The Screaming Fly – 'Trip to Venus': Psychedelic Rock n' Roll

All you need to do is listen to the newest album by The Screaming Fly, titled 'Trip to Venus' and you'll travel there in your mind. Pack your bags and hit play. Ready to launch?!

An album full of colours

What does it take to be able to compose an album like this, one wonders… One thing's for sure though, it's not enough to just find a studio, play whatever music you've got, and end up throwing together whatever tracks you happen to have gathered for the album. It takes a lot more than that. Every lyric has to be a living experience. Every melody, a palette of colours. Crowning it all is the artist's effort to show the listener their faith and love for creation.

The The Screaming Fly are a band that moves within the spectrum of Rock n' Roll, and specifically Psychedelic Rock n' Roll. This genre, on its own without the psychedelic element, already blows up all emotions to the superlative degree. But when you add to that the variety of colours and atmospheric sounds that belong to the psychedelic realm, the result sends the senses into orbit.

A superb group of musicians with plenty of experience

The band has quite a long history. They started back in 1992. What followed was a slew of live shows and musical tours. In 2011 they released their album, 'Super Zero', through which they offer us their own take on Rock n' Roll. And we're not talking about just any random take. Theirs is marked by 'grime' and psychedelia.

'Super Zero' was released through the independent record label of Last Drive, Happy Crasher. And that, of course, is no coincidence. The musician who lends his voice and guitar to The Screaming Fly, is Στέφανος Φλώτσιος. The Last Drive guitarist brings us a blend of garage rock and rock ‘n’ roll, with psychedelic elements.

On the music

Heavy guitar rhythms, bass lines accompanying you, and drums that follow the melodic twists of the songs. The tracks seem to have come out of jamming, after hours of rehearsals and plenty of grinding away. The vocals come in to tie all these elements together. They resemble atmospheric sounds that nature itself might have crafted. Every melody seems to set off down a road that never ends.

Listening to the album you can pick out many sounds. Some seem to fit together, others not so much. But their combination creates a unique mosaic that takes the listener on a journey.

Editor’s Choice: 'Animal'

I confess that on this album too I had a really hard time deciding which track I'd recommend from 'Trip to Venus'. In the end, the winning thread, by my preference, was cut by 'Animal'. The track kicks off with this simple, clean riff. But the song doesn't take long to 'kick into gear'. It comes in immediately, powerfully, with a riff of distorted guitar. The vocals aren't slow to jump into the game either.

Beyond being exceptionally dynamic, the song also shows the range of the band's capabilities. They move from clean, atmospheric sounds all the way to much more powerful parts.

In conclusion

The The Screaming Fly is a characteristic example of a band belonging to the psychedelic Rock style, and ‘Trip to Venus’ proves it. Their sound offers the charm of a vast image. The melodies of such a style are capable of pulling you out of your comfort zone. You step into a psychedelic dance and trip out on the band's music.

Having had the chance to judge their sound through a live performance at Τεχνόπολη, where they opened the show Electric Haze for Nightstalker in the summer of 2021, I can say it's really impressive. The quality is on par with the record's sound. And all this from a band that only seems to put out new material when it genuinely has something to share with us.