Doom
god Vic Griffin (ex-Pentagram, for Chrissakes!) returns with
his on again/off again band of perpetual downers, Place of Skulls,
for a third round of bleak n’ roll. The ‘Skulls actually broke up earlier
this year, but rightly figured we were all getting a little too cheery
without ‘em, so they got back together just to bum us all out again.
Actually, despite the candle-snuffing title, “The Black is Never Far”
is far less gloomy than previous efforts, leaving only Griffin’s wicked
Iommi-esque riffs intact. Mostly it’s straight ahead hard rock, played
with punishing volume, recoiling power, and a surprising amount of melody.
The highlight, for my ears, is the title track, a swamp-crawling epic of
psyche-tinged southern suicide rock, complete with acoustic guitar
interludes and that all-important sense of dread, but there’s plenty more
to gnash yr teeth about here, including the super 70’s wallop of “Masters
of Jest”, the downward spiraling doomfest “Sense of Divinity”,
and the mind-melting cover of Pentagram classic “Relentless”.
Perhaps a little too ‘rock’ for the total-doom heads among us, but
otherwise, “The Black Is Never Far” is a fine addition to the Place of
Skulls legacy. It may even make keep your head out of the oven for another
day. _______________________________________________________
Doom
god Vic Griffin (ex-Pentagram, for Chrissakes!) returns with
his on again/off again band of perpetual downers, Place of Skulls,
for a third round of bleak n’ roll. The ‘Skulls actually broke up earlier
this year, but rightly figured we were all getting a little too cheery
without ‘em, so they got back together just to bum us all out again.
Actually, despite the candle-snuffing title, “The Black is Never Far”
is far less gloomy than previous efforts, leaving only Griffin’s wicked
Iommi-esque riffs intact. Mostly it’s straight ahead hard rock, played
with punishing volume, recoiling power, and a surprising amount of melody.
The highlight, for my ears, is the title track, a swamp-crawling epic of
psyche-tinged southern suicide rock, complete with acoustic guitar
interludes and that all-important sense of dread, but there’s plenty more
to gnash yr teeth about here, including the super 70’s wallop of “Masters
of Jest”, the downward spiraling doomfest “Sense of Divinity”,
and the mind-melting cover of Pentagram classic “Relentless”.
Perhaps a little too ‘rock’ for the total-doom heads among us, but
otherwise, “The Black Is Never Far” is a fine addition to the Place of
Skulls legacy. It may even make keep your head out of the oven for another
day.