|
Rating:
8.3 |
Shrinebuilder - Shrinebuilder
27 October 2009
01. Solar Benediction
02. Pyramid Of The Moon
03. Blind For All To See
04. The Architect
05. Science Of Anger
All-Star bands are a lot like All-Star sports teams. When you throw a bunch of all-star caliber musicians together, the expectations are ridiculously high, and the squad will either mesh together and produce something wonderful, or feature a bunch of "me first!" egocentric individuals who absolutely and catastrophically fail to come together and produce utter mediocrity. Or worse.
Shrinebuilder, comprised of Al Cisneros (Om, formerly with Sleep) on bass, Dale Crover (Melvins) on drums, Scott Kelly (Neurosis) and Scott "Wino" Weinrich (Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Obsessed and others) sharing guitar duties certainly qualify as an All-Star band. Each of these men has played integral roles in groundbreaking, trailblazing acts.
Fortunately, with Shrinebuilder, or WiNeurOmsis, as I have jokingly taken to calling them, all the pieces come together. Each of the musicians brings their own signature style to the table for this sonic feast. Scott Kelly's earthquake-inducing riffs, Wino's doomy stylings, leads and melodies, Al's tripped out lyrics and roving bass lines, all backed by Dale's fluid and fitting drum work. Additionally, Wino's soulful vocals, Scott's bestial roar, and Al's chanting style vocals all make appearances as well.
It's a giant stoner-doom-sludge gumbo.
While Cisneros might have been the lyrical contributor, most of the song structure and creation fell to the guitar wielding, riff generating Scotts. The interplay is enjoyable - egos were checked at the door and when one takes lead the other is content to play within their framework. You can pretty much instantly pick apart who contributed what. But it all works out, as songs do shift between the distinctive styles of the members.
For example, the first half of "The Architect" is clearly Wino's riff, and he takes vocal duties… then suddenly at roughly the halfway point of the track, Scott Kelly comes crashing in with a pummeling riff and his powerful vocals, before culminating with Wino playing a fantastic sounding lead over Kelly's crushing work, followed be a cessation of riffing/guitar allowing Cisneros to take center stage with a really trippy bass riff that is alien to the song, yet somehow fits.
Each of the songs shares similar ebbs and flows between styles, quiet mellow moments, crushing riffs, soulful leads, you can't really listen to one entire track and not pick out the elements of all those involved at various points. Perhaps the coolest sound bit in the album is the last couple minutes of "Pyramid of the Moon" which features Cisneros chanted vocals, with Scott Kelly and Wino playing a great riff which brings a lot of muscle that is not found in Al's drum and bass Om.
Finally Dale Crover, whose name has not come up much prior to now, deserves accolades for his performance - shifting to match the style of the riff creator, adding a little extra oomph when Kelly's gargantuan riffs are played to finding a way to just groove during the spacier Cisneros inspired passages. There was not a lot of "look at me" going on, but a great job to augment what was being played.
While it's not altogether groundbreaking in and of itself, and once you've heard the first couple songs of the five track, nearly 40 minute album you won't be surprised by any huge left turns, the truth is it's four guys with their own distinct styles who found a way to make it all work. And work well. If you are a fan of one or more of their full-time bands, it's definitely worth checking out.
|
Performance:
|
9 |
|
Songwriting:
|
8 |
|
Originality:
|
8 |
|
Production:
|
9 |
|
|
Written on 17.11.2009 by
BitterCOld
BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009.
|
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
|
| Comments: |
25
|
|
|
Users visited:
|
223 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Once again brilliant cover artwork by JOsh Graham |
|
|
|
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.11.2009 at 21:47
Once again brilliant cover artwork by JOsh Graham
Wow...You can say that again...it's almost...awe-inspiring... |
|
|
|
| Wow, good review. I'm going to buy the vinyl for sure! |
|
 Jeff - 18.11.2009 at 12:12
|
|
|
Apparently, they're amazing live!  |
|
|
|
| I have to get my hands on this one^^ |
|
 Elio - 18.11.2009 at 15:41
|
|
|
Written by Metal Maiden on 18.11.2009 at 08:47
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.11.2009 at 21:47
Once again brilliant cover artwork by JOsh Graham
Wow...You can say that again...it's almost...awe-inspiring...
Yeah, I actually clicked on the review cause the artwork inspired me and now I want to hear the album too! |
|
|
|
I also clicked on the review just because the artwork was so beautiful. And damn... Just knowing that some members are from Neurosis and Melvins is enough to make me check out this stuff.
Pyramid Of The Moon sounds very nice. |
|
|
|
"It's a giant stoner-doom-sludge gumbo."
Yes it is, and a very tasty one at that. Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this one. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Ag Fox on 18.11.2009 at 20:18
hi-res version of the artwork
Thanks, that looks so immensely cool. I really do have to order the vinyl version of the albu because of the artwork. |
|
|
|
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 18.11.2009 at 20:23
Written by Ag Fox on 18.11.2009 at 20:18
hi-res version of the artwork
Thanks, that looks so immensely cool. I really do have to order the vinyl version of the albu because of the artwork.
no worries. the review and the artwork makes me really looking forward to gearing the music  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yeah.. the artwork is the reason why im checking this out after all, since im not all into this genre.
Remember kids, always judge by the cover  |
|
|
|
Written by Metal Maiden on 18.11.2009 at 08:47
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 17.11.2009 at 21:47
Once again brilliant cover artwork by JOsh Graham
Wow...You can say that again...it's almost...awe-inspiring...
 indeed |
|
|
|
| Music turns out to be as promising as the cover |
|
|
|
Written by Jeff on 18.11.2009 at 12:12
Apparently, they're amazing live!
You know what to do now, right? |
|
|
|
| This album is pretty good. Funny thing is that despite all their bands can be lumped up under "sludge/stoner doom", every one has a pretty distinct style and yet it all comes out nicely in the end. I hope they continue this project. If they can further develop their interplay, the next album will be quite promising. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Thought. on 27.03.2010 at 23:37
Best live show EVARRR
Will be seeing them live in about two weeks time. |
|
|
|
Surprised at the positive comments for the artwork on this one; it's pretty tacky, naff and poorly made (right click, view image / open in new tab etc)
Bad photoshopping. Then again, looking at other Josh Graham artwork they're all pretty ghastly. |
|
|
|
Written by !J.O.O.E.! on 12.11.2012 at 21:13
Bad photoshopping. Then again, looking at other Josh Graham artwork they're all pretty ghastly.
The only one I actually like is for Neurosis' Given To The Rising because he toned it down and kept it simple. |
|
|
|
| Well maybe it is photoshopped, but it gives off a weird aura I really like about it. Can't say I am a huge fan of his artworks either though. I like the artwork for Eye of Every Storm and the first A Storm Of Light album as well but that is about it. |
|
|
|
Written by Mr. Doctor on 12.11.2012 at 21:36
The only one I actually like is for Neurosis' Given To The Rising because he toned it down and kept it simple.
That one is pretty decent. Not exactly spectacular or anything, just a good photograph. |
|
|
|
Written by !J.O.O.E.! on 12.11.2012 at 21:41
That one is pretty decent. Not exactly spectacular or anything, just a good photograph.
I really like the rest of it though.
EDIT: Actually... you can just see the whole thing here. |
|
|
|
Written by Mr. Doctor on 12.11.2012 at 21:44
I really like the rest of it though.
EDIT: Actually... you can just see the whole thing here.
Looks ok from that picture, but then again so does the artwork of this band when it's small : P |
|
Advertise on Metal Storm
|
Similar topics
Hits total: 5824 | This month: 43 |
