Band:	Miss Lava
Album:	Red Supergiant
Style:	Hard rock, Stoner metal
Release date:	September 2012

01. Desert Mind
02. Lay Down
03. Feel My Grace
04. Ride
05. Crawl
06. Hole To China
07. Catch The Fire
08. Murder Of Crowns
09. Motel Neon
10. Yesterday's Gone
11. Red Supergiant

Portugal may not be known for it, but we do have a lot of groove, in our music I mean. One of the prime examples of this is Miss Lava. After the release of their debut Blues For The Dangerous Miles in 2009, the expectations grew higher on the up-and-coming band but Red Supergiant does not disappoint. In fact, if you only heard about Miss Lava now, this is a good place to start.

This is an album which feeds off of very warm and electrifying vocals as well as big fat juicy riffs. Songs like "Ride", "Feel My Grace" and "Desert Mind" will guarantee a sore neck because you simply can't help but let your body follow its natural impulse and feel that catchy stoner groove. And while Miss Lava doesn't really get extra points for mind-blowing originality, at least they try to do their own thing and stick to what they do well. The rhythm section is very competent and tight as a drum, the melodies are quirky, there are plenty of old school bluesy riffs, and when the music slows down, it is done tastefully. Red Supergiant has a rebellious edge to it and can be a good escape down a volcano of erupting surges of heaviness.

The album does, however, suffer from unevenness as it doesn't live up to the expectations you're left with after the first part of the album. This is partly compensated by a strong ending with "Yesterday's Gone" and title track "Red Supergiant" which are more varied and exploratory, and have more well thought-out building up structures to get immersed in.

In the end, the most important thing is to enjoy the music. So, follow the advice on the song "Lay Down" and just set free your mind to the sound of Red Supergiant.