“Is everybody in?… Is everybody in?… Is everybody in? The ceremony is about to begin…” *

Act III of The Reverb Conspiracy ceremony is once more upon us, courtesy of Fuzz Club Records‘ co-release with The Reverberation Appreciation Society.

In the words of Fuzz Club’s Casper Dee, “I like to look at The Reverb Conspiracy as a modern Nuggets series. It’s our way of capturing the essence of the underground scene as it is today and documenting it for the history books. There’s so much amazing music coming out now and a huge energy within the scene; we feel like this is an era of rock ‘n’ roll that we’ll all look back on as the start of something big.” (Magnet Magazine 2014).

As the title implies, this is the 4th instalment in Rocket Recordings‘ sold-out split series, to which their page attests;

“The Rocket Recordings Collisions series has thus far seen luminaries like The Heads, White Hills, Oneida, Mugstar, Shit & Shine and Gnod locking horns against each other on psychic voyages to bold dimensions anew. The latest instalment again deals with a pair of hand-picked, boundary-breaking iconoclasts, pushing the Collisions series further out into the realm of the unexpected, as this Anglo-Italian pair of perversely kindred spirits combine to wreak havoc.”

Somewhere back in July, Purple Heart Parade connected me with Helicon and I was immediately smitten with these self-proclaimed, “Doom-mongering behemoths of Psychedelic Rock formed in East Kilbride / Glasgow”.

These particular behemoths must have come from the cheerier side of the doom-mongering clan, because when I listen to the euphonious sounds they shape, I feel revitalised and up for anything.

Helicon are also one of those bands for me, that when you delved into their back catalogue – the only surprise there was, was just how consistently fucking good it all was. Here was a band who had found their niche and who were methodically teasing every ounce of gold dust from it, not spilling or squandering one single speck of it.

“Dysphoria (from Greek: δύσφορος (dysphoros), δυσ-, difficult, and φέρειν, to bear) is a profound state of unease or dissatisfaction.” Wiki. I’m not sure if that makes me unhinged or enlightened, because this album had the polar opposite effect on me!

When Formes initially posted an image of their debut LP cover, I jokingly commented that the face on the sleeve reminded me of Rogue Trooper. That was before I’d had the unmitigated pleasure of hearing ‘Dysphoria Part 1’, or the benefit of reading the accompanying press release, which alludes to the demonic battle raging within the mind. On closer inspection, and armed with these insights, the transformation overseen by Janus, possibly toward humanity’s inevitable oblivion, becomes clearer.