Crowbar -- 'Lifesblood for the Downtrodden' [review]

Crowbar
"Lifesblood for the Downtrodden"
(Candlelight Records)


Sometimes you're in the mood for something comfortable. You don't need new, or experimental, or groundbreaking ... you just need the comfortable grind of old fashioned metal. And Crowbar's latest effort, "Lifesblood for the Downtrodden," is exactly what you'd be looking for.

Fifteen years since the band's inception and four years since the release of its last album, Crowbar, or more specifically, front man and guitarist Kirk Windstein, seems out to prove that that the band's plodding, sludgy, dirge-heavy sonic assault is still relevant in the modern metal scene.

Windstein hooked up with original Crowbar drummer Craig Nunenmacher and bassist Rex Brown (of Pantera and Down fame) for this album, a relentless blend of heavy, murky riffs and down-tuned melody.

Every track on here is uncompromisingly heavy, each explored and expanded to fullness. While prior Crowbar releases tended to bleed together, "Lifesblood" is full of tempo-changes and melodic breaks. The band explodes out of the gate on a track like "Dead Sun," but can do a 180 and slow everything down for the chorus without losing the "metal" and atmosphere of dread.

The drums are spot on, the bass is punishing and the thick guitar work is stellar. Everything pieces together nicely to form a crushing weapon to deliver Windstein's growled vocals.

While no new ground is being broken, "Lifesblood" is a welcome addition to the Crowbar catalogue. Sometimes you don't want new and unknown, you want to pick something up you know will kick your ass. Crowbar definitely hit a homerun with this one, which says something for a band that hasn't always been able to deliver the goods. This is a band that's been doing what it does long enough to put together a hit album, not a fluke, but a collection of tracks that will entertain you. Not just for a song here or there, but for an entire album.