ABDULLAH - GRAVEYARD POETRY
Meteor City - 2002
By Gonzo
With all recent releases from meteor city, it's been my first taste of each band's sound - the monstrous Mushroom River Band, the groovy smootheness of Spiritu - and this, Abdullah's 6th release, is no different. I have no idea who these guys are, whether this album is representative of their sound, or even if it's considered worthy when held against their back catalogue.
What I do know, however, is that despite maintaining the feel of your general 'stoner' band, ABDULLAH cross-pollinate it with spacey sounds, solid song writing that pulls in more general rock sounds in its melodies. Those slow, doomy riffs are there still ('The Whimper Of Whipped Dogs' is almost pure Sabbath), but 'Deprogrammed' has a Motorhead ferocity about it showered with melodic vox, making it quite palatable. The 7-minute 'Strange Benediction' has a classic-rock vibe, with a smoothe breakdown in its middle section before turning into a solo-ing riffathon. 'Medicine Man' is a magical moment where vocalist Jeff Shirilla lets rip and the swirling riffs, seemingly melting all the essences of heavy rock from the last 30 years, followed by the full-speed 'Guided By The Spirit'. And then they throw it all to the wind for the full-on 'They, The Tryants', with double-tracked vocals, at times deathish growls and, basically, an almost-metal approach to the song.
Graveyard Poetry is an example of pushing a genre (and the conceptions of it) - a 'stoner rock' album that simply can't be categorised as one. Metal fans will dig it, riff-rock fans will drool, and anyone else should simply sit and enjoy its lushness.
Meteor City - 2002
By Gonzo
With all recent releases from meteor city, it's been my first taste of each band's sound - the monstrous Mushroom River Band, the groovy smootheness of Spiritu - and this, Abdullah's 6th release, is no different. I have no idea who these guys are, whether this album is representative of their sound, or even if it's considered worthy when held against their back catalogue.
What I do know, however, is that despite maintaining the feel of your general 'stoner' band, ABDULLAH cross-pollinate it with spacey sounds, solid song writing that pulls in more general rock sounds in its melodies. Those slow, doomy riffs are there still ('The Whimper Of Whipped Dogs' is almost pure Sabbath), but 'Deprogrammed' has a Motorhead ferocity about it showered with melodic vox, making it quite palatable. The 7-minute 'Strange Benediction' has a classic-rock vibe, with a smoothe breakdown in its middle section before turning into a solo-ing riffathon. 'Medicine Man' is a magical moment where vocalist Jeff Shirilla lets rip and the swirling riffs, seemingly melting all the essences of heavy rock from the last 30 years, followed by the full-speed 'Guided By The Spirit'. And then they throw it all to the wind for the full-on 'They, The Tryants', with double-tracked vocals, at times deathish growls and, basically, an almost-metal approach to the song.
Graveyard Poetry is an example of pushing a genre (and the conceptions of it) - a 'stoner rock' album that simply can't be categorised as one. Metal fans will dig it, riff-rock fans will drool, and anyone else should simply sit and enjoy its lushness.
