It finally came; the album we've all been waiting for since this band was just a sparkle in Wino's eyes. Shrinebuilder is the super group of super groups. Throw in Scott "Wino" Weinrich (Saint Vitus, The Obsessed), Al Cisneros (Sleep, Om), Scott Kelly (Neurosis) and Dale Crover (Melvins, Porn) in the same room, and what do you get? One of the best album of 2009, all categories, that's what. Since the anticipations for this album was high to say the least, it was kind of scary to listen to it at first. Thoughts like "will I like this just because of who's in the band" used to keep me awake at night. Well, kinda. When the band gave us "Pyramid of the Moon", the second track via their MySpace, I wasn't too worried any more. It can only go downhill from here, I thought. It didn't.
Scott, Al and Wino all sing on the album which is a stroke of genius. They're all great singers and it gives the album a variety that is very welcomed in the genre we call doom metal. Also, because when Scott Kelly sings it sometimes becomes too much of Neurosis. And if he'd sung on the entire album it wouldn't be the same. On the other hand, I'm not the kind of person who thinks anything can be too much Neurosis, but you probably know what I mean. It's the same with Al of course; the mind automatically wanders to Sleep and Om. Wino sounds better than ever and it would have been great if he'd sung more on the album. That's probably my only complaint.
As it seems, Shrinebuilder is not just a one-off project. The band has said that this is a real group, from whom we can expect a lot more in the future. I for one can't wait.
www.myspace.com/shrinebuildergroup
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