photo by Pat Piasecki; photo courtesy of Knyvet

EP Review of Diablogato: Snake Oil Salvation (Rum Bar Records)

Crazy-ass, eclectic, electric, straight-ahead, aggressive, guitar-driven, distortion-laden western rock and roll. That’s Diablogato. And this record is exactly what you’d expect from a leather-clad, axeslinging devil cat! Or perhaps a stray cat possessed by the devil. Indeed, Johnny Custom plays upright bass for Diablogato, partially inspiring my Stray Cats reference, as this music swings pretty well for heavy rock music; maybe the bass plays a role. Custom is joined by Charlie MacSteven on guitar and backing vocals, Jesse Von Kenmore on drums and the inimitable, rough-hewn powerful voice of Drew Indinagaro on vocals and guitar.

“Heavens Gate” kicks things off with an echoing, heavy, angry rhythm thumping straight through grittily howling blues-rock vocals. You may not be able to imagine things will amp up after this opener, but Diablogato is just getting started.

image courtesy of Knyvet

My two favorite songs on this EP (personal taste, ymmv), in reverse order, are numbers two and three. The first of those two, “Wandering Hearts” opens more airily haunting, like a devil-possessed Johnny Cash song. The “whoa-o-oah” will draw the listener in. What if Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” was darker, heavier, and a bit more foreboding but still just as haunting? Then you could pair it with “Wandering Hearts,” though the surf-meets-blues-rock guitar solo during the late-song bridge in “Wandering Hearts” really doesn’t compare to much of anything else.

Third song “Fire and Powder,” my favorite on the EP, amps up the “whoa-o-oah” to the next level, with a frantic, full-speed-ahead energy that’s interrupted only at the halfway-point for an instrumental section that begins slow but intense and slowly ramps up the speed until it returns again to maximum energy level, erupting into a nifty, high-speed guitar solo that runs until the song’s few closing lyrics. The tempo, though? Whew!

Of course, just because those are my favorite tracks, that doesn’t mean I’m dissing the rest of the disc. Au contraire, six songs isn’t nearly enough Diablogato for one sitting!

“Jet Black Night” is a slower-paced but still heavy, bluesy-groovin’ heavy rocker. “July 1969” has a steady beat, some country twang with an almost folk-influenced heavy rock vocal, meaning it harkens back a bit to that psychedelic rock era, and a raucous punk-but-it’s-too-smooth-to-be-punk attitude. And “Lost Highway,” which closes the EP, opens with a mellower, more bluesy rock vibe before picking up the pace with energetic rock, except for the instrumental guitar bridges, which are slower, a bit bluesy and haunting, and very heavy and plodding, much like late ’70s/early ’80s heavy metal – pre-big hair, real heavy metal. It’s a cool blend of styles, much like this entire Diablogato album, making it a fitting conclusion to a fantastic six-song listen.

In the end, if, based on Snake Oil Salvation, I had to compare Diablogato to other bands I’ve reviewed at the blog over the years, I’d say they belong in the desert southwest, nestled between Angie & the Deserters and Love and a .38. In other words, as the middle band in a kickass rock ‘n roll triple-bill with two other artists that give off a similar vibe, arranged from lightest to heaviest, with Diablogato perhaps residing closer to the heavier band. Regardless, Diablogato is a very original, thoroughly engaging must-hear, especially – but not exclusively – for guitar-based rock fans.