The Rock Blogger

Zebulon Pike . II: The Deafening Twilight . 2006. 4 stars .

A brilliant album from this underwritten Minnesota band. II: The Deafening Twilight is the epitome of progressive metal, somehow managing to capture the crushing bass rhythms and distortion of doom while still thundering forward with epically technical energy. Zubulon Pike are as awe-inspiring as post metal acts like Pelican or The Russian Circles, but they sound like they are having the most fun, changing tempos and reveling in fuzzed out riffs across these 5 monstrous songs, the longest being the 20 minute "Ashes of Xerxes, Breath of Titan".

The captivating pacing of this album is reason enough to give it a spin, as wiry guitar riffs spiral in tense, climatic cycles, evoking the dark astral sides of Isis and even Tool. There’s no vocals though, this is strictly an instrumental affair, making it a perfect metal album for post rock fans fond of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky.

Overall, a wickedly fast and complex effort that is able to maintain direction and energy across its psychedelic marathons. The album’s cataclysmic sound might become emotionally draining across its hour plus duration, so come into this album prepared for long and immersing trip.

Demon Cleaner from Welcome to Sky Valley, probably the greatest stoner rock album ever recorded.

Electric Wizard Witchcult Today. 2007 4.5 stars.

One hefty dose of sludgy stoner rock, England’s pot-addled Electric Wizard has concocted the infectious Witchcult Today, which is sure to stand as a new landmark for the genre. A mind-melting homage to the paranoid grooves and dark thematics of Black Sabbath, Witchcult Today immediately sucks you into shadowy psychedelic realms, alluding to the underground culture of 70’s B-Movies, pulp fiction and the occult.

A surprisingly accessible album, Witchcult Today features aggressive yet restrained vocals that do not sound as over-the top as most metal acts tend to verge toward. Speed here is not of the essence, as it is in Thrash and progressive metal, as Electric Wizard vie for a more relaxed, fuzzed out and hypnotic sound that allows you to space out to its slithering rythms.

A stoned masterpiece, I would even recommend this to those not accustomed to heavy music, as its trippy atmosphere and dynamics will be appealing to anyone who is the right ‘ahem’ state of mind…