ACID YANTRA

SUN DIAL is the long running project of Gary Ramon out of England. Releasing his debut in 1990, he has created about a dozen studio albums including his most recent in 2023. Ramon has his own studio and record label so he knows his way around a recording studio, and he's a multi-instrumentalist and composer. Looking through those dozen albums the only time I see the same lineup twice is when it's Gary all by himself a couple times. A lot of the same names though appear over the last almost 35 years. A trio here of bass, drums and guitar basically with Ramon adding mellotron and tone generator.

I consider myself a huge fan of Psychedelia, and for SUN DIAL to have no less than three studio albums in my "best of" Psychedelic list is impressive. Those include that 1990 debut "Other Way Out", plus his 1993 record "Return Journey", and my favourite from 2016 "Made In The Machine". I have half of his studio albums, and have given the other three records 3 stars including the one I'm reviewing today "Acid Yantra" from 1995. That year would prove significant for Ramon releasing not only this studio album but his first live record called "Live Drug".

Gary would then go on an extended hiatus as far as his own music goes and focus on other people's albums in his own studio before returning with "Zen For Sale" in 2003, eight years later! I feel that comeback album is better than this one, more inspired, although I am in the minority with those feelings. The biggest difference for me between "Acid Yantra" and the previous one "Return Journey" is that they have really slowed things down here, filling the album with distorted guitar expressions. Like I said, just not inspired in my opinion. I miss the energy of that previous record.

There's mellotron on a couple of tracks including mellotron flutes on the closer "Yantra Jam". "3,000 Miles Away" is my favourite. And it starts out spacey before reserved vocals, strummed guitar, bass and drums take over. A lot of attitude on "Bad Drug" not so surprisingly, especially with the vocals. "Fly Into The Sun" is another highlight with that relaxed guitar and percussion before it builds with distorted guitar and vocals leading. This is a good album, but it's hard not to compare it to his best, and I feel this doesn't measure up to those. A break was probably due anyways as Ramon had released five studio albums and a live one all in the first half of the 90's before that break.