Return To The Indigo Inn Hellfire-Magazin review

Thanks to Tim Karow and Hellfire- Magazin (Germany) for this favourable review of Gwazi’s new allbum Return To The Indigo Inn.

With “Return Of The Indigo Inn”, Gwazi presents a work that sounds just as chaotic, snotty and unpredictable as the track list suggests, and that is exactly where both his strength and his weakness lies. The album seems like a deliberately exaggerated all-round blow against modern overload of stimuli: political, sarcastic, aggressive, but also surprisingly playful and humorous in between.

The first part of the album provides a mixture of punk-metallic energy, electro overdrive and deliberately exaggerated titles, which bear the signature of an artist who has no interest in meeting expectations. Songs like “Make Them Pay”, “Energy” or “This Is Total BS” work mainly on their raw intensity. Here everything is fast, loud, dirty, uncompromising. Particularly striking is “Illudium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator”, a wild hybrid of sound experiment and cartoon chaos that goes deep into the ear. Not every track ignites equally well, but the attitude behind it remains authentic throughout.

The second part, the bonus disc, looks like a look into Gwazi’s past. Remasters of old pieces, a few covers, a few experimental slings. Especially the remasters give the album an interesting frame, but in places look like an anct, which would not have been absolutely necessary. “Country Roads” as an opening is a funny break in style, “We Are Chaos” and “Egg Raid On Mojo” clearly benefit from the polish, while the “FUN – Extended Acid Mixmaster” forms a wonderfully absurd conclusion.

Overall, “Return Of The Indigo Inn” is a wild, untamed bastard of punk, metal, electro and pure provocation. Not everything works, not every track sticks, but the album has a clear character and an honest, dirty heart. If you are looking for chaos, humor and edges, you will find what you are looking for here.

I give the new record by Gwazi 7.5 out of 10 Hellfire points.

Tim Karow
Hellfire-Magazin

You can read the original German language review here