REVIEWSWino, ‘Punctuated Equilibrium’

7

• SPIN Rating:7 of 10

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Label: Southern Lord

With the Obsessed and Saint Vitus in the '80s, Scott "Wino" Weinrich all but invented doom metal (well, the parts that Sabbath didn't create), and in the 2000s, his power trios Spirit Caravan and the Hidden Hand didn't bogart the deep-focus high. Here, perhaps his most deft rhythm section (Clutch drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and Rezin bassist Jon Blank) acts as a liberating army -- trad doom, hardcore tempos, mathematic instrumentals, and a Fugazi lope ("Wild Blue Yonder") coexist perfectly with his famously piercing, rounded guitar tone. It's change any hesher could believe in.

Listen: Wino, "Release Me"

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