Customer Reviews

Bees Made Honey in the Lions Skull

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Usually music like this is found in movie soundtracks and the like. I could see this working for a Clint Eastwood western, or perhaps for No Country for Old Men. It's doomy and hypnotic at once. Very psychedelic, too.

But, above all, it's great music. Top notch work by fantastic musician visionaries. I've heard some of Earth's early work and I can say that they've come a long way from their origins.

Originally these fellas were making heavy, droning stuff, very much like the sound you'd get with Nirvana, only played through a terribly oppressive constant drone of sound, instead of a song with a chorus and melody. No, their early work was simply a guitar and bass guitar playing a wall of distorted, doomed, nerve scratching sound.

With this album, "The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull," they've widened their ideas quite a bit. There's a nice drum tempo to square things off. There is more complexity, a development of more instruments to make songs.

And, these songs are worked out perfectly, too. Exacting lengths. Beautiful recording. I'd say that this album is every bit as good as Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" for pure musical enjoyment. It's easily one of the best albums I've ever heard and I just don't get enough of it in my ears.

Trust me. Buy it. And, enjoy.

This album is a rhythmic, down-beat, ambient experience. Although this description may not sound too much different from Earth's other albums, this one is definitely more focused and much more realized. With special guest performer, Bill Frisell (an avant-garde jazz guitarist) they songs get a bit of a jazz flavor at times. Also, there seems to be some shades of Pink Floyd throughout this release.

It truly is an impressive work and leaves the listener satisfied. Earth fans will love this piece and this album also works as a great starting point for those who are just discovering this band.

Earth is a band that gets tagged with a lot of descriptions and genres that do not really apply to its current sound. I am constantly reading their music being described as "stoner rock" or "doom metal", which do accurately describe the bands style from many years ago. In more recent times, the band's sound has moved to a more ambient, old west styling, which is the case on the recent album, "The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull".

This album does not quite fall into any sort of true ambient territory, as there are very solid and noticeable musical progressions. This almost seems more like movie soundtrack work than true ambient or background music. The bulk of it is filled with really dense and highly styled guitar washes that invoke a very serious "Wild West" atmosphere. I can't really compare it to Ennio Moriccone's western soundtracks as the music is very different. However, I think "The Bees Made Honey..." could be substituted and used as a soundtrack to many of the great Leone westerns. Instead of lush orchestrations, you have almost a rock sensibility that could be coming from a lone cowboy traveling alone in the desert. Although, this cowboy happens to be carrying around some impressive guitar amps. The sound is not epic in scope, but rather more introspective.

Personally, I look forward to taking a trip out west, and playing this while going through the desert. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the scarce few examples of "western ambient" like A Small, Good Thing or Steve Roach and Roger King's "Dust to Dust". It might also work for people who are really into western movie soundtracks of any type, particularly the recent soundtrack work by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for movies like "The Proposition" or "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford".

Earth continue to wow me. I bought Hex and, after repeat listenings, it became one of my favorite albums. As reviewers have noted elsewhere, this is an overall more upbeat album, with a somehwat fuller, warmer sound. The piano is used delicately and brilliantly, to create some truly beautiful moments. The highlight of the album for me is Hung From The Moon, which features an arresting, damn-near tear jerking piano solo, before returning to the main guitar riff, now complimented by said piano. As always with Earth, patience is rewarded, and listeners in need of a quick fix should look elsewhere.

Hmm.... yeah. This album is all about the "feeling". I had this album in MP3, but I wanted to support the band and get the original album. The album cover is absolutley amazing.

Now about the music. The tempo is slow. The guitar is amazing. The pianno is amazing. The feeling that this album gives you is absolutley amazing. Why? Because it's possibile :)

It's really hard to explain the album. The best thing is just take a song an lissten it.

If animals were to make music, buzzards would have made this. Earth circle dessert plains and musical plateaus to the point where the circular movement is hypnotic. Shortest track on "The Bees Made Home in the Lion's Skull" is almost six minutes long, no vocals, not desolate, just abstract western music melts.

Trudging through a dessert brings few pleasures, for movie goers it makes for a deathly merge of succumbing to the elements. Buzzing distortions, prickly twangs, drum pounds bare bone dry, welcome to the west, be forewarned it's easy to lose concept of time. Mirage reverb, sand wave tremolo, instruments as plenty as the grains of sand, this is an interesting album to say the least.

Structure wise it's not chaotic, nor tame, just open terrain. Nothing seems out of place, no random unnecessary touches. Even rotary guitar pinches seem less like an abundance of minimalist touches, and more toward ripening touches.

Any of the seven given tracks represent the album, but not one can represent it as a whole. Normally I highlight a specific track on albums I review, t don't feel right doing that here. If I were to pick one though to save if this album scorched would be "Engine of Ruin". A toss off occurred for me between this tracks distinct guitar, and the rattling ambience folding over to the drone that is "Omen and Portents II".

Fans of post-rock, post-metal, and hitching posts rejoice: this album is nothing short of an ambient guitar masterpiece. It builds on the already excellent blueprints set forth in the previous Earth album, Hex, and expands on the best ideas in a big way. Contemplative, haunting, and bright (sometimes all in the same song), Bees Made Honey became my most-played album on iTunes within a month of purchasing it. I'm something of a connoisseur of the plodding, heavy music thing, and I can honestly say I've never heard an album quite like this one.

For those who are unfamiliar, drone-doom pioneers Earth took an about-face in the early 21st century. Trading in amplifier worship for Ennio Morricone tribute, Earth have carved a new niche in the heavy metal underground: heavy mellow. The genre is informed as much by tumbleweeds as 'regular' weed. Songs crawl by, as usual, but the formula has changed, while percussion, piano, and other non-stringed instruments round out the palette. Guitar fans, keep hope: mainman Dylan Carson's six string is still as chock full of reverb, echo, and flangar as ever. He's just using it to play actual songs now (as opposed to feedback).

The album favors certain moods or activities over others. While I can't imagine bumping it on the drive to work, a picturesque drive through an Arizona highway could be magnified tenfold by playing this album. Due to its slow tempos and gentle crescendos, it's become my de facto 'sleepytime' album, and can also make a great soudntrack for, um, alternative bedroom excursions.

Bees Made Honey is the album that Earth have been meandering towards over the course of their twenty year career, and in my mind, is the crowning jewel in an already tremendous discography. If you are even a mild fan of the experimental music genres listed above (or Sergio Leone westerns), do yourself a favor and pick this album up for the mantle, lest you feel Wyatt Earp's wrath.

warm is the best way for me to describe this album,warm and relaxing,i love Earth so much ( =

If this doesnt sound interesting to you then take away one star.
If this sounds like your cup of tea then add a star.
If you are driving or god forbid walking thru a desert while listening to this music then add 2 stars & make this a perfect score.

Its mood music.

Earth has made music for a long time, but I haven't heard much from them in recent years. Then they release this album and it's exactly what you are used to hearing from this band. It's songs are experimental, heavy almost a type of "stoner rock". It's interesting how they produce music that's heavy, but slow and psychedelic and in a way hypnotizing that lures you in from the first song to the last.

This is a great background music album. Not in your face. Loud, but soothing and intriguing. They have deep lyrics, not your cheesy rock lyrics that some bands do. Dylan Carson's guitars are precise and atmospheric, with each note ringing in your ear in a calming way. Take this album with you if you when you can just sit back, relax and get lost in the moment.