No matter the new producer (Steve Albini), new label, or new percussionist (Emil Amos replacing Chris Hakius), Om’s droning bass/drum take on heavy metal still resounds. As stringently reverential as the duo’s name implies, bassist-singer Al Cisneros and begins to loosen his tautly, byzantine lattices ever so slightly on this fourth album. Sitar buzzes and a thunderous drumroll lift the leviathan of “Thebes,” while the handclaps, violin, and moans of “Cremation Ghat I” make it funky enough for a revival meeting or street bazaar.
LISTEN: Om, “Cremation Ghat II” (DOWNLOAD MP3)