ABDULLAH - Abdullah
December 3, 2000, 24 years ago
(Meteorcity)
From the rural confines outside Cleveland, Ohio, comes the debut by a heretofore unknown bunch of Sabbath worshippers. Actually the doom-laden sound is the closest I've yet heard to the vintage St. Vitus, who perfected mid-paced, '70s blues-tinged distortion. While so-called 'stoner rock' has become a phenomenon, few get the long-winded, down and dirty, depressive vibe of Vitus. The opener, 'The Path To Enlightenment' shows all the tricks, beginning as a dirge, then briefly revving up, only to downshift to an acoustic guitar solo and finishing in the vein it started. 'Earth's Answer' is a blend of simple, catchy Southern-bred riffs, similar to Masters Of Reality. Like most of the 11 inclusions, it ventures beyond the seven minute mark. No platter within the genre would be complete without reverb and while evident throughout, 'Now Is The Winter' rides the motif forever. 'The Black Ones' and 'Awakening The Colossus' are both sludgy odes to their mentor, Black Sabbath. A lengthy instrumental jam, 'Journey To The Orange Inland' recalls guitar champs like Frank Marino and Pat Travers. A hard rock history lesson, from relative newcomers. What a treat.
