A CATACLYSMIC CLOSE
by drew
About a month ago, I was starting to think about writing my year end music column
for roadburn. It seemed that outside of a pretty good crop of records, there
wasn't a whole lot to talk about. Then came the Dimebag Darrell shooting.
After digesting that for a few days, I started thinking about a new column
focussing on the career of Dimebag and fan obsessions in general.
Then came the tsunami. Now I don't know what to say, other than to express my
horror at the aftermath and to extend Roadburn's deepest sympathies to all
those millions of people affected by the tragedy.
Something so cataclysmic really puts the mundane little world of rock music
into perspective. It forces you to think about the horror of having
your home destroyed, your water poisoned, your land poisoned and your
family killed. The devastation cannot be understated. Please give whatever you
can to international aid organizations to help.
As for the Dimebag slaying, that too was pretty horrific. Here was a guy
simply playing a rock and roll gig, and some psychopath comes onto
the stage and shoots him five times in the head. As if that wasn't enough, later
news reports start indicating that the psychopath was an ex-marine who had been
discharged for "undisclosed" reasons and that he was a Pantera fan who was
pissed that Dimebag and his brother Vinnie Paul broke up Pantera to form Damageplan [the
band playing when the murder occurred].
What the fuck? I mean seriously, what the fuck? First off, there is evidence
to suggest that the guy wasn't 100% psychologically sound, so how the hell does
he get to carry a gun? What was the club security doing by letting a gun toting
maniac in the place? Who the hell gets that worked about a band to do
something that insane? What the fuck is going on? People need to chill out. Now.
Then there was music. Pretty hard to give a shit about that, but that's what
we're here for, so here goes...
It was a solid year for Stoner Rock. It seems like the growth spurt of the last
few years has levelled off and a lot of mediocre bands fell from
notice. What was left was a nice mix of good newcomers like Witchcraft, Unearthly Trance, Orodruin
and The Eternal [amongst others].
Old favorites also delivered the goods, witness the fine records from Electric
Wizard, Clutch, Mastodon, Isis, The Melvins [with Lustmord] and Ufomammut.
Also worth mention are the great comeback records in 2004, with solid entries from
Valis and Blood Farmers taking center stage there. I should make a distinction
between the two, since the Valis is a new release and the Blood Farmers was made up
of old unreleased material from the past. Reports are that the Blood Farmers are
recording new material now though, which is fantastic news for us old time fans.
For me the records of the year are Ufomammut's "Snailking", Witchcraft's "S/T" and Electric
Wizard's "We Live." I just couldn't decide between the slithering psychedelic
doom of Ufomammut, the late 60's Sabbath / Roky Erikson revival of
Witchcraft and amazingly talented new Electric Wizard. I guess if I had
to choose one, it would be the Electric Wizard album for the amazing musical
growth of one of my favorite bands.
Witchcraft's impact was slightly lessened because I have had the 7" for two years and
have been desparately waiting to hear more of their music, [talk about a blast
from the past... there is no way that band is from the 2000's - they are actually
from the 60's and somehow got access to a time machine].
The same fate befalls Ufomammut, whose totally amazing record is not an appreciable
improvement on their first [and also totally amazing] record. From a sheer musical
achievement standpoint, I have to take the time to laud the Melvins / Lustmord "Pigs of the Roman
Empire" and Isis "Panopticon." Both records are incredible examples of
the nearly limitless boundaries of heavy music. Both should be mandatory
listening for all fans of the genre... long live rock.
Hoping for a more sedate 2005...
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