It's like a planet moving forward in space, like a fucking big planet
With two discs, a roughly two hour total playing length, and three of eight songs that pass the twenty five minute mark, "big" is definitely a fitting word to describe III: So Long Suckers. You may expect a certain amount of pretense: orchestral arrangements, bombastic neoclassical guitar soloing, the most elaborate of lyrical concepts, etc. Reverend Bizarre have none of that, instead sticking to the guitar/bass/drum trio throughout nearly the whole album (the keyboard end to "Hail Caesar" is pretty hard to miss). What they do have is riffs. Big riffs, huge even. Gargantuan, enormous, titanic, elephantine monuments to Black Sabbath that are propulsed by endlessly pumping life force of The Earl of Void's drumming (they also have awesome pseudonyms). Reverend Bizarre take the traditional doom metal template of Pentagram, Witchfinder General, Saint Vitus or Candlemass and multiply it; letting the riffs grow in power and heaviness with each repetition until they're the size of, well, a planet.
Reverend Bizarre had originally planned to release five studio albums, but instead announced that they were splitting up in 2006 after two albums and a handful of EPs with III: So Long Suckers being their final statement. And going out with a bang is exactly what the band did. In comparison to their previous material, III: So Long Suckers covers and improves upon everything that makes Reverend Bizarre great. The production is flawless; the instruments tones are all warm and vibrant while still being heavy as hell. Brand new to the band's sound is Albert Witchfinder's bass soloing, which fits in with the music perfectly (not to mention making the end of "Anywhere Out Of This World" amazing).
Opener "Teutonic Witch / They Used Dark Forces" is a relentless orgy of upbeat metal riffing for no less than thirty minutes before segueing into the equally long, equally relentless, but dark, depressing and soul-crushing second track "Sorrow". Each song on III: So Long Suckers deserves a mention, but that gets boring fast so I'll summarize by saying that it is the finest slab of doom metal I have come across, and despite being 2 hours long it never feels that long and there is not a single thing I would shorten or change in it. Reverend Bizarre proudly cite their influences, but they also take the sound to a whole new level. Put simply, one of the best albums (top 3-5ish) I have heard.
| Reviewer:Jeff Mcquiggan Added: September 11th 2007 |
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