ABDULLAH

Abdullah, a curious melodic doom/goth metal band that came out of Celeveland, Ohio. I really love their self-titled first album that came out in 1999. Listening to these guys is like a refreshing blast of cold air on a hot, muggy summer day...calm, cool, and still...their music really refreshes the mind. Their first album is incredible. Imagine the heavy deep synapse melting riffs of Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath and Trouble in their prime mixed with the melodic vocals and harmonies of Faith No More and King's X. Throw in a hefty dose of Sisters of Mercy worship (yes, you heard that right...never thought that doom metal and The Sisters could co-exist, eh?) What you have is one slow paced, dark, deep, melodic, and beautiful slab of doom. These guys take their time. This album has to creep up on you. You may not like it at first, but when it hits it hits hard.

Give Abdullah a listen. Their next album, "Graveyard Poetry" abandons the goth element and goes for a more fast paced New wave of British Heavy Metal feel but keeps the psych doom element intact. Their first album is my favorite. Get it first, then if you like what you hear, pick up "Graveyard Poetry". Both have just been re-released on Meteor City.

Saint Vitus: The End of the End

Christian Death: Skeleton Kiss

Some excellent goth/punk/doom from Christian Death's THE IRON MASK. Here's SKELETON KISS...absolutely untouchable. Akin to goth/punk meets Saint Vitus, THE IRON MASK is an album any self respecting doom fan should have in their collection.

SAINT VITUS: FEAR

Although I am partial to the Wino-era Saint Vitus, this song has become lodged in my brain for some reason. It's from 1992, from their "Children of Doom" album. Christian Linderrson is on vocals. No Wino by far, but impressive nonetheless. What a crushing riff! Masterful psych/doom. Going to have to give some of the post-Wino Saint Vitus a better chance. Here it is...."Fear".

Saint Vitus: I Bleed Black

I know I've posted plenty about Saint Vitus before, but the cold gloom strikes, and Vitus is it's perfect companion. Here's "I Bleed Black", from their album "V". The combination of crushing doom, psychedelic guitar work ripped from the bowels of hell, and Scott Weinrich's down to Earth vocals seem to calm me for some reason. Give this song a listen, and give this whole album a whirl for that matter. It emanates a vibe that remains unparalleled in all of hippie/doom-dom.

Tis the season...

Can't believe it's that time again. Putting up the tree, trying to get the shape right. It's artificial. Saint Vitus' "V" playing in the back ground. The house is full of gloom. Perfect for the holidays...for me anyway.

ELECTRIC WIZARD: WE LIVE

Electric Wizard's "We Live" (2004) is an underrated and often overlooked doom metal album. In 2000 Electric Wizard released "Dopethrone". It's power, intensity, and brilliance can most likely never be reached again. They out-doomed Black Sabbath. It was the heaviest doom metal album on the planet. Then came their very weak and disappointing 2002 follow-up "Let Us Prey". I think this album turned many fans off, leaving their great 2004 album "We Live" unnoticed.

"We Live" is a monumental effort in the world of stoner metal. It is very heavy, sludgy, droning, feedback laden, melodic, atmospheric doom...heavily psychedelic, very slow, but very listenable. Whereas their classic 'Dopethrone" relied on fuzz, distortion, shouted vocals, and a very low end speaker rattling element in it's sound, "We Live" is much more subtle, artful, and melodic. This is the kind of doom I like to listen to...like a cross between Saint Vitus and Godflesh in their prime. This album only has six songs and all are great. My two favorites are the maddening drone of "Eko Eko Azarak", and the black hole like depression of "Another Perfect Day" and "The Sun Has Turned to Black". Highly recommended. Exquisite doom.





Electric Wizard continue to produce great material. Their 2007 release "Witchcult Today" combines the more melodic aspects of "We Live" with the ugly fuzz of "Dopethrone" with brain damaging results. Also, the band is due to begin work on a new album as we speak.

SAINT VITUS: BORN TOO LATE

Here's a dead on Saint Vitus live performance of "Born Too Late". I feel like this at times...I like too much stuff that came out way before my time. Maybe I should have been born earlier than 1974...but that's ok. I'll just keep digging into the old music, movies, and books...never grow tired of them.

