CD review, Jan 10. Crowbar - Odd Fellows Rest (Metal Mind Productions)

Going back in time to 1998 and what was Crowbar’s fifth release, Odd Fellows Rest, and with respect to it’s lauded predecessor, Broken Glass, this was when Crowbar really hit the mark for me. This album is simply crushing. It’s just full of killer tone, smooth as hell and dense as, well, planets. The flow does not give up, guitar interplay is perfect and understated and again Windstein adds the icing to the cake with some awesome sludgy but soulful singing. This is Blues in Metal. Honourable mentions for the rhythm section who power and groove through the songs adding accents at the right time and never overstating the case. No point choosing tracks on this as each one rips, but you won’t find much better than examples of NOLA doom than And Suffer As On. Fast forward to the last 30 seconds of To Carry The Load and you just might find yourself throwing out half of your Metal now that you’ve seen the truth. And so you should, because Crowbar is where it’s at. Not just recommended, but essential.