crowbar2011

We won’t talk about how Crowbar was the first band I ever saw live. We won’t talk about how Odd Fellows Rest is in my Top 10 albums of all time. We won’t talk about how I bought the first Down record at Tower Records for a midnight release wearing my Crowbar shirt.

We will talk about how amazing it is to finally have a new Crowbar record 6 years TO THE DAY since the last one was released.  Sever The Wicked Hand is a triumphant, and I do mean triumphant, return from the leaders of New Orleans sludge metal.

You know how lots of albums start off strong, kind of wander off in the middle, and then finish strong? Not this one. By the middle of the record (“As I Become One”), you’ll be kicking yourself at how consistently awesome Sever… continues to be. And it only gets better!

No one and I mean no one can make riffs like Kirk Windstein. “Let Me Mourn” is proof of this. The song itself is a slow groove but GD if that riff throughout doesn’t knock down walls. Then there’s the breakdowns in “The Cemetery Angels” and the outro to “Protectors of the Shrine” that will just pummel you over the head until you forget about any other band not bearing the name Crowbar.

The best part of Sever… is hearing Windstein behind a mic again. Don’t get me wrong, I love Down, but knowing that Kirk and C.O.C.’s Pepper Keenan are virtually silent within their ranks just breaks my heart. Sever The Wicked Hand is out next Tuesday, February 8th. Check out Crowbar’s official site for some great pre-order options.

2011 is already a banner year for metal and we’re barely a month in. The metal community has some serious competition so far.