Shrinebuilder [Import]

Well, here it is. The collaboration between Wino, Al Cisneros, Scott Kelly & Dale Crover. Sound good? You bet ya.

To be perfectly honest, i'm not the biggest fan of any one of these artists. Yes I like Neurosis, Sleep, Om & the Melvins not to mention the numerous projects Wino has been involved in, notably St Vitus & The Obsessed. But none of these are in my favourite band category. Having said that, they are for many people. Taking Neurosis as an example, they have created a sound & style all their own which is often imitated & referenced but never really bettered.

As a jump off point then, Scott Kelly's presence on this release is huge, how can it not be? He takes vocals on all the tracks & there are plenty of the drawn out ominous riffs that his main band are so well known for. But he doesn't dominate the proceedings, oh no. There is just as much influence from the others to make this a truly perfect collaboration. In fact, alot of this stuff take's Om's meditative, spiritual approach. It's heavy & beautiful in equal measures but there is also plenty of build up & introspection to much of it. Take second track Pyramid Of The Moon, which starts off with a Neurosis riff with Wino providing some clever effects untill half way through where is breaks down into a chant & very typical vocals from Cisneros. Likewise, The Architect is a Wino track with a thunderous vocal section from Kelly, quality Wino lead & superb bassline from Cisneros. In fact, to my mind Cisneros probably stands out just about the most, with his brillant basslines always clear in the mix no matter how fierce it gets.

Lastly Dale Crover must also get a mention for keeping the whole thing together with such expert skill. When I first read of his involvement here, to me it felt like abit of an after thought. Don't get me wrong, he's a brillant drummer & his work with the Melvins is superb. It just felt like he was slightly out of place against the other artists. This is definetly not the case as he shows a reserved but still very varied & well judged performance bringing the best from the others. He flows particularly well against the bass as displayed on Pyramid of The Moon & the slow build melody of my personal favourite Blind For All To See.

As I said before, this really is a perfect collabortion, probably the best super group imaginable for this sort of music. I don't know if this will be my favourite release of 2009 but thats largely because it's been an excellent year for it so far. Having said that, this needs to be heard by anyone remotely interested in any of the artists involved. Professional, complex & emotive metal of the highest order. Just imagine buddist monks armed with instruments & predicting the apocalypse & you'll be half way there. Top marks.

Shrinebuilder was not a band I was very aware of but had heard of.Then I saw the cd in a shop.From the photo on the slipcase I could see members of Melvins,Om/Sleep,Neurosis,St Vitus/Obsessed,and in one band,this has to be good,I have to buy this.It is good.Heavy,complex,delicate,elements of all the parent bands coming together to make something new.
Build your shrine and let the universe fill your soul with cosmic wisdom.

An amazing assemblage of doom-masters make up this super-group, which is even more than the sum of its parts; and something beyond doom - mighty and epic.