Nailed (2002)
7
The Fall / Never Die / Dead / Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood / Feeling
of Dread… / … / Love She Gave / Return / Song of Solomon
There
are two things that should give you an indication what to expect from Place
of Skull's debut album. First of all, it's released by Southern Lord Recordings,
which is the doom label around with bands like Goatsnake, Saint Vitus,
The Obsessed, Pentagram and Electric Wizard. Secondly, Place of Skulls was
formed by Victor Griffin, who previously was a member of cult favorites Death
Row and later Pentagram. So, those who have been following the genre and career
of one of the co-architects of doom rock definitely know what to expect: lead-heavy
chords, plodding tempos and a dark, sinister atmosphere. However, there are
several aspects about this band that set them apart: even though the guitar
sound is really heavy and crunchy in most of the songs (not Slayer-heavy,
not as heavy as the sludge-bands out there, but still capable of offending
many a metal-hater), Griffin's a fan of melodies as both his vocals and leads
are devoid of the tuneless zombie acts so many proponents of the genre indulge
in. In that respect, he's a bit like Scott "Wino" Weinrich, who also manages
to combine his thunder with a healthy dose of '70's rock accessibility. This
is old school doom/hard rock along the lines of Sabbath, Weinstein's Spirit
Caravan and Trouble. With this last band (its early incarnation, at least),
Place of Skulls has a Christian direction in common. Yes, you read that correctly.
The menacing tone of most doom albums might lead you to believe these guys
are the likeliest Satanists of the whole bunch, but what you get instead is
a kind of semi-romantic, subservient kind of religiousness, with many of the
lyrics dealing with the power of God, the preparation for the true existence
(afterlife) that our miserly life on Earth is, etc. Album opener and highlight
"The Fall" develops a mighty plodding groove, but then you pay attention to
the lyrics:
I long to understand
What the Creator has done for man
Can our feeble minds comprehend
We started to die when we began
As someone who's sceptic towards any kind of (organised) religion, it's a creed that's a bit to compliant and reducing, but at least he doesn't get all preachy. On top of that, the song concludes with a lyrical - almost emotional - guitar solo, so I ain't gonna complain about someone else's religious beliefs. There's nothing that beats "The Fall," but the surprising inclusion of The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" comes pretty close. When you hear it for the first time - yes, in a doom version, with dual guitar lines - you'll think it's a bad idea, but the song works surprisingly well and even the lyrics are an appropriate addition to the album. Other good songs are album closer "Song of Solomon" (with climactic classic rock solo), the "speaking from the afterlife"-song "Dead" ("Freed from the body that tortured my mind") and the short & charged "Feeling of Dread," which not only resembles Spirit Caravan to a T, but also offers a nice break from the slower stuff halfway the album. The remaining songs take a bit too long to develop ("Return," "Love She Gave") or offer riffs that come off as too generic to really make an impact ("Never Die," the title-less "…"), but overall, Nailed is a fine album that will probably appeal to both lovers of classic doom as well as hard rockers who like their material to carry a certain atmosphere of darkness. Nailed didn't push Place of Skulls into the same league as Spirit Caravan, but Griffin would soon come up with a solution for that.
Read album reviews of similar or related artists: Spirit Caravan - Live Review Place of Skulls - Interview Place of Skulls