As if the last Place of Skulls record wasn't strong enough on its own, "With Vision" sees Victor Griffin adding the mighty Wino (guitars/vocals) to an already powerful "ex-member" factor of the lineup. I would absolutely say that this album is equally as diverse as "Nailed" was, if not more so, and I find the songwriting to be incredibly forceful and enjoyable. Really, in this day and age it scarcely gets better than this as far as this general genre of rock music is concerned, and I can't remember the last record I heard of this nature that held my attention or drew me in as much as this one. I love the fact that there are lots of melodic rocked out solos all over the place, and the songs sway from moderately paced rhythms to slower and darker passages, slightly more energetic bursts, surprisingly quirky runs with some unusual time signatures (see instrumentals like "Dimensional Sojourn"), etc. One of the most curious moments is by far "In Rest", acting as an intro to "Silver Cord Breaks", with its droning feedback and more experimental atmospheres. The excellent dissonant chords in the title track really hit me as well. But it's "The Monster" that is the real gem here - far more melodic and emotional musically and vocally it stands out from the pack and really places this record on the next level. Amazing. The only thing I don't like about the recording is that the drums aren't warm enough. The snare is especially dry and rigid - popping out a lot from what is an otherwise warm and natural mix with a lot of cohesiveness between instruments/vocal lines. The guitar tones are nice, the bass is thick and fills the low-end spectrum, etc. It's really just that snare and a few other nuances of the percussion that can be mildly distracting and/or irritating. Visually everything is 50/50. I really like the back cover and the back of the booklet because the imagery is curious and the color schemes are a perfect match, and the inside of the booklet is fairly crisp with clean text. However, I think the cover is pretty horrific. I can live with it, but I hate computer altered photos, and I've never been a fan of any form of posed band photos making for an album cover. It would've looked infinitely better had the image on the back of the booklet been used in its place (as it is for the LP version). I think the lyrics are far stronger than most bands of this nature though, taking a subtly personal twist to cryptic concepts: "A man's eyes are sometimes blind to the truth, Regardless of creeds our worlds collide in two, Born and conceived from the vision of one seed, But dying in rejection, separation we bleed..." Just like I said last time, I can't imagine anyone who's into this style being let down by this. They're a great band, and they keep getting better.
[Southern Lord]
Running time - 50:33, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: With Vision, Willfully Blind, The Monster]
Southern Lord Recordings - http://www.southernlord.com