WITCHFINDER GENERAL: DEATH PENALTY

Witchfinder General is a band I just very recently discovered. They combine the energy and power of music coming out of The New Wave of British Heavy Metal with the doom and crushing riffs of 1970's era Black Sabbath. The only album I have of theirs so far is "Death Penalty, which was released in 1980. The production is a little muddled, but other than that, this a classic heavy metal album. Sometimes they sound a little too derivative of Black Sabbath but that is really not a problem because the energy level of the music is so high. Their vocals are extremely melodic, but for the most part the vocalist stays away from the high falsetto notes, staying in a mid-range Ozzy sort of vibe. The riffs are pure slabs of molten doom, revved up to a furious, heavy stoner metal pace, a la Kyuss' "Sky Valley". Witchfinder General also paved the way for early 1980's doom metal bands such as Saint Vitus and Trouble. Anyway, Witchfinder General's 'Death Penalty" comes highly recommended. Seven tracks, all heavy and no filler. I'm truly glad I stumbled upon this band, and hope to acquire more of their material soon.

WINO: SILVER LINING

Here's a thick slab of molten spacey doom...it 's the final and my favorite track from Scott "Wino" Weinrich's recently released solo album "Punctuated Equilibrium". Wino is the undisputed king of hippie/doom/biker metal. His legacy with Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, and The Obsessed is enough alone to give him that title. Without any further ado, here's "Silver Lining". Not a very flattering photo of Wino here but in some odd way it fits...

TROUBLE: MANIC FRUSTRATION

Ok. I know I've posted about Trouble twice on here already, but I have another incredible Trouble album, "Manic Frustration"(1992), that has to be mentioned here. "Manic Frustration" is Trouble's follow-up to their 1990 psych-doom metal self-titled classic. "Manic Frustration" brings Trouble's sound further into the mainstream. This is the perfect psychedelic metal album. It is not as visceral as their previous efforts. They rely almost completely on 1960's and 1970's psych rock, with their doomy Sabbath edge diminishing greatly. Their sound on this album is very starry-eyed and retro psychedelic rock, with more emphasis on rich, depressive harmonies and vocals. The songwriting is top notch, and every track is loaded with hooks that will be running through your head for years...this is the most accessible Trouble album ever. This one should have put them to the top of the charts, but it didn't. For long-time Trouble fans, this was a difficult release. It was more Bowie, Beatles, Cream and 1970's rock influenced and strayed away from their usual doom metal ways. They still packed a lethal punch, however. The riffs are heavy and crushing when they want to be. The faster paced songs such as "Come Touch the Sky" are relentless as ever. This is Trouble at their peak, still delivering their hippiefied message of peace, love, and doom underneath a barrage of potent, yet much more subtle riffing. Trouble's self-titled comeback album from 1990 is still my favorite, but this one is threatening to take its place.
Just as a little aside, if you were ever into grunge from the 1990's, give Trouble, Saint Vitus, and Pentagram a listen. Although I listened to some "grunge rock" in the early 1990's (Soundgraden, Nirvana, and Alice in Chains were not that bad), these guys are the real thing. The roots of grunge, the masters of the nasty, synapse melting riff....

Here's the video to "Memory's Garden"...



..and here's "'Scuse Me" and the gloomy, beautiful "Breathe".

Scuse Me - Trouble

Breath... - Trouble

Please note that "Manic Frustration" is dangeroulsy out of print, with high prices being asked for it. You can't go out and buy it, but you can listen to the whole thing for free here.

DAY TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS

I was out of town yesterday. My wife and I, one of our daughters and her boyfriend headed down to New Orleans. We had to get out, and I had not been to New Orleans since Katrina and I was anxious to visit my favorite city again. We got there around noon and walked the French Quarter all day. The city was surprisingly clean, as clean as New Orleans can get. I noticed a few things that were different since I've last been years ago. For one, there were quite a few vacant apartments and businesses. Also the only places that were packed were around the Cafe Dumond and The French Market. I also noticed that the streets that normally have heavy traffic such as Bourbon Street were quieter and emptier than usual. Nevertheless, New Orleans was almost back to it's old self, and I can't wait to go back. If all goes well, I'll be heading back down on April 11th to catch Saint Vitus at One-Eyed Jacks.

New Orleans has come a long way from Katrina. If you want to see a place that was hit the hardest, so hard it has yet to rebuild, visit Biloxi, MS. Along the miles long stretch along the beach, everything is wiped out. Where there once were houses and businesses as far as the eye could see, now there is nothing but vacant lots with for sale signs on them. Every now and then you will see a new condo or covenience store pop up, but that is about it. The only exception would be that they have rebuilt the casino area very well. It is very nice. Actually my wife and I visited there a few weeks ago. I hope that rest of the Biloxi beach area rebuilds in the same manner.

Anyway, that's it for now, and regular posting will resume tomorrow.

