Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time, a little too late to really appreciate the 60s. There was some killer music and there was that whole free love thing. But then I think about the personal hygiene of hippies and thank my lucky stars I wasn’t exposed to any of those people at that time. All the hippies I know are now bitter technical writers and school teachers, and society has forced them to bathe regularly. The point is that there is a resurgence of psychedelic rock but without the hippies. Everybody wins.Spiralarms brings a rich, guitar-heavy brand of rock that echos later psychedelic rock as it began to cross over into the metal world in the early 70s. This was a time when UFO, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple carved out their space. Naturally, playing the way these guys do places them into the stoner rock silo, whether or not they want to be. However, I think these guys have enough talent to escape genre labels. Spiralarms is made of Tim Narducci (vocals and guitar; formerly of Systematic), Craig Locicero (guitar; also of Demonica and Forbidden), Greg Narducci (guitar), Cornbread (bass and vocals), Brad Barth (keyboards), and Ron Redeen (drums).Highest Society is one of those rare debuts of such significant quality it’s destined to be a classic. It reminded me of Pearl Jam’s Ten in that I immediately knew I was listening to something special, important, and trend-setting.The opener, “Later On”, sets the record’s mood, which is a big sound buttressed by classic riffs, solid percussion, and outstanding vocals. All of the songs support Spiralarms’ style of mashed-up 70s psychedelic metal, stoner rock, and pseudo-grunge. “Live Another Day” and “Bottom Rung” effectively use echo for a spacey, retro feel. “Bottom Rung” also sounds as if Locicero and Narducci are channeling Jimmy Page but without trying to imitate him.“Year of the Broken Man” sounds as if Leslie West of Mountain opens the track; this is a great song and worth the price of the album alone. I also pick up on other more modern influences here and there. “All That You Seek” is another stand-out track with its Lenny Kravitz vibe. “Got It All Wrong” has a little Black Crowes while “Shakedown the Preacher” has a lot of Soundgarden. It’s also significant to note that Narducci sounds eerily similar to Jeff Keith of Tesla and there are points where I think Tesla is also an influence.Spiralarms know their music well and have funneled their influences into a finely-crafted album. It’s becoming one of my favorites of the year. This album is significant. Hippies are not.