The Obsessed: Brother Blue Steel

Wino is the only way to go...the superbly heavy first track from The Obsessed's 1991 album "Lunar Womb." Nothing better. Enjoy.

The Obsessed: Back To Zero

An excellent Obsessed song from LUNAR WOMB. Long live Wino.

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...

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.

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!