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Telestrion are a four piece heavy psychedelic rock band whose sound is a fusion of timeless riff-rock with modern freak out sensibilities. While their influences certainly shine through in their sound, Telestrion offer a modern, fresh approach that is uniquely their own.

Stereo Subversion Review

Karen Looney

Far out, mystical, and sometimes unsettling, just one look at Telestrion's album cover, painted by surrealist artist Ton Haring, will let you know what to expect from the band's debut. Lush hills are dotted with vigilant eyeballs looking over the oddly untouched landscape. It is as if the artist has transported us from the physical realm to the ever-evolving land of dreams and serves as the perfect visual introduction to the music of psychedelic rock band Telestrion.

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Telestrion is a four-piece band that creates otherworldly rock clearly inspired by altered states of mind. They are named after a ritual hall at the ancient Greek Temple of Demeter, where noteworthy pilgrims like Plato and Aristotle partook of psilocybin mushrooms as part of an initiation ceremony. Reformed from the ashes of the band Qualone (basically, they got a new drummer), Telestrion assembled in mid-2006 and released their first record on October 9th, 2007 on their own imprint, Electric Mind. They have since received much praise from the online psychonaut community.

The music of the band's self-titled debut is, in a word, heavy. Between the slow, ringing guitar riffs and the low, low bass one feels as if a concrete block has fallen on their shoulders. Telestrion lumbers like Black Sabbath's earliest down-tuned efforts but sparse synthesizer and a number of pedal effects keep the music fluid and natural. Opening track "The One To Go" sets up an atmosphere of celestial visions with a deep, rolling rhythm accented by faraway cymbal crashes. The distant male vocals melt into the music, illustrating a questionably apocalyptic dreamscape ("Is this how it all will end or is this how it begins?").

"Get Your Mind Out" is a true gem, beginning with a forceful, fist-pumping riff and mysterious vibrato squeals. Then, suddenly, the intensity is released into a mellow segment reminiscent of a slow Sgt. Pepper era Beatles as the singer imagines being happily lost in a trip for all eternity. "Half" trudges forth with twiddling guitar sounds and a hammering refrain, all in tribute to synesthesia ("I hear colors with my eyes and feel them in my brain") "Now" is hard rocking with more cowbell than you can shake a fist at. The album appropriately closes with an extravagant cover of Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine."

Interestingly, there is little to complain about on the album. One might imagine the slow pace and erratic sound effects would get old after a while but they do not. The trippy synth sounds littered throughout the album never feel arbitrary or distracting. Even on their thirteen-minute epic "Lost in the Sky," Telestrion manages to keep listeners engaged.

Telestrion's profound intensity and mysterious liquid nature make their self-titled full-length the aural equivalent of a lava lamp. The band has created a private little world in which we can tune out everything around us and contemplate inner space. Terence McKenna would be proud.

...Get your mind out...

Head Heritage Review

Julian Cope

July 2008 Druidion

TELESTRION by Telestrion

Okay, moving swiftly on to this month’s reviews, first I gotta hip y’all to the stunning self-titled debut album by Telestrion, a long-haired quartet from the American south. Utopian, apocalyptic and transcendental all at the same time, Telestrion’s songs dance on fire somewhere between the Satanic and Whirling Dervish gypsy psychedelia of SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH and FUTURAMA, the outrageously over-arranged second album by Bill Nelson’s Be Bop Deluxe, as played by the Todd Clark Group and/or the phased-out psychedelic fury of Neil Merryweather’s Space Rangers. Telestrion utilise a kind of ever-unfolding QUADROPHENIA approach that overwhelms and disorientates listeners to such a degree that there’s no possibility of knowing just which song they’re listening to. Imagine an LSD-soaked Montrose or a modern Flower Travellin’ Band and yooz getting close to the swirling catharsis this quartet has laid upon us. Classic Rock? Nope, for these druids have truly excavated a rock-cut tomb all their own, babies. With its crackling analogue synthesizers and perpetual FX, TELESTRION is what I thought Dwarr would sound like had they not suffered from such feeble ‘80s production. Score this jewel from the band’s own Electric Mind record label, or via amazon.com/TELESTRION-Telestrion.

BrainTicket Records

John Perez

Wow!! One of the coolest and fresh sounding slices of ear candy I've run across in some time!! It's so all over the place that it's hard to describe. Think parts Black Sabbath, early Soundgarden and then throw in Farflung, Hawkind, some Beatles, Flaming Lips, Big Elf, Hendrix, Pink Floyd etc... Excellent acid trip production brings out the high fi sound in an insane way!! AMAZING ALBUM FOR ANYONE INTO SERIOUSLY GREAT HEAVY HEAD SOUNDS!! Get it all fans of Liquid Sound Company, Clutch, Bang, Blood of the Sun, Dead Flowers, Soma, Nik Turner, Sleep, etc...

Dosenation.com

Telestrion: Psychedelic Rock

When I popped this review CD into my player I immediately thought it was Pink Floyd, but no, it is Telestrion, a bombasitc psychedelic rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Loaded with chunky epic guitar riffs and screaming solos, this Telestrion debut could have been teleported directly from 1972. The sound rocks with echoes of Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Pink Floyd, and many others of that riff-laden classic style, This is indeed an impressive album for a debut; telestrion has the space-rock formula wired. Put on the headphones and turn it up to 11.

Review from DAREDEVIL RECORDS in GERMANY

Telestrion from Atlanta, Georgia are a four piece heavy psychedelic rock band whose sound is a fusion of timeless riff-rock masters such as Black Sabbath, Masters of Reality and a huge psychedelic influence from Pink Floyd. This first, self-produced debut album, sounds fresh, modern and is a big surprise in this year. The self-titled debut has a great sound, responsible for that was Don Tart (Blackberry Smoke) and Jeff Tomei (COC, Jerry Cantrell, Smashing Pumpkins) and features a big booklet. And the music is, as I told before, a big surprise. The members played before as Qualone and Plaster, two great underground Stoner Rock heroes in the late 90..s. It is not fair to mention some single songs, because everyone is a highlight! The last track, ASTRONOMY DOMINE is an awesome PINK FLOYD cover and sounds like a real TELESTRION track. Starting with the mighty THE ONE TO GO, followed by the riff monster BLUE SUNSHINE - sounds like the late BLACK SABBATH jamming with MASTERS OF REALITY. Awesome! The vocals of Andy fit perfect to that sound and it is a shame that no big label signed that band. The music is full of great riffs and picked with some psychedelic moments. One of the best and musically outstanding debut albums of the last years! Check this band out!

http://www.DaredevilRecords.de

http://www.myspace.com/daredevilrec