Posts Tagged ‘om’

Roadburn’s Album of the Decade: Electric Wizard – Dopethrone

Posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

The votes are in, the points have been awarded and the math has been done. More than 150 of you have taken the time to forward your Top 10 list for the Roadburn Album of the Decade.

Here then is your list (and a stunning list it is). It seems that some bands suffered because they had several good albums in the decade, like High on Fire, Neurosis or Mastodon, but champions Electric Wizard did not suffer from multiple great releases and in the end stood above all the contenders. Their magnum opus Dopethrone was mentioned the most, got the most points and clearly deserved to win. Not satisfied with the top spot, they also had the number 3 album of the decade with Witchcult Today.
Neurosis was the only other band to place two different records on the list, holding spot number 2 with Given to the Rising and number 8 with Eye of Every Storm.

Needless to say, we at Roadburn are very proud that we have had both bands at our festival (listen back to their appearances here (Electric Wizard) and here (Neurosis).

ROADBURN TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE DECADE:

Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

01.Electric Wizard – Dopethrone, 2000 (298)

“How do you review one of the best records you’ve ever heard? That is the challenge that  Dopethrone has presented me with. It is so hard to tell whether an album sounds good in the short term, or whether it will stand the test of time. Luckily, you can look back to the last Electric Wizard full-length Come My Fanatics… and see how that has lasted. Quite nicely, it turns out. Four years have not diminished its potency or impact. Dopethrone maintains all the good things from Fanatics… and then makes it all… well, better. There is just MORE Electric Wizard-ness packed in. Enough to convince me that Dopethrone is an all-time classic.

What is Electric Wizard-ness? It is the primal opposition of different elements: super-saturated distortion next to drugged-out ambient spaces; minimal bpm’s pitted against edge-of-sanity vocals; “essence of Iommi” riffs versus subharmonic drone. It is also a feeling, an atmosphere of sociopathic danger and bleak despair fused with the comforting warmth of fuzz. It’s the uncertainty of taking heavy drugs and the euphoria of a good trip. It is density and space. Darkness and light. Basic, visceral elements translated into music.

In truth, that is exactly what this record is. The band went into the studio with rough outlines of songs, but left the final product up to spontaneous creation. And created the complex simplicity of Dopethrone. Or is it simply complex?

One of the interesting things about Dopethrone is that it nullifies all the normal criteria for judging records. Does it have great songs? Irrelevant. The album is great. Does it have excellent musicianship? Not applicable. The instruments work together as an organic whole. Is it well-produced? Again, not applicable. The sound is a function of the playing. The atmosphere simultaneously creates and is created by the music. This is one seamless unit. This is the dopethrone. Kneel before your liege lord… and inhale deeply” — Drew Webster, Roadburn 2000.

02.Neurosis – Given to the Rising, 2007 (177)
03.Electric Wizard – Witchcult Today, 2007 (144)
04.Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf, 2002  (130)
05.Om – Conference of the Birds, 2006 (124)
06.Celtic Frost – Monotheist, 2006 (123)
07.Mastodon – Leviathian, 2004 (120)
08.Neurosis – In the Eye of every Storm, 2004 (110)
09.Isis – Oceanic, 2002 (97)
10.Wolves in the Throne Room – Two Hunters, 2007 (94)

Also in contention:

Clutch – Blast Tyrant
Sleep – Dopesmoker
Melvins – A  senile Animal
Sunn o))) – Black One | Monoliths & Dimensions
Witchcraft -  S/T
Jesu - S/T

The rules again:

-     Only discs released between 1-1-2000 and 31-12-2009 counted

-     Roadburn related

-     Number 1 gets 10 points, number 10 gets 1 point

-      Only one disc per artist

-      No re-issues

For our personal lists, please go HERE.

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Posted in Album of the Day, News, Playlists, Roadburn Recommended | 8 Comments »

OM’s Al Cisneros on: Shrinebuilder, OM and Sleep.

Posted on Monday, November 23rd, 2009

JJ Kozcan of The Obelisk recently conducted an interview with OM ’s Al Cisneros. Cisneros, fresh back in California from a few days spent in Austin, TX, following the last of the five shows on Shrinebuilder’s run, confirmed that writing has already begun for a fifth Om record and a ...read more

OM: live recordings available for download

Posted on Sunday, October 18th, 2009

On the eternal quest towards enlightenment, OM played Europa, NYC  on 10/11 as part of a four band bill that included Ben Chasny solo project Six Organs of Admittance, Lichens, and Naam.
Though Om is traditionally a duo, the new  direction on God is Good sees the band going outside of ...read more

Playlist: September (Walter)

Posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Obviously, we need good music on the stereo while we are busy putting together the 2010 edition of the festival. Be on the lookout for updates from time to time on what’s spinning on the Roadburn turntable, CD player and Winamp player (And if you are on Last.fm, come join ...read more

The Obelisk reviews Shrinebuilder’s self-titled debut album

Posted on Saturday, September 12th, 2009

The Obelisk, easily one of the very best stonerrock related blogs has reviewed Shrinebuilder’s self-titled debut album:
It’s hard not to feel like you’re standing in the presence of greatness when listening to Shrinebuilder’s self-titled debut (Neurot), and likewise difficult to separate the music from those making it. In that ...read more

OM: new track available for download

Posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009

A new OM song, ‘Cremation Ghat II’ is now available for download at this location (courtesy of Stereogum)
According to Stereogum, “Judging from the instrumental lead track ‘Cremation Ghat II’,  Amos isn’t the only new element mixed into the psychedelic bass-and-drum duo’s arsenal. The collection crystallizes a Middle Eastern-vibe detected amid the ...read more

Album of the day: OM – God Is Good

Posted on Monday, September 7th, 2009

Lovingly pinched from Stonerrock.com: It’s irrational, I know, but when a band I like loses half of its original members, I tend to get a little worried. It’s not as if there’s a proven mathematical formula that separates creative from uncreative, good from bad, but after a certain point, I ...read more

Album of the day: Holy Sons – Drifters Sympathy

Posted on Monday, August 24th, 2009

Lovingly pinched from Strangeglue: This record came out back a while, I wanted to review it but I didn’t find a copy until just the other day. Emil Amos (who is Holy Sons) is also a member of Grails, a band I love.
In the video interview posted below (courtesy of ...read more

Artwork and tracklist Shrinebuilder album revealed

Posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Finally, the artwork and track listing for the highly anticipated Shrinebuilder debut album, due in October via Neurot Recordings have been unveiled.
According to a press release, the CD is “a powerful culmination of its members’ distinct styles that coalesce into an entity of its own. Comprised of five epic passages ...read more

Holy Sons Emil Amos interviewed by Spectrum Culture

Posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009

Nathan Kamal of Spectrum Culture conducted an interview with Emil Amos (of Grails and OM-fame) about his solo project entitled Holy Sons, his other projects, his parents and film tastes. An excerpt from the chat follows below.
Spectrum Culture: Holy Sons is a solo project of yours -you play ...read more

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