WINO'S "PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM"

Ok. It's rare these days that I get a new album or movie in my hands to review for you. With my wife and I's hours cut due to the economy, we don't have much extra cash to spare on luxury items. I have a huge backlog of music and movies from my years and years of collecting to review for you here, so don't worry, I will never run out of material. It is nice though when I have something that is new to me to review for you, and yesterday I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up Wino's brand new album "Punctuated Equilibrium".

"Punctuated Equilibrium" is without a doubt Wino's best work since he left Saint Vitus. Don't get me wrong, The Obsessed and Spirit Caravan are still great, but there is something about this album that is more exceptionally focused and well executed than his other efforts. "Punctuated Elibrium" is the perfect psych/hippie/doom metal album. It is an addictive brew mixed with equal parts Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead, Hawkwind, and Helios Creed. Wino's guitar playing is incredible. He is the master of the ungodly, sinister, earth moving, almighty riff. His guitar solos channel all kinds of psychedelic demons. There are evil, hip shaking, head banging grooves all over the place. Nasty sounding, grungy, spacey chords abound. The sparse use of keybaords here and there is nice. Wino's Lemmy meets Ozzy vocals are in top form. The songwriting is tight and loaded with hooks. What is surprising about this record is Wino's foray into space rock on some of the tracks towards the end such as "Wild Blue Yonder". Helios or Hawkwind couldn't have done it any better. The longer, spacey instrumental tracks (there are only a few) are just as strong as the songs with vocals. There is not a weak moment on here. If you're into Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, or into doom/hippie/stoner/psychedelic metal in any form go out and pick this one up now. It will not disappoint.

Here's "Release Me", the opening track. Enjoy, you gotta pick this one up.

Saint Vitus Coming To New Orleans

The classic doom metal band Saint Vitus is going to be in New Orleans at One Eyed Jacks on April 11, playing their only United States show. They are reunited with Wino on vocals. After this show they are playing the Roadburn Festival in Europe. I've got to get to New Orleans to see them. It's rare enough that Saint Vitus is playing so close to home, but even rarer that they are back with Wino after many many years. You can buy advance tickets here. I can't wait to see them.

SAINT VITUS

Saint Vitus. A legendary psychedelic doom metal band whose best moments(to me) were in the mid to late 1980's . Their three best albums are "Born Too Late"(1987), "Mournful Cries"(1988), and "V"(1989). Their sound is very Black Sabbath oriented, with a dose of Black Flag and a heavy dose of psychedelia thrown into the mix. The tempos are agonizingly slow yet hypnotic...they reach a nice head banging mid-pace every now and then. The guitar playing is thick, sludgy, and heavy, with guitar solos that conjure up the darkest psychedelic demons from the depths of hell. Scott "Wino" Weinrich's vocals owe some debt to Ozzy, but they also have a rough and reflective edge. Saint Vitus's influence on stoner metal as well as as doom/goth metal is tremendous. Bands ranging from the psych/space rock of Monster Magnet to the gloomy, acid laden goth rock of Christian Death(with Rozz Williams) to the superbly crafted doom of Electric Wizard owe a heavy debt to their work.

Saint Vitus never achieved commercial success. They stayed true to their sound and roots, and maintained a loyal cult following. Their vocalist Wino left the band and formed The Obsessed and later Spirit Caravan. Saint Vitus continued to make music for many years in different incarnations.

Here's the slow, title track from their first album with Wino, "Born Too Late". A hippie metal anthem. The album is a raw, sludge laden masterpiece.


Here's "Dragon Time" from "Mournful Cries", hands down the gloomiest album of the three.


And here's "Ice Monkey" and "I Bleed Black" from "V", my personal favorite CD of theirs.

SPIRIT CARAVAN-"The Last Embrace"

Spirit Caravan. Anybody out there ever heard of this band? They are led by ex-Saint Vitus and Obsessed singer Scott "Wino" Weinrich. Like the two bands he came from, they are doomy stoner metal, but Spirit Caravan has a more unique sound than the other two. Filled with earth-moving riffs and grooves, a small dose of Sabbath worship, and gloomy introspective vocals, Spirit Caravan were a band to be reckoned with. The songs are mostly mid-paced so they don't fall in the same rut of sludge as some other doom metal bands. The best way to describe them would be to imagine a cross between the heavy, early Soundgarden and Motorhead.

"The Last Embrace" is a sprawling two-disc set covering most of Spirit Caravan's short but fruitful career. It's a good place to start if you're curious.

Here's "Healing Tongue" and "Cosmic Artifact". Enjoy!