EARTHRIDE – Doom Metal, Biker Doom Metal and to a Metal degree Stoner Metal. This is Earthride. Let me tell you this much, if you are looking to take that gritty and bad-ass Metal ride you’ve been hankering for, look no further than this Maryland based band for just that. With more than enough mainstream dime-a-dozens getting all the attention from the Rock “scholar” mags, it’s a full-throttle, Doom pedal to the Metal band, like Earthride, that gets their proper Metal due here on Metal Odyssey.
Something Wicked is the third full-length album from Earthride and it’s exceedingly muscular in all of it’s Doom Metal glory, with Stoner riffs galore. If this album was actually alive and breathing, I would want it to be my personal body guard. Woven with blue collar toughness and plenty of underground thump and stump Metal, Earthride succeeds with their own Metal stamp of originality, combined with song quality. Plus, the production gives way to a raw appeal with just enough polish, to make Something Wicked sound so menacingly strong.
Ozzy Osbourne era Black Sabbath fans and Doom Metal aficionado’s should be thankful, that a band like Earthride is crunching out Metal as heard on Something Wicked. Earthride could very easily have named their new album Earthshaker… due to the Earth pounding bass courtesy of Rob Hampshire. Vocalist Dave Sherman sounds like a crusty combination of Lemmy Kilmister and Billy Gibbons, while still coming across as a damn cool original. Then again, after enough listens of what Earthride is playing here, the Motorhead and ZZ Top influence arguably exists musically… in my Metal opinion.
The opening track, Something Wicked (I May Become) lays down the Metal ground rules as to what Earthride is bringing to the party… some seriously Heavy, thick and trudging songs that have Old School guitar leads and solos intertwined within. This is a band and an album that solidifies the “what you hear is what you get” Metal school of thought. Don’t expect any experimentation or that one song that will throw you off guard, this is Earthride and they are aren’t about to cater to the diverse Metal enthusiasts anytime soon.
Amidst all the Doom and Stoner appealing riffs, there is some southern boogie in Earthrides step too. Force Fed Fear plays out at 8:31 long and is admittedly my favorite song on Something Wicked. Kyle VanSteinburg lends the boogie down riffs on this molasses heavy kicker of a song, while also providing a meat and potatoes solo that burns. Force Fed Fear is a mighty way to cap off this album.
Metal be thy name, I give Something Wicked 8 out of 10 Metal Fists.
EARTHRIDE:
Dave Sherman – vocals
Kyle VanSteinburg – guitar
Eric Little – drums
Rob Hampshire – bass
* For more info on Earthride, all you have to do is click on the link below:
* Something Wicked was released on July 20, 2010, through Earthride’s very own Earth Brain Records.
* Something Wicked was recorded, mixed and mastered by Chris Kozlowski, (Blue Cheer, Pentagram, Melvins and Trouble), at the Polar Bear Lair.
* Featured guest guitarist is underground Metal legend – Scott “Whino” Weinrich of Saint Vitus, Shrinebuilder, The Obsessed and Spirit Caravan fame. “Whino” appears on the track Supernatural Illusion.
* Included in the graphic layout of this Something Wicked album are the actual X-rays and MRI’s from the various injuries sustained over the years by all four members of Earthride. That’s Metal. That’s Earthride.
Something Wicked Track Listing:
Something Wicked (I May Become)
Hacksaw Eyeball
Make Up Your Mind
Destruction Song
Zodiac
Watch The Children Play
Grip The Wheel
Supernatural Illusion
Force Fed Fear
LONG LIVE EARTHRIDE.
Stone.
I’m always looking for good deals on my Heavy Metal Music purchases, from albums, CD’s to memorabilia and books. Upon one of my recent stops into a local thrift store, I happened upon quite the Heavy Metal find indeed, for the ripe price of fifty cents. Yes, fifty cents. The find you ask? Well, none other than The Rough Guide To Heavy Metal – and it is quite the book for me. (This book is a 1st printing, printed in 2005 by Rough Guides). While perusing the book aisle at this thrift store, the image of none other than Ozzy Osbourne caught my eye. What is this? I could not believe what I had found! Knowing immediately too, that any book in this thrift store is only fifty cents… I was Metal stoked. As a bonus, this book stared right at me in gem mint condition as well. As I picked it up and browsed through it’s Heavy Metal filled pages, it was obvious to me that the previous owner of this book never bothered to read it. As crisp of a new book you will find. Life is a sweet journey sometimes, especially when you can stumble on a 410 page book, when you least expect it, that is dedicated to your favorite music genre… Heavy Metal.
Back on October 4, 1983, Black Sabbath released their eleventh studio album – Born Again. I was serving time in high school as a senior in 1983, I also became a born again Metalhead that same year, thanks to this most underrated Black Sabbath album. I am not kidding or trying to sound like a yahoo by stating that. Born Again was a match made in Metal heaven for me… the prolific vocals of Ian Gillan uniting with the ultra legendary Black Sabbath. I have to admit, with Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio not fronting Black Sabbath, it was common place for professionally paid Rock Music critics to easily overlook the other lead singers this Rock And Roll Hall of Fame band has bestowed over the decades. I never overlooked a damned thing Black Sabbath had done, especially when they joined forces with Ian Gillan. From the front album cover artwork of the demon baby, to the down right eerie and chilling Metal Music heard on Born Again, this album is a must listen and own in Metal Music 101.
Crowbar was my Metal band of choice today. Sludge Metal with a healthy slice of Doom Metal at it’s very best is Crowbar. I gave another listen to Sonic Excess In It’s Purest Form and have walked away with the same Metal satisfaction as always – ultra Sludge Metal satisfaction that is. The slow trudging and heavy duty guitar riffs combined with the slow paced rhythm section, makes me scream in Metal glee that Crowbar has taken Old School Heavy Metal to a more dark and doom ridden place. The lyrics heard in the songs on Sonic Excess In It’s Purest Form are gloomy, mournful and visits the realms of self suffering, doubt and infliction. Well, that is what Doom Metal delves into, topics too touchy for the faint at heart mainstream. These lyrics explore what it must feel like when one is truly suffering from extreme mental anguish. Now, if you are to look past the psychologically driven lyrics, the Metal Music is an ear crushing experience and/or escape that seems to come at me from all sides. Crowbar plays their Sludge Metal like it surrounds me, repeatedly encircling my space like a slow marching invasion of Metal giants from a far away and spooky place. Cool.
Alright, I am more than thrilled at this new Obituary album, “Darkest Day”, I am enthralled with Metal jubilation. Death Metal jubilation. I am also reminded as to why I am lured into the heaviest, most Metal bludgeoning genre there is… it is Obituary. These guys are not about making nice with the trend setters… forget about it. Obituary is Old School Death Metal lathered with extreme. Understand, however, that Obituary delivers grooves by the Death Metal bushels. From it’s deadly beginning track – “List of Dead” to it’s deadly ending “Left To Die”, I am going out on a Metal limb here by stating… “Darkest Day” is one of 2009’s best Metal albums period. Being one of the true forefathers of the Death Metal genre, Obituary lays their Death Metal cards out on the table here, you either are with them or with them. This is not a Death Metal band that you just want to try out, if you buy an Obituary album, you are either a fan or your about to become one. 
When I first listened to Saviours “Into Abaddon”, I heard instantly the early Black Sabbath and Motorhead influences, (in my Metal opinion). This second album from Saviours is heavy duty on the riffs, a fine quality about this Metal music. Saviours plays Metal that can be regarded as Stoner Metal or Doom Metal. The Metal here is heavier than traditional – Old School Stoner Metal. With a slight comparison to The Sword, Saviours is darker musically, a more gloomy atmosphere and vocally more tough and raspy. All 7 songs are good, the lack of more songs is made up for by the time length of each song. Lead vocalist and guitarist Austin Barber sounds like he is leading a Metal charge through the dark northern woods of an ancient forgotten land. Musically, these guys have their armor, it is the hard and heavy way they play. I find Saviours difficult to dismiss as just an average Metal band… they are better than I anticipated with this album. It is not as if Saviours has broke any new ground here musically, still this band is not soft on the Metal either. If your into the heavier side of Stoner Metal or are looking for a new and decent Metal band to catch onto, picking up “Into Abaddon” is worth the time and money. Saviours plays Metal the old fashioned way, no hits, no frills or gimmicks, just coming at you with some solid heavy music.
