Earth
Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method
2005
Earth started their career in the early '90s creating monolithic doom metal. Dylan Carlson, frontman and only constant member, was once a good friend of Kurt Cobain as they were both from the northwest, Seattle and Olympia. This connection gave Earth a segue for putting out their debut EP, "Extra-Capsular Extraction" on Sub Pop records. While they never made much of splash during the first half of their career, fourteen years later the band has experienced a resurgence in popularity and accolades due to their modern influence on slow, plodding stoner/doom metal. In the wake of this, Earth reform and release "Hex: Or Printing In The Infernal Method", their new vision of doom.
While the riffs aren't as sonically huge or over-amplified as they once were, the songs have instead found a comfortable niche in the slow, brooding Western-tinged mood on display. At once sounding like the bloody wind-dusted shoot-off and the imminent funeral procession. The command and the restraint over the course of these carefully selected 46 minutes is what especially shines, as the songs build and the tension grows, we find release through lap-steel soaring highs and carefully crafted melodic resolution. About two and a half minutes into "An Inquest Concerning Teeth" the lap-steel kicks in alongside a quiet organ and sustained guitars recreating a religious-epiphany of a sound. It's beautiful, life-affirming music of the highest order. And while it's certainly not a record for the impatient, its gloomy stasis can be transportive and transcendent. An unclassifiable record that forms the bridge between Neil Young's "Dead Man" and the plodding riffage of Sabbath. Essential listening. -S.R.
To say that this album has a consistent sound would be a gross understatement. Earth opens the album with some really cool guitar lines that seem primed to take the listener to an epic climax. But it turns out there is no climax – the album never goes anywhere else. I’m all for a cohesive atmosphere, but there is little to no change from song to song in its instrumentation or even its key. The result is a long, drawn-out, boring album that makes me completely forget how great it sounded at its start. - Phil
woah! steve, i would've never expected earth to make your list, let alone number 2!
ReplyDeleteMaybe this record is atypical for me (thing is, I'm not sure who would typically like this album as it hardly bears any resemblance to metal) but revisiting this album for the Rollin' Fork list just reminded me how hypnotic and purely unique this album is. It's a refreshing, palette-cleansing of a listen. Goddamn, now I almost wish we gave it #1.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard this album Mike?
Nah, our #1 choice rules.
ReplyDeleteyeah, of course it does - it's just hard to choose for me as these are two of my favorite records of all time. And whenever I'm actively listening to Earth they are the greatest fucking band in the entire world.
ReplyDeleteYeah I have listened to this album. I do find it interesting (country/doom?) but Earth was always a band that I rarely returned to. Usually it's just too much to take in. I kind of see this band as my Lawrence of Arabia of music. I love it while I'm experiencing it, will always talk highly of it, but it is ultimately just "too much" for frequent listening. Sometimes you just need to pop JAWS into the VHS again. Not a bad choice at all, just surprising.
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