Customer Reviews

Born Too Late

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Teeming with an abundance of distorted, wah-wah pedal, tidal wave of slow-motion catharsis, California's Black Sabbath derived hippy weed worshipers, Saint Vitus, released this moody monolith in 85'. Many metal fans were unable to relate to its mastodon pace and counter culture themes of alienation, and the hardcore/punk crossover crowds found it laughable. It's what made BTL so unique; its self awareness was soulfull, heavy, at the forefront. I was one of those long haired weirdos who got it when it came out because by the pyschedelic pink cover with its cobwebbed crucifix stain-glass window, I knew it would smoke, and it sure did {I'm no autograph hound, but Wino signed my vinyl copy} I only break it out once in a blue moon as it represents something I more so related to when I was younger. The emotions conveyed reduce it to takes-one-to-know-one status; you either immediately love it or hate it. I ended up having it tatooed on my arm, ha ...inked, and to beat out a rhythm. It's the personal element that makes this record so powerful; if you 'got' it, you took comfort in knowing there were others out there who felt the same way, and that they blasted out tunes that resonated with a lost breed. Vitus was born too late, yet, were oddly ahead of their time as their music, and this record in particular, turned out to be far more influential than I'm sure those guys ever dreamed of in their wildest hallucinations.

These days there are truck loads of bands using the old Sabbath formula, but no band does it as well as 80's indie doom masters St.Vitus.I got this album 15 yrs. ago and was floored not only by its heaviness of sound and mood, but by its honesty.Metal,like most male dominated music,tends to reflect an alpha male attitude,lots of macho agression, it reflects the way men are conditioned to think, value and behave in western capitalist culture(or reflects the sympotoms and outcomes of a culture that values winning, high gloss, and greed above all else) Vitus breaks from the stereotype,their sound is very heavy,masculine,creepy and desparate-yet there are vast differences between masculine and macho, desparate and depraived.These songs are S L O W dirges that deal with addiction, depression, and loss.War Starter deals with mans penchant for competition(war)cold apathy for lives lost and humanity itself, and the foolish reliance on so called leaders and groups.The reoccurring theme of this album(and most Vitus albums)seems to be isolation.Not belonging.The opening song, the title track, starts out "Every time I'm on the street, people laugh and point at me,they talk about my length of hair and the out of date clothes I wear"-this held more relavance in the 80's, but it still rings true today.Vocalist Wino said it was a song for all the people(metal fans)who stayed heavy-remember, back in the 80's,metal sold out,went the way of tight pants and hair-do bands playing top-40 'party' metal.The nineties saw metal sell out to funk, alternative(whatever thats supposed to mean) and now hip hop/rap, so it does'nt surprise me to see this album, this band, talked about in reverential tones among todays underground metal fans.Considered a 'high'(bong)water mark among the 11 Vitus albums/ep's,Born Too Late is the poster child for todays stoner/doom metal scene.

Not only is Saint Vitus the best band in the world, this is the best album that they ever released. Every song here encapsulates the vibes of isolation, of being completely outcast from everyone, even when in a crowd. At the time of the LP's release(1986), Vitus were the only band playing slow, heavy music, fitting into neither the "speed-metal"/thrash scene of the era, nor into the "glam" metal camp. They carried with them a vibe of late-1960's pschedelia, a sound and look from a lost era. Wino's vocals lend a sense of desperation here that Reager's vocals, although perhaps "technically" better, never could carry. And Dave Chandler...absolutely the best guitar player of all time. No one employs wah, phaser,flange and feedback as well as Dave can, not even Leigh Stephens from Blue Cheer. His leads, freaked-out and frantic, cut away all the "precision and technicality" that marr most "metal" guitar solos. He has the ability to make his guitar "talk" in a way that no other guitarist can. Dave is the man!The rhythm section of Mark Adams(Bass) and Armando Acosta(Drums) are absolