Album Review

Crowbar – Sever The Wicked Hand

• 24th Jan 2011

Heavy in both topic and execution, brutally honest in style and subject matter- Crowbar are a band in the most admirable of positions-lauded by their peers, admired by new artists-all achieved by carving out a section for themselves with slabs of sludge, conviction and an un-wavering desire to deliver abominably weighty riffs.
Crowbar have certainly influenced a wealth of the now accepted-and amazingly- more well known acts, but still deeply rooted in Crowbar’s sound is Iommi’s slow riffing, Sabbath sway, with blues shifts and a pouring of distortion and down tunings.

‘Sever the wicked hand’ starts with a powerful statement ‘Isolation (Desperation)’, which feels like a wall falling on top of you at the albums beginning. It’s mournful, powerful and wrapped in aggression and sincerity. It’s a destructive cry to anything that holds you back and serves as an introduction to the album’s core, both musically and thematically.

It’s been six years since ‘Lifeblood’ and Windstein’s sobriety and drug free lifestyle is covered, becoming a strong muse for this album, alongside dealing with life on its most basic level.

The overriding message with ‘Sever the wicked hand’ is defeating the demons that hold you back, addiction, self doubt, mortality: “Sooner or later we all go in the ground”-the hand being the enabler of whatever evil it may be, drugs, alcohol, anything that prevents you moving forward in your life.

The title track is probably the closest personification of what Crowbar stand for. It’s a message delivered from someone who has been through these lessons and rather than sermonize, Kirk allows you to make your own judgements. It’s that delivery that solidifies its validity-clear cut in ‘I only deal in truth’ which is complete with the growl and drawl of Kirk’s vocals and the swinging hammer of co-guitarist Matt’s playing.

Crowbar has the ability to sum up a dark groove that seems to have been entrenched for years in a matter of seconds, and could be played for an eternity. The swaying walled distortion of ‘Liquid sky, and cold black earth’ and ‘Let me mourn’ sees the dual guitars and Pat’s bass soaking every note up, and labouring to achieve a destroying line.

Ultimately there is no preaching here, only the truth of the situation-laid out in the barest of fashions for you to learn or discard, but its sincerity cannot be denied. There’s an acceptance of finality that enables you to deal with everyday life.

‘A farewell to misery’ opens the whole experience of ‘Sever the wicked hand’ up, imagine Sabbath’s ‘Fluff’ but covered in grime and dirt-it’s a slow meditation with the piano twisting round a sorrowful riff. It acts as an amazing counterpoint to the weight of the album, achieving the same result without distortion.

With the journey of overcoming something that may ultimately destroy you, must come a belief that there will be an end, as Kirk conveys in “Dawn will awake, with a new hope for you”-‘Protectors of the shrine’. It’s that key message that raises the entire album.

Whilst metal and heavy music gets attacked for being negative, this album is anything but. Dealing with issues of the every man and providing real solutions with motivation and integrity. ‘Sever the wicked hand’ is an album that grabs you and challenges you to become a better person, ‘Symbiosis’ echoing and encapsulating it completely with “Don’t lose your desire or you will fade”

This album will be seen by some as a rebirth of Crowbar, and indeed it is one of the best albums they have ever produced. The truth is Crowbar have always been making great albums, whether they have been recognised or not; writing crushing riffs and low strung tunes, whilst the world eventually realises how important they really are.