Close Encounters is the third KIND full length, following their debut Rocket Science (2015) and sophomore album Mental Nudge (2020), all released on venerable underground heavy rock label Ripple Music. Once again, KIND recorded with engineer Alec Rodriguez at Mad Oak Studios, and the eye-catching cover art was created by renowned artist Alexander Von Wieding in his lair in Germany. Close Encounter
s contains nine songs of heavy stoner/doom/psych rock with some additional elements, furthering the scope of KIND’s musical vision. Prog-rock leaning opener “Burn Scar”, the almost-but-not-quite pop of “Snag” and the Krautrock inspired closer “Pacino” bring some variety to the proceedings, with additional percussion, Mellotron and synth blended into the mix. The locked-in rhythm section of drummer Matt Couto and bassist Tom Corino and the heavy-as-bricks riffing of guitarist Darryl Shepard are topped off with the powerful and melodic vocals of Craig Riggs throughout, creating a cohesive sound regardless of where the band ventures musically. Mental Nudge ended up on several year-end best-of lists and topped the Doom Charts in September of 2020. Close Encounters ups the ante in several ways, showing the versatility of these four seasoned musicians who have performed with KIND and previous bands at festivals such as Roadburn, Hellfest, Desertfest and many more. But as the saying goes, “writing about music is like dancing about architecture”. The best thing to do is to throw on a copy of Close Encounters and turn the volume way up. Bandcamp: kindrocks.bandcamp.com