Whenever I think of bands that may fall within the confines of all that is psychedelic doom, for the longest time, Cities of Mars has been a name that has always come into my mind almost instantly. They have been one of those bands that I’ve never been tired of investigating ever since I heard them five years ago with “Temporal Rifts” that caught my attention with the bands relaxed but pervasive take on the style, and to witness their rise has been nothing short of immensely satisfying. After hearing their last album three years ago, I truly did not know where the band would go next. Now, after hearing their eponymous third album, I realize that this was the only reality that we could’ve came upon with all that is accomplished in these eight mind-bending works.

It tends to be that bands will use the visual elements of an album’s cover art to great effect in order to really convey to the listener the magnitude of reality-bending properities that are held within the effort, and while there are some interesting aspects to the art involved here, it’s pretty easy to say that Cities of Mars backed off a little bit in their visual department for their self-titled creation. Yet, that feels quite fitting for the band. Never once has Cities of Mars been about truly dismantling the mind of the listener with its music as it’s even though the band’s material certainly has sci-fi elements, it’s always felt as though you’re drifting amongst a dream rather than watching planets collide. This is the album meant to truly embody what Cities of Mars is capable of, and whether it be in the form of red clouds, towering structures on another planet, or bursts of intensity that really show the dynamic nature of the band, it’s hard to look upon the eight songs that that are brought forth here and not feel as though you’re witnessing a vast swathe of all that this style is able to bring to the table in no less than exquisite form. It’s been for years now that Cities of Mars has been a name to know, but it certifiably has got to be with this, their third full-length effort, that we’re able to see this band become what they’ve envisioned ever since their first riff with the true reality of this record being enough to get the attention of anyone who enjoys eclectic heaviness alongside warping skies of colors and everything else in between.

A band like this that is always seeming to smash expectations and bring forth something new on virtually every single effort is a best-case scenario that we only get every so often due to everything that has to og right in order for it to be brought about, and I don’t think there can be any argument as to just how true that is for all that Cities of Mars is. Everything they’ve done up to this point has made them a real tour de force of their particular corner of doom with few able to come up to par of what they’re able to conjure forth, and that’s what has allwoed “Cities of Mars” to become what can only be described as a career-defining effort when it’s all said and done.

LISTEN to “Cities of Mars” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Cities of Mars on Facebook here.