Zebulon Pike "And Blood Was Passion" CD
[self-released]
That I haven't heard anything about this self-described Minneapolis "instrumental prog-doom metal" band prior to this point is absolutely inconceivable to me, because this is some impressive shit that'll blow the minds of anyone who's into anything remotely associated with 70's progressive rock, "stoner rock", or the forms of doom metal more closely related to the two. I think this CD has been out since sometime in late-2003, but I only found out about it last month since former Realm bassist Steve Post is in the band, and someone shot me an email suggesting that I check out Zebulon Pike for said reason. Of course I did, and was immediately floored, so I knew I had to get my hands on this disc. Opener "The Iommi Variations", which at 4:16 is concise compared to the rest of the tunes, is the most straightforward of the selections, building around a dirge-y tempo filled with fuzzy dual guitar leads that are way more 70's than most anything else herein. They definitely toss in just enough of a "What the hell?" factor to keep things from sounding anything like a rock song or something that could be classified as too "typical", but rest assured it's only the beginning, as from this point on the record's a mammoth journey into riff dementia (And that's a good thing!). Just check out the amazing dissonant riffs in "Aztec Parallels" that wind around between lush clean guitars and distortion with tons of fucked up time signatures and quick shifts with relentless percussive patterns that jump from restrained beats to flurried fills as the structures permit. And, I mean, the acoustic break eight minutes in, and the way those quaint bass melodies build back to the fore behind it, eventually leading to a sparsely doomy slow paced churn with lots of breathing room? Beautiful. Within 13 minutes all of this somehow creates an intense and emotional blend of dark indie rock, quirky math rock, and the epic "instrumental prog-doom metal" with which the band has tagged themselves. "Howl of Wicca" similarly takes over 12 minutes to do its damage with equally winding dissonance, though the overall disposition is a little heavier and more persistently pulsing in this one - yet not without a sick clean passage prior to the five-minute mark with some slithering bends. And how about that zippy, chugging, rhythmic monstrosity that cranks in at 10 minutes!? The songs may be long and rather restrained in tempo, but things tend to move rather quickly as far as shapeshifting and refusing to stagnate on one riff or variation for too long, but it's certainly pulled off with fluid precision and never feels jumbled at all. After a soft, two-minute clean intro, nine-minute "Under Capricorn" lets loose with one of the most sinister runs of the disc, dropping some churning chords that should appeal nicely to the doom crowd and contrasted with crawling arpeggios that end up making for one of the more melodic and open pieces, despite those crushing power chord surges. This is another where the acoustics really add a slick touch, as does the noisy feedback that starts to envelop the riffs towards the close of the piece. "Pillars of Hercules" (also topping nine minutes) quickly juts into some busy math rock riffing and stuttered back and forth movement over to some 70's prog sounding runs in one of the more complex arrangements herein - which should be ear candy for those who like it mangled and subtly technical on the rhythmic front. Later on some of the thick, discordant chord phrasings actually remind me of a more rocked out Crowbar, which is both awesome and wholly unexpected, so... this one definitely brings the aggression back in your face from the spacious "Under Capricorn". Also proving that this band is incredible and knows precisely what they're doing is the fact that the recording is flawless. Everything is crystal clear, perfectly warm and natural, and I don't have any complaints at all. The mix gives the bass just the right amount of room to where it's constantly heard rather than fighting for space, the percussion is crisp and resonant, all of the guitar tones are perfect - be it the dryer clean guitars, the bright acoustics, or the densely gritty distortion, etc. It's all good to go, I wouldn't really touch a damn thing. And, indeed, even the layout looks impeccable. This is easily one of the best looking self-released CD's I've ever laid eyes on in more than five years of doing this site. All of the landscape imagery is nice and consistent in color scheme/saturation, the accents of metallic silver ink and layered textures are awesome, and so on. Everything about this release is in perfect order. The most admirable trait of the band is that they create instrumental compositions that exude a remarkable degree of musical proficiency, but also achieve a strong sense of feeling and emotion - never showing off, but instead making the most of those talents in order to compose powerful songs - a rare, rare circumstance indeed. I'm telling you: All of the fucking millions of sources out there who've been gushing over Mastodon for the last few years? Guess what? This is where it's at, people... so eat your fucking hearts out. Seriously, if you're into Mastodon, if you're into Pelican, if you're down with the classic Southern Lord sound, I'm begging and pleading for you people to listen to this shit. Zebulon Pike is just so impressive, it's absolutely criminal that they haven't been absolutely lauded with praise yet. Hopefully that's going to change at some point soon, but for now? Look into this immediately... it don't get much better, folks. These guys deserve a hell of a lot more acclaim. Trust me, motherfuckers. Get to it. (8/10)
Running time - 47:27, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Aztec Parallels, Under Capricorn, Pillars of Hercules]
Zebulon Pike - http://www.zebulonpike.com

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