Search - Om :: Variations on a Theme

The Weedians proceed

D. K. Malone | earth | 04/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sleep's break-up in 1997 was a bitter tragedy. They had just hit their preak, which was documented by their third album, Dopesmoker. (A.K.A. Jerusalem. Sort of... Eh, it's a long story.) They left a humongous void in the music universe, a void which was soon filled by hordes of unoriginal "stoner rock" wannabes. Guitarist Matt Pike quickly formed his own group, High On Fire. HOF is a great band and is quite reminiscent of Sleep, but Sleep it is not. Bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Hakius seemed to fall off the face of the Earth for a few years. Eventually Hakius returned in the Sabians, a band formed by Justin Marler, a former member of Sleep from their early days; he had left the group shortly after their 1991 debut "Volume One" was released. I personally don't care for the Sabians at all. If anything, they sound more like a watered down Tool than Sleep. Al Cisneros has remained MIA for all of these ensuing years. Until now.



Om is the reunion of Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius. I was over-joyed when I heard about it. Finally, God had heard my prayers and answered them. Upon hearing this album, however, I was disappointed to find that it wasn't perfect. It's produced by Billy Anderson (who produced all of Sleep's records,) but it doesn't sound like his usual work. Usually Anderson's production makes the band sound colossal and monolithic, like they're 500 ft. tall titans playing instruments carved out of huge slabs of granite. But this record sounds like a guy playing the bass and another guy playing the drums inside a little room. It has to be intentional; everyone involved probably wanted to try a new approach for a change. But to my ear, it doesn't sound "correct." The songs themselves are good- they pick up where Dopesmoker left off, more or less. Slightly more upbeat and energetic, perhaps. Cisneros is using a very natural and pure vocal style, similar to some of his work on Holy Mountain as opposed to his gruff bellowing on Dopesmoker. Sounds like he's meditated himself into a trance and chanting. They left Ozzy off of the thank-you list on Volume One, but Cisneros's Ozzy influence has never been more obvious.



Above all, what strikes me as a flaw on this record is that it feels like it's missing something: guitar. It sounds like Cisernos did his best to compensate for the absence of a six string by turning up his bass a bit louder and overdriving more for increased distortion, but it still sounds like a bass track and drum track waiting for the producer to patch in the guitar track. There are several bands I like who are bass and drum duos (Ruins, GodheadSilo, Thrones, Lightning Bolt, DFA1979) but this is different. Perhaps Cisernos is just locked into the power trio format and unable to break away from it. Or maybe I need to shut up and listen to this more until I 'get it.' Even with the supposed flaws I've listed, the music on this disk is still more than worthy of four stars. I'd hope that Matt Pike would join Om and Sleep would be resurrected... but High On Fire is really going strong (rightfully so, they're @#$%ing great) so I don't see that happening."

Return to Holy Mountain.

Heavy Guitar | Chicago, IL | 05/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The cover of this album reminds me of the first Return to Forever album, released in 1975 on ECM. However, Om's "Variations on a Theme" is the dark (but not evil) twin of the Chick Corea album. And I think it's just as good. Return to Forever were "heavy" in the sense that they were ponderous. This is "heavy" in that it sounds like ten thousand tons of stone age lava and tar being poured on the last, groaning brontosaurus. Yes. That good. I think it'd be unfair to rave about this album "because it sounds like Sleep." Actually, I think High on Fire retained the sound of Sleep, but they simply sped it up. A lot. But if you prefer the trudging sounds of prehistoric doom -- a la Sunn, Earth, Electric Wizard, and yes, Sleep -- then this is probably the best thing to show up on your doorstep since the Grimmrobe Demos. No shtick. This CD has been in my player for days, and I think it's a great addition to your stoner-doom collection, and yet it doesn't sound anything like those other bands. Sure, it's heavy; but Fu Manchu and Nebula are heavy, and I'd never lump them in with the Wizards. That, and the lyrics don't actually follow the usual stoner-doom formula of Sabbath-aped, Lovecraftian doom and gore. They're more interesting, more puzzling, and somehow more optimistic. In other words, this is the least gloomy stoner-doom album I've heard in awhile, but it's sound is still blackened...riffs that are ten miles tall and heavyheavyheavy. And slooooow. So what do you make of an album like that? Absolutely nothing. You just enjoy. You buy. You enjoy. Then you enjoy it again. This is not a "rock record," though it rocks. This is not a "doom" record, in that you won't be doomed after you here it. This is an experimental, experiential record, and I can't wait for the next one."

YES,FIVE STARS

T. Hardin | seaside,oregon | 05/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"i have no intentions of boring you with lengthy descriptions of the past merits/deficits of SLEEP.Nor will i make a comparison,though with two thirds of that line-up comparisons will be inevitable.

this is beyond music,very nearly a "religous" experience as you allow yourself to become fully enveloped by the hypnotic bass & drum attack that follows.

without a guitar,this release actually re-invents the concept of "heavy" in a minimalistic,ritualistic attack on your eardrums"