Crowbar - Symmetry In Black (2014)

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Crowbar - Symmetry In Black (2014)

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For many a fan of influential NOLA sludge outfit Crowbar, the band has certainly come a long way from being deemed “slow and fat” by MTV’s Beavis and Butthead (or not, depending on what you consider a high-water mark). Regardless, even way back then, the high school duo nailed it (or Mike Judge did). Crowbar’s style is often slow, and their sound, well, it’s often pretty fat, consisting of big doomy notes and great chugging chords. It’s a high-calorie recipe, for sure, and one that these four chefs have continued to dabble with and deliver in hot steaming profusion. The follow-up to 2011’s solid Sever the Wicked Hand, Crowbar’s latest is Symmetry in Black, a record that writes in a considerably bluer tone as frontman Kirk Windstein and company have penned an album plashed with doom inflection.

When you’re a band that have been making records as long as Crowbar have – going on 23 years – and that are as forthright about their genre and their artistic focus as any, no one should be expecting the stars. In that regard, however, Symmetry in Black exceeds expectations. The band’s template has stayed consistent – sandwich bouts of extreme chugging with brooding guitar lines and Windstein’s trademark yells – and Symmetry in Black does witness the same, but it also harbors an elite production and a structural pace that works far better than Sever the Wicked Hand, an album that bled out a little fast and which now seems to exist as a style prep to this latest dose of broiling and reflective might. The sheer density of the production is the first indicator that Crowbar have no intention of taking their heels off your throat; opener “Walk with Knowledge Wisely” kicks like a mule with its thundering drums and its immovable main verse. And the second tell that no white flags were used (only harmed) in the making of Symmetry in Black: the guitar work of Windstein and Matthew Brunson. Playing with baleful fluidity reminiscent of Jerry Cantrell or Tony Iommi, the duo conjure up impressively stark and unpleasant melodies on “Symmetry in White” and “The Foreboding,” the former also housing some impressive vocal work from Windstein.

Standout tracks like “Ageless Decay” and “Shaman of Belief” and the rollicking “Teach the Blind to See” are definitely curb-stompers, but the majority of shades on Symmetry in Black point to a decidedly bluer vibe; not pitiful or sad, mind you; simply one that’s addressed with more of an exacting soul, confirmation that Windstein’s unleashing his demons with far greater care and deftness. The sixth track “Amaranthine” is probably the most despondent of the lot, although a track like “Reflection of Deceit” should give it a run for its money thanks to its weeping guitar lines and low shuddering bass. Always known as a sludge band, Crowbar have never felt as doom as they do with Symmetry in Black. With one of the heaviest and most emotionally exhausting discographies in existence, Symmetry in Black fits the mold. Crowbar continues down the road few dare to travel, weary, pissed, doomed, and still packing one hell of a punch.

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