Well its safe to say this is the most eagerly awaited album of 2009,the amount of hype surrounding this Stoner/Doom super group as been phenomenal.The question is how good is it and has the wait been worth it.The answer is yes although being only five tracks long,i am now dying for the band to go record again(sorry dudes).The band is full of legends and masters of their craft, Scott Kelly (Neurosis) and Scott “Wino” Weinrich (The Obsessed, The Hidden Hand, Wino) on guitar, Al Cisneros (OM, Sleep) on bass and Dale Crover (Melvins, Altamont) on drums.A amazing line-up indeed and i think these guys couldn't produce something bad even if they tried.While the members of the band have their own personal styles,they have somehow blended their influences and created something that sounds very natural and distinctly their own." Solar Benediction" opens the CD and is a wandering ambient track but the album really gets going on "Pyramid Of The Moon".The crushing Doom riffage is present just as we wanted it to be and the vocals by Kelly have a nasty edge to them,while the track is kind of standard fare in the Doom/Stoner writing handbook,its also a powerful piece on the album."Blind For All To See" obliviously has Al Cisneros influence all over it,the most Om sounding track on the album.It starts with bass before the drumming kicks in and heads off into a mellow/psychedelic direction.Some great psychedelic guitar work weaves its way through the song before it moves back to the bass,it then repeats itself till the end of the track."The Architect" is up next and is the most straightforward and accessible track on the CD,Wino comes to the party on this one.Sounding like a throwback to the Hidden Hand days.While this track is the most accessible,its also the strongest track on the album for my tastes.The track features some killer solo's before ending with a bass outro which i assume sets up things for the final track " Science Of Anger" which is missing off the promo copy.A bit strange that they should do that but can't complain too much,from the tracks i have got it proves to be a very good release.I think the best thing to do is not get too obsessed by the supergroup hype and listen to it as just another band.If you do this,you will love the album.Now i need to hear that missing track and hopefully another recording very soon.I hope the band and line-up stick around for a while yet because they have the potential to make some of the most powerful and timeless Stoner/Doom/Sludge recordings ever.Time will tell if that happens but for now this album will be in most people's top albums of 2009 lists.Thanks must go out to a buddy of mine who sent me his promo copy,the record company releasing this wouldn't answer my emails !Keep in mind this promo copy is one track short but i will give it 8.5/10 for the moment at least.
Posts
lucky bastard
ReplyDelete