Ad Astra

On the whole, it would appear that writing positive reviews is presumably more rewarding than writing negative reviews. There's certainly no dearth of laudatory adjectives for a work that fulfills the reviewer and prose is nothing but forthcoming. And it probably feels a whole lot better to actually direct a listener to something worth listening to than flag every steaming turd one happens to encounter in some pretense of goodwill for the listening community (the hallmark of many reviewers, if I may say so). Then again, every now and then, one comes across an album that defies any length of description and only seems to strike a mortal fear in the reviewer of doing patent injustice to it simply by attempting any description whatsoever. While this introduction may be more appropriate for a concept album or other works with similar pretenses of grandiosity than a 'mundane' groovy stoner rock album - let me attempt to lay down what really makes this stand out in just the same way.

This is the Beggars' peak. There is really no single album prior or after which captures their sound quite as poignantly. Musically, you have some of the strongest performances by the band till date. Michael Amott particularly shines, with his solos almost soaring from the morass of fuzzy grooves on here, attaining a style that's both flamboyant and tasteful. It was always obvious from listening to what is sadly his prime project (Arch Enemy) that Michael can do much much more - and this is where the action is (besides Carcass, of course). Really, one of the most tuneful guitarists plying in the genre right now. That aside, the Hammond has a more commanding presence here than before, lending it that 70s touch without sounding hopelessly revivalist. This album is distinctly a lot more concise and song-oriented shedding some of the more exploratory and jammy elements of previous albums, although this aspect does come back in spates and rushes and to great effect - say the epic, desultory 'Mantra' or the swirling, almost religious conclusion to 'Escaping the Fools' (you'd have to hear it to know). The production on here is also more refined - giving each instrument its due place and never lapsing into sounding contrived and overproduced.

But what really sets this release apart is the songwriting. And by the tower of Black fucking Sabbath do they fire on all cylinders here. Central to the entire 'concept' of the album is the character of Spice (for the uninitiated, the vocalist). Plagued by a constant sense of ennui for the 'business of life'͵ this album is the sonic equivalent of a Bukowski novel, embodying its absolute dread for the rote and the mundane. Notably, the band pays tribute to Bukowski's influence by namedropping him in 'Sedated' . Spice writes misanthropic, pointed odes to alcohol, apathy and abandonment that would have any run of the mill shrink scrounging for his prescription pad. Dripping with contempt for society and people and enervated by an affinity for mind altering substances, the sheer density of derision and resignation permeating this makes it hard to believe and easy to forget that the album is also ridiculously catchy. A single listen to the archetypal bouncy riff on the title track or the characteristic use of the wah pedal on the opener would suffice to rid anyone of the suspicion that this album is overcompensating in any way for musical shortcomings. Or any suspicion whatsoever. From the get go, it really is impossible NOT to get hooked.

But coming back to atmosphere on the album itself. This is why no Beggars' album has really come close to this and I think scarcely could. With the departure of Spice, they'd lost a whole chunk of that feeling. And while their following works are no plain slouches, some of them competent, some great even - they're nothing close to the sheer profundity of this album. This is akin to say, any Savatage album post the Criss Oliva era. Spiritual Beggars reached their apotheosis here, and perhaps part of the reason Spice even left was that the band, in this incarnation atleast, had achieved everything they really could with this album. Its a little surprising that this has no reviews yet. But then again, that kind of goes with the general dearth of reviews for stoner rock - it really isn't the most metal and kvlt of genres out there. But setting aside all those distractions, you'd find some great riffs here and more 'atmosphere' and morbidity than you can shake a stick at. Don't miss this for the world it so openly despises.