, noise, psychedelia, and, most importantly, metal meet. Fitting then that they would release this tribute comp to Syd Barrett, the madcap wonder boy who in the late '60s had a hand in inspiring all those genres. The collection features artists who run the metal gamut. Stoner legends Pentagram deliver a dynamic "Flaming" while trance-metallers Jesu drive "Chapter 24" deeper into the cosmos than Pink Floyd ever did. Prog-metal kings Yakuza tackle "Lucifer Sam" while noisy underground dwellers Stinking Lizavetta lay a guitar-heavy "Matilda Mother." Some versions are better than others, but taken as a whole LIKE BLACK HOLES IN THE SKY proves the modern reach of Barrett's vision and the breadth of his songwriting.