When one thinks of Long Island, stoner doom may not be the first musical variant that comes to mind. Restless Spirit have been out to change that since 2015, dropping several EPs and 3 long players of massive, weighty music with toes in the pools frequented by Mastodon, C.O.C., and The Sword. 2023s Afterimage was a great album crushed beneath a disastrous production that made enjoyment nigh impossible. Now comes their self-titled 4th album and a bit of a course correction. It’s a lighter, more rocking effort with a sense of brightness and wistfulness embedded in the burly, beefy sound. It’s still something entirely well-suited for a biker bar, but what Restless Spirit does is put them in the same ballpark as acts like Clutch, Fireball Ministry, and Freedom Hawk, and just in time for summer sun and outdoor beer drinking. How could that be a bad thing?
The things I love about Restless Spirit are still here, as opening track “The Burning Need” ably illustrates. It’s slick, bluesy, hard rock in the vein of C.O.C. with big riffs and feedback backing up Paul Alosio’s big, soulful bellows. It’s groovy, crunchy stuff with balls aplenty and a chorus that really pops and sticks in the craw, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this came from some southern crew rather than 3 guys from New York. The goods keep coming on “Hallowed,” which is a bit more spacey and moody, but the hooks are there, and the riffs do most of the talking, as they should. There’s a vintage Monster Magnet vibe in its DNA, and the guitar work is quite agile and interesting, with moments of introspective melancholy effectively stirred into the brew. “Desolations Wake” is a big moment, taking a rocked-out, rowdy approach to entertainingly punchy places with hard-charging guitar work that reminds a lot of Freedom Hawk. It’s got enough machismo to put extra hair on your nethers and make you want to punch a boulder. This one is heading right to my fun in the sun playlist with a bullet.
Unfortunately, not everything Restless Spirit attempts is a home run, and while nothing here is bad, cuts like “Red in Tooth and Claw” feel a bit more generic and safe. While the nearly 7 minutes of “Time and Distance” pass pretty well thanks to the powerhouse guitar work and forceful vocals, it does feel a bit overlong by the end. The nearly 9-minute closer, “Phantom Pain,” features a 70s psych-rock flavor that reminds me of Wino’s solo material, and the laid-back, emotive guitars pair well with the rougher, heavy riffs. But the length isn’t entirely justified, and by the 6th minute, things start to feel too stretched out. At just over 40 minutes, tracks like these make Restless Spirit feel longer than it really is, despite a good amount of interesting ideas and solid performances across the board. On the good side, the production is vastly better than last time, feeling warm and bright. The guitars have the proper weight, and the drum sound is satisfyingly deep.
The center of the Restless Spirit universe is Paul Alosio. His riffs and emotive fretboarding provide the foundation for everything, and he’s quite adept at crafting powerful, sinuous leads that grab your attention. Since this kind of music lives and dies by the riffs, he’s the prime mover, and move you he will as he dabbles in 70s rock and borrows from the expected wellsprings like Black Sabbath and Kyuss. He pairs his leads with an effectively rough but melodic vocal approach, and he’s at his best here, delivering with gravitas and soul. Marc Morello backs him up with thick, fat basslines that rumble and quake in all the best ways, while kitman Jon Gusman pounds away with abandon and a keen sense of groove. This is a talented trio, but their mostly good works get partially undermined by occasionally inconsistent writing and a bloat outbreak on the album’s ass-end.
Restless Spirit is a lesser creature than Afterimage and Blood of the Old Gods, but when it hits the mark, it will leave a deep impression on your ears. It’s worth checking out though, and I’m still a big believer in what the future holds for Restless Spirit. Talent abides, and spirits lurk endlessly, after all. Hail the Isle of Long!
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye
Websites: restlessspirit.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/restlessspiritny | instagram.com/restlessspirit
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026
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