ALBUM REVIEW: Om - Pilgrimage (2007)

Just as a fair warning, I'm a massive, frothing Sleep fanboy. If you asked me to pick one album to wander the deserts with for all of eternity, it would be Sleep's Holy Mountain. As you might know, Om is the band that the rhythm section of Sleep went on to form after the band's breakup, and as tragic as Sleep becoming defunct may have been for me, it seems that an arguably better band has risen from Sleep's ashes.

I'm speaking as if this is a debut for Om, but it's not, as they have two previous full-lengths, Variations on a Theme and Conference of the Birds, which are respectively very well done. Pilgrimage takes their musical style another step forward, Al Cisneros's rumbling bumbling sludgy bass and Chris Hakius's determined, tribal beats on the drums. I can't describe the music in any other word than "groovy." The songs are pure motherfucking catchy-yet-thoughtful explorations, with a deeply philosophical and almost religious feel. The vocals do everything to support this, with Cisneros's chanting ranging from relaxing whispers to being firm and louder, similar to previous efforts.

However, the album isn't all sludge, the first track is a ten minute almost ambient, wonderful intro for the album, which from that point brings on the heavy stuff that will satisfy Sleep fans. It does return to this chill style later on in the album, leading you to feel as if you're in the eye of a storm. Largely the album feels like a follow up to At Giza, and lyrically it reflects this from what I can tell so far.

In the end, this album is fantastic, and the only major detractor is its relatively short length (a little over 30 minutes) which might not really be a negative, as it's better to have this than a version with filler. I think everyone who considers themselves a stoner metal fan should hear this, and I'm tempted to give it a perfect score but, albeit a very focused and well-executed effort, I feel like Om still can take it to another level in the future.

9/10

FILM REVIEW: CHILDREN OF MEN (2006)

Wow. That's what comes to mind first. Children of Men is a distopian sci-fi adventure thriller set in 2027 in a rapidly deteriorating world where humans can no longer have kids, and haven't had one for 18 years. It's presented about as realistically it could be, extremely gritty, colorless, you feel exactly like you're along for the ride, running along with the characters. The story is fairly simple: Kee, the last pregnant girl on the planet, has to be delivered safely to "Human Project," something we (or the characters) are not sure even exist. England (London in particular) in 2027 is proudly proclaiming itself to be the last bastion of hope in the world, while dozens of other cities have folded into destruction. Quickly we discover that this London is in a state of disrepair: bags of trash litter the streets with no garbagemen to pick them up, schools are totally abandoned and overgrown with weeds, and most of all, refugees (or "fugees") are hoarded up and taken to ghettos, or just killed outright. This is the environment Kee has to navigate, with her at-first-reluctant guardian Theo (Clive Owen, the main character of the picture) to guide her along the way.

The movie is shot in a mise-en-scène pseudo-documentary style, with numerous single-take shots that just blow you away if you're a fan of directing, editing, or cinematography. The longest of which is seven and a half minutes long, making Quentin Tarantino's impressive long single-take sequences look like peanuts in comparison. It's really amazing seeing the different aspects of the production all come together, especially how the near-future was envisioned. But I'd better not get ahead of myself slobbering over the aesthetics of the movie: the acting is superb all around, with Michael Caine delivering an atypical hippie, weed-growing and long haired, he actually based his performance after John Lennon apparently. There's lots of goods here, and had I seen this in 2006 I *might* have considered making this my favorite film of that year instead of the Departed. Maybe.

9/10

ALBUM REVIEW: LEAF HOUND - Growers of Mushroom (1971)

YES! Now we're talking. Growers of Mushroom is true stoner rock from 1971, Leaf Hound hails from London England and brings the smoke-filled riffs in plenty. The moment I stuck this album in the player, I was reminded of old Vietnam movies; tanks rolling along a dirt road, dust kicking up behind them, and some catchy, groovy rock blaring as the tanks drove on. Awesome. The first song "Freelance Fiend" is probably the best on the record in my opinion, with Led Zeppelin type vocals.

Actually, in general the band is quite a lot like Led Zeppelin if they had taken their psychadelic tendencies one step farther. Another band they remind me of is the much newer Wolfmother, except obviously Leaf Hound was doing this almost 40 years earlier, and is much better at their craft. If you like catchy rock with a psychedelic edge and awesome song titles like "Sad Road to the Sea," get this immediately. Comes highly recommended from me.

9/10