Year : 2022
Style : Sludge Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 104 mb
Bio:
Crowbar is an American sludge metal band formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1990. The band is fronted by vocalist/guitarist Kirk Windstein, Crowbar's sole constant member. Through infusing a slow, low-keyed, brooding doom metal sound with the aggression of hardcore punk, they pioneered a style known as sludge metal – albeit Windstein admitted a mild dislike to the term – alongside other bands of the New Orleans heavy metal scene such as Eyehategod, Soilent Green, Acid Bath, and Down.The band dates back to 1988, when Kirk Windstein joined the New Orleans hardcore punk band ShellShock.He met Jimmy Bower, who was their drummer, and they quickly became friends. The band collapsed when Mike Hatch, their guitarist, committed suicide in late 1988. The band hence replaced Hatch with Kevin Noonan and continued under the new name, Aftershock. Under that name they released a demo in mid-1989 and then renamed themselves again as Wrequiem, with their bassist Mike Savoie leaving the band and Todd Strange replacing him. They renamed themselves yet again in 1990 as The Slugs, and released a demo in mid-1990, but the band collapsed.Windstein considered becoming the bass player for New Orleans-based groove metal band Exhorder but he and Strange reformed their band, with Craig Nunenmacher as the drummer. Nunenmacher was later replaced by Tommy Buckley from Soilent Green, and Kevin Noonan returned on guitar. The band renamed themselves Crowbar in mid-1991, after their label warned them that another band called "The Slugs" already existed; the name Crowbar was borrowed from one of Windstein's side-projects.Windstein has listed Celtic Frost as one of the band's early influences in terms of sound.Crowbar's debut studio album, Obedience thru Suffering, was released in 1991, but failed to achieve significant sales or airplay. By 1993's self-titled album, personal friend Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down, and Superjoint Ritual) produced the record, which eventually led to national promotion on MTV's Headbangers Ball. In addition, the videos for "All I Had (I Gave)" and "Existence Is Punishment" were played on Beavis and Butt-Head. Following this success, the band went on to record music videos, embark on major tours with Pantera, and record more albums.Their stage antics, immortalized in Pantera's third home video and Crowbar's Like Broken Glass home video, became infamous. The band continued recording and touring. In 1994, the Pantera video for the song "I'm Broken" showed Anselmo wearing a Crowbar/Eyehategod T-shirt. Original drummer Nunenmacher left the band in 1996 and was replaced by Jimmy Bower from Down and Eyehategod, and for their 1996 release, Anselmo sang backup on a few tracks on Broken Glass.In 2000, after recording and releasing Equilibrium with Sid Montz on drums, Nunenmacher rejoined the band for the "Penchant for Violence Tour" with "The Brotherhood of Brewtality" Black Label Society and Sixty Watt Shaman. Halfway through the tour, Nunenmacher replaced BLS's drummer Phil Ondich and pulled double duty for the rest of the tour, eventually joining BLS permanently.The band continues to perform, borrowing members from New Orleans metal bands like Goatwhore and Acid Bath. In their 2005 release, Lifesblood for the Downtrodden, Pantera bassist Rex Brown lent his bass skills and keyboard playing. Down's producer Warren Riker assisted in production. Also in 2005, the song "Existence" appeared on the Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection No. 3 DVD.The band is also known for covering other bands' material and putting a heavy spin on it. Crowbar covered Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver" on their Equilibrium album, Iron Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow" on Odd Fellows Rest, and Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" on Crowbar.On April 21, 2008, the albums Crowbar, Time Heals Nothing, and the Live+1 EP were reissued in Europe with bonus and multimedia tracks.On May 24, 2009, it was announced that Phil Anselmo's Housecore Records would be re-releasing Crowbar's back catalog.In December 2009, Crowbar toured with Hatebreed, The Acacia Strain, The Casualties, and Thy Will Be Done as part of the Stillborn Fest.As of September 2010, Crowbar is under contract with E1 Music in North America and Century Media in Europe, and released their ninth studio album, Sever the Wicked Hand, on February 8, 2011. This date is the sixh anniversary of the release of their previous album, Lifesblood for the Downtrodden.The band embarked on a six-date UK tour in January 2011.Bassist Pat Bruders left Crowbar in September 2013.Bruders explained he wanted to focus on touring with Down. He told Louder than Hell, "It is better for all parties in Crowbar and in Down that I leave Crowbar. With Down's brutal tour schedule and overseas shows. It is better if I focus 100 percent of my time to Down. There are no hard feelings with my bandmates of Crowbar." Bruders was replaced by Jeff Golden, who formerly played with Six Feet Under, Thy Will Be Done, and Goatwhore.Crowbar entered the studio in late 2013 to begin recording Symmetry in Black, which was released in North America on May 27, 2014, via E1 Music.In May 2016, bassist Jeff Golden announced on his Facebook page that he had been fired from the band. Shortly after Golden's departure, Windstein announced that founding bassist Todd Strange would return to the band. In July 2018, Strange had retired from touring although he will remain a member of the band.His final performance was at the Odd Fellows Rest 20th anniversary show on August 4, 2018. Shane Wesley is his live replacement and had already played on Crowbar's summer European tour.In mid 2017, Crowbar supported Overkill on the annual Metal Alliance tour.In the spring of 2018, Crowbar opened up for Hatebreed on their 20 Years of Desire and 15 Years of Perseverance tours.Crowbar opened up for Killswitch Engage on a short fall tour in November 2018.Crowbar's twelfth studio album (and their first in six years) Zero and Below was released on March 4, 2022.The band toured the US and Europe with Sepultura and Sacred Reich in support of the album.
