Reverend Bizarre - Harbinger Of Metal
Spikefarm Records - NAULA042 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
True doom metal fanatics will undoubtedly already have a copy of
Reverend Bizarre's first outpouring of bleak lethargic doom metal,
In The Rectory Of The Bizarre Reverend. Well, rejoice, for the follow-up is here - and in true
Reverend Bizarre style, it's a 74 minute EP. Yep, an EP longer than most full-length albums - those crazy doomsters!
In terms of progression from their last release,
Reverend Bizarre seem to have become more 70s (although presented in a modern production), more psychedelic and infused with much more of a sense of black-as-pitch humour and denial encased within the relentlessly depressive sludge-fests of their songs. Obvious reference points include
Cathedral (although more Mogadon than LSD induced than Lee Dorrian's crew),
Saint Vitus, and the criminally under-rated
Warning. The songs themselves are ten-minute plus sprawling epics into the heart of bleak, despairing music. Riffs drag themselves along on their hands and knees to expire before the speakers, their dying gasps drenched in low-end reverberations, while Magister Albert croons in a mournful yet dramatic 70s-esque clean voice occasionally spiced up with some growls.
Album - oops, sorry, I mean EP - highlight 'From The Void' is a 20-minute descent into psychedelic doom suffocation, replete with an heroically anti-commercial five minute drum-solo slap-bang in the middle, while my favourite track 'The Wandering Jew' infuses some of that aggression and denial I referred to earlier while relating the tale of the Biblical figure cursed by Jesus before the crucifixion to walk the earth alone until the end of time - a subject seemingly so perfectly suited for the isolationist depression prevalent in doom metal, it's a wonder it hasn't been broached before.
Looking forward to their next album - although knowing these guys, I wouldn't be too surprised if it was a vinyl-only release.
9/10
Reverend Bizarre Official website
Spikefarm Records website
A-1!!!
