Artist: Electric Wizard
Label: Music Cartel
Release Date: 1/16/01
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Title: Dopethrone Artist: Electric Wizard Label: Music Cartel Release Date: 1/16/01 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
Okay, to all of you doom/stoner metal bands out there, if you don’t want to be categorized as hippie pot heads, don’t name your album with the word dope in it. However, I don’t think that Electric Wizard minds that tag at all. And they shouldn’t because they’ve come out with an album that makes me want to grab for a bong and open up the Doritos.
"While this album contains many of the annoying traits that seem to turn up in all stoner rock, they do have a great deal of talent, and a knack for getting their sound across." Slow, brooding and thick defines this record. Actually, I might be going out on a limb here, but I think I hear traces of Sabbath in their songwriting. Nah, can’t be. Anyway, while this album contains many of the annoying traits that seem to turn up in all stoner rock, they do have a great deal of talent, and a knack for getting their sound across.
The songs are groovy and well written, and if I get frustrated by the repetitiveness of the riffs, at least they’re really cool repetitive riffs. That is the very reason that, when this band hits what they’re trying for, they hit it dead on. The guitar takes center stage, and is complemented by atmosphere-laying keyboards and a vocalist who, while not having the most impressive voice in the world, moans out even paced words like smoke, and gels the entire sound together. The vocals drone and are technically assisted in their fuzziness, and they make me feel stoned without smoking.
A few of the ideas are too strung out, however. If you have songs of 15:04, 11:03, and 10:25 you might need more than two riffs to keep it interesting for the entire listen. Basically the bottom line is that I really like this album but it could easily be shortened by fifteen minutes.
Death's Review:
[Anybody else think the sample which opens Dopethrone is Dan Conner from "Roseanne?"]
So I'm talking with Abyss about Electric Wizard, back before he had heard the band. I asked him to guess what kind of music he played, and he asked "power metal?" Funny. Anything with "wizard" in the title must be a power metal band, right?
"The jury is still out on whether this one has staying power." Not to me. I hear "Electric Wizard" and I think "... radiation, minds decay," or "misty morning, clouds in the sky," you know Sabbath! And that description is definitely a lot closer to the Electric Wizard sound than Blind Gaurdian. But this music is a bit more hardcore stoner, like Neurosis meets Trouble meets Obituary meets Fu Manchu meets Sheavy meets Tool meets Isis meets Sabbath. Well, maybe that's giving them too much credit, it's a bit too early-on for me to tell. As primal as it is, Dopethrone isn't really all that easily absorbed. Listen, for instance, to the first mintue or two of track 2, "Funeralopolis," for one of the rawer dosages of the Electric Wizard bludgeoning. Dark, experimental yet straightforward, hardcore and sometimes really fucking loud, Electric Wizard is a lot cooler than I expected them to be.
The jury is still out on whether this one has staying power. The songs are really long and the riffs are quite repetitive. Perhaps Dopethrone really is one long shot of Electric Wizard rather than it is a traditional collection of "tracks." But listen to the low-fi power of "Dopethrone," the album's closer. And close your eyes and think of Ozzy singing it in 1974. You gotta admit, Electric Wizard is pretty cool.
"You gotta admit, Electric Wizard is pretty cool."
Hel's Review:
I have never fully embraced the doom/stoner rock/jam style. My attention span simply cannot tolerate the long, what I perceive as drawn-out, passages that comprise so much of the fundamental basis for this sub-genre. So there is clearly a flaw in the underlying structure of my review. I simply can't groove to full minutes (note the plural here) devoted to essentially one long, wavering note.
"There are a lot of cool mechanized sounds tossed in, adding to the ambiance." Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't appreciate the style; I like to think I understand the conceptual basis. My issue is with the execution - the way in which so few chords are used, the bare bones approach - that's what I find so off-putting. The songs always sound the same to me, and it never takes long for me to become distracted. In those few moments before boredom sets in, however, I really dig it.
The bass plays a prominent role on this record and is used with excellent effect. The occasional guitar solo is really rockin'. There are a lot of cool mechanized sounds tossed in, adding to the ambiance. And the vocals have a cool distortion effect that I like. The drumming seems incredibly sparse, but the way the record is mixed, I find it impossible to determine if it's because the guy sucks, or if it's a stylistic choice.
"I simply can't groove to full minutes (note the plural here) devoted to essentially one long, wavering note." The production is mud, plain and simple. I have many pet peeves when it comes to production - the biggest is when the vocals are so deep in the mix that they can barely be heard at low volumes, as is the case here. And that's no the only issue I have. I realize they are going for a dirty, grainy, raw sound - but does it have to suck? There's a fine line between style and shit - and these poor guys got stuck in the muck.
All of these factors taken together can only add up to one result. While I fully acknowledge that there is good music on the Dopethrone, and I enjoy it on a certain level, ultimately I know I can't truly appreciate it myself. I do have faith that those among you who love this kind of kick-back-and-get-high-and-space-out music will find Electric Wizard to your satisfaction.
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