Album:
First of all, this should be Thumbman’s review, seeing as we are in the middle of a review challenge and once again the newest Crowbar album is virgin territory for commentators. However, with the four-piece line-up including only Kirk Windstein who I recognize and the Louisiana sludgers turning in reliable but similar stuff every few years, I also understand why some may turn a blind eye towards Zero and Below. With a longer 6 year gap since The Serpent Only Lies though, I think it’s high time to revisit one of the most distinctive bands in this style.10 songs in 43 minutes seems just about the perfect scope to enjoy Crowbar at their most potent, since variety has never been the band’s strong point. That remains true here, with the opening cuts having the most impact and further ones separating into slight alternatives of the same sound or solid repetitions of the same. The production is reliably massive, emphasizing the lurch of the fat chugging parts and the plunging of the signature mid-pace sludge groove, which is how ‘Chemical Godz’ reaches its conclusion, though the sonic profile also capably presents cruising doomy moments like the following ‘Denial of the Truth’ as it groans with almost early ‘90s death doom riffs and an interesting choice of isolated vocals for Windstein, blossoming out without any backing. As such, fans of a range of slower metal styles will feel at home here, from the heavy stoner of Sleep to the melodic doom of Paradise Lost to the thundering rhythms of prime Pantera.The things that have defined Crowbar, except for the classic riffs, have been the pained vocals and general lack of solos despite a melodic bent to many of the songs. Windstein’s voice has not changed over the years, yet that impossibly weathered croon of his sounds at once rough and gentle, especially when he soars up into longer shapes at lower pace. A few moments of lead guitar stand out, a repeated melody line in ‘Chemical Godz’ making for an interesting bridge that again puts me in mind of digging out old Peaceville doom, while the title track allows a sprawling 5 and a half minutes to pass with a few brief harmonized leads. Briefest song ‘Bleeding from Every Hole’ (I mean, ouch) actually runs the gamut of Crowbar paces, starting off hefty and hardcore, going through slower sticky grooves, then concluding with a gradually slowing, almost droning feel. And although I said “except for the riffs,” I can’t underestimate crackers like the mid-song one in ‘The Fear that Binds You’ or the appropriately crushing ‘Crush Negativity’. ‘Reanimating a Lie’ opens with a monster too.Where Zero and Below requires me to do some tricky thinking is here, in the conclusion. Although the boys show their minimal variety successfully enough, almost every idea comes from inside the box, with no evidence of creative thinking beyond ‘Denial of the Truth’. That means Crowbar have just become the AC/DC of sludge metal, where every product is guaranteed to be great as long as you liked the original template. Of course I won’t rank Zero and Below as low as the title suggests, but I have to dock some points for lack of novelty on an otherwise pretty satisfying listen.
Line Up:
Kirk Windstein - Vocals, Guitars, Bass (1990-present) - See also: Down, Kingdom of Sorrow, Kirk Windstein, ex-AfterShock, ex-Slugs, Jasta (live), ex-Valüme Nob, ex-Shell Shock, ex-Suicide War, ex-The Satanic, ex-Victorian Blitz
Matthew Brunson - Guitars (2009-present) - See also: Shedding Old Skin, Devil's Highway, ex-Kingdom of Sorrow (live), ex-Prong (live)
Shane Wesley - Bass (2018-present) - See also: Riffer Madness, ex-Demuredin, Black Magnolia, Cretus, The Coast Big Band
Tommy Buckley - Drums (2005-present) - See also: Soilent Green, ex-Christ Inversion, ex-Drip, ex-Exhorder (live), ex-Graveyard Rodeo, ex-Jones's Lounge (live)
Tracklist:
01. The Fear That Binds You 04:27
02. Her Evil Is Sacred 04:04
03. Confess to Nothing 04:19
04. Chemical Godz 04:30
05. Denial of the Truth 04:54
06. Bleeding from Every Hole 03:05
07. It's Always Worth the Gain 03:51
08. Crush Negativity 03:20
09. Reanimating a Lie 04:38
10. Zero and Below 05:35
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