Stereochrist
Dead River Blues
6.3
Someone is buying a shitload of stonermetal albums. It's hard to believe, but we get quite a few of these things creeping into our "to be reviewed" area. Far more than you might think. And yet I can't think of anyone that actually admits to listening to them. (Of course this means that forty lashes in a row will be from people who do. It's like farting in your cubicle just before the attractive person you fantasize about comes wandering in...magic!) I have to tell you, I have heard this record about a million times since I was born. I stopped paying attention a long time ago, but this record keeps coming back. And now that I get to review records I am confronted with it, like it or not.
So, what do you want to know? Slow to mid paced, very Blue Cheer/Sabbath riffs with acceptably off kilter drumming and ominous sounding vocals. It's honestly not anything you aren't expecting when I write "stonermetal". Anachronistic, Iommi/Ward worshipping, potentially exciting but tripped up by the insistence on remaining true to a particular style of Sabbath song. Sometimes I wonder if these bands ever heard shit like "The Writ"; something equally heavy, equally Sabbath, but not simply "Supernaut" over and over again. Oh, wait, I guess they have checked out some of Zakk Wylde's shit...but isn't that the same thing?
Musicianship is perfectly adequate to do this. No player stands out. The vocalist seems to have a good sensibility about his impact on a given song, but then he has had many performers to learn from. The production is crisp and clear, so you can smell all the resin and feel the basement dampness.
Bottom Line: if they are going to keep putting this record out I am happy they at least take care to make it sound good on my stereos. Nothing worse than a bad copy of an old record. Now, if you like stonermetal then this is another decent release. It's not challenging or innovative or amazing, but it does rock. If you are not a stonermetal fan I can't believe you read this whole thing.
