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Crowbar: Time heals nothing
04/05/09 || Daemonomania
Y’all know Crowbar at this point, I assume? If not…well I think it’s best if we stop seeing each other, m’kay? Greeeeeaaaat. They carved out their own unique sound in 1989 and have been pumping out Cajun-spiced doomcore ever since. This 1995 slice is a fine example thereof. Consider that our breakup note.
Crowbar reminds me of Amon Amarth – not because the two bands sound even remotely alike – but because they both release disc after disc of quality, even if they stick to a particular formula whilst doing so. And for the uninitiated (whose hearts I have just broken), Crowbar’s formula includes big ole riffs that hearken back to Sabbathian times, in ya face bass, powerful Eyehategodian drumming, and an odd vocal combination of Layne Staley and Lemmy. Or at least that’s what I hear when I contemplate Kirk’s massive, uh, voice. To add to their sound further, the ‘Bars ain’t afraid to toss the greasy salads of hardcore, Southern rock, and sludge either. I guess they kinda defined sludge too, but to me sludge is defined by feedback and pain. Crowbar’s cleaner than that.
“Time heals nothing” is a damn good one in a discography full of damn good ones. I would Class 6(66) it, but as an album it just can’t measure up to the majesty of “Sonic excess in its purest form.” Sweet deep-fried Jesus is the latter a monster. On THN, the band’s production wasn’t quite as booming or as wrecking-ball heavy, there was a greater kinship to hardcore and less to doom, and the pacing and order of the songs just aren’t as masterful. In this reviewer’s humble and ever-correct opinion, they will never top SEIIPF.
Not to say that “Time heals syphilis” is a bad album, and I highly recommend it. “The only factor,” “Through a wall of tears,” “Embracing emptiness,” and “Numb sensitive” all deserve a spot in Gaybar’s greatest hits (though they all didn’t get one). This is the perfect soundtrack to put on a straw hat, catch you some catfish, and then wonder why you’re drinking/drugging yourself to death. For some this all might seem to drawn-out, too slow, and many have an issue with Kirk’s singing. To those folks I say – didn’t I already dump your ass?
THey got a cool classical-looking thing for the cover here as well. Some spirit dudes and some Greek pedestals and some chains and some huge problem that is totally not being healed by time. I hate to disagree, but time does heal some things. Like mild injuries, hangovers, and this festering sore we call life. Time heals the fuck outta that one.
Enough rambling. Buy the album right now, and with the right amount of grovelling old DaEMO just might take you back.
8 deliveries of flowers and my job and 10 sad, sad late night phone calls later, that is.
- Information
- Released: 1995
- Label: Pavement
- Website: www.crowbarmusic.com
- Band
- Kirk Windstein: vocals, guitars
- Todd Strange: bass
- Craig Nunenmacher: drums
- Matt Thomas: guitars
- Tracklist
- 01. The Only Factor
- 02. No More Can We Crawl
- 03. Time Heals Nothing
- 04. Leave It Behind
- 05. Through a Wall of Tears
- 06. Lack of Tolerance
- 07. Still I Reach
- 08. Embracing Emptiness
- 09. A Perpetual Need
- 10. Numb Sensitive
