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- Jug Fulla Sun (1999)
Jug Fulla Sun (1999)
8
Healing Tongue / Courage / Cosmic Artifact / Fear’s Machine
/ Powertime / Dead Love/Jug Fulla Sun / Fang / Chaw / Melancholy
Grey / Sea Legs / Kill Ugly Naked / Lost Sun Dance / No Hope Goat Farm
For
a while, it seemed that The Obsessed - the band Wino formed in the late ‘70’s
and re-united after the break-up of Saint Vitus - might get some recognition
for their trend-setting merger of hard rock, doom and proto-stoner. Columbia
signed them, promised a lot, but ultimately delivered nothing and eventually
Wino wound up frustrated, disillusioned and an alcoholic. With Dave Sherman
(bass) and Gary Isom (drums), two veterans of the scene, he formed Shine,
later re-named Spirit Caravan, a band that was worshipped by nearly anyone
with an interest in Wino’s brand of hard rock, but never escaped cult
status. The power trio was obviously – like The Obsessed, like Saint
Vitus – influenced by the huge legacy of Black Sabbath, but fortunately
the band never tried to imitate their heroes’ bludgeoning doom as closely
as possible. Though characterized by Wino’s crunching chord sequences
and high-energy soloing, the band were more than just revivalists, as they
managed to fuse ‘70’s and ‘80’s hard rock with elements
of blues, punk and classic rock, boasting a sound that was unmistakeably modern.
Personally, I’d have liked it if the rhythm section (and especially
the drums) would’ve been a bit more prominent on Jug Fulla Sun,
but at least the vocals and guitar have this dry, no nonsense-sound that works
really well. It’s not just the sound and melting pot of influences that
set this band apart from the beginning, as their lyrical themes are really
different as well. Never one to prefer the easiest, obvious road, Wino touches
upon environmentalism, a kind of cosmic spirituality, ancient religions of
wiped-out cultures (Aztecs and Maya’s?), involving the man/nature-relations,
importance of ‘the elements’, the sun/moon and day/night juxtapositions
and concepts such as ‘healing tongues’, ‘life givers’
and ‘a third eye’. Occasionally, he loses me with lines like “Glow
sacred dome / night moon’s sister / embrace earthly mother / slow she
knows / blood seeks quietude’s throne / movement and measure,”
but some of his lyrics do have an intriguing combination of suggestion and
vagueness that allows you to figure it out for yourself. Fortunately, this
is usually backed up by some great music, that ranges from fairly traditional
hard rock (“Healing Tongue”) to undiluted doom (“Fear’s
Machine”) to skull-breaking heavy metal (“Fang”) and even
punk rock (“Kill Ugly Naked”), during which Wino lays down immensely
heavy grooves (and this guy doesn’t need a fancy producer and enormous
budget to kick your ass), lets his guitar scream (great moment during “Powertime”)
or explore quieter, pensive territory (the first – instrumental –
half of the magnificent epic “Dead Love/Jug Fulla Sun.” Not all
of it is equally successful, as above-mentioned punk song “Kill Ugly
Naked” comes a off as too much of a genre exercise (with the chanted
“Kill, kill, kill, KILL UGLY NAKED!” being the main offender),
while “Melancholy Grey” is the kind of doom that evokes castles,
obscure cults and foggy swamps at night - if I want that atmosphere, I’d
rather check out Wilkie Collins’ The
Woman in White again. However, for each of these, there’s an
abundance of thrilling moments, like the multi-part intro of “Courage,”
the Sabbath-tribute “Cosmic Artifact’ with its ecstatic guitar
shredding and the led-heavy crawl of “Lost Sun Dance.” Even with
an insane budget to spend on promotion, this release would never appeal to
more than just a cult audience, but it’s exactly the kind of music that’s
done with so much dedication and personality that the ones who do
like it, are probably gonna cherish it.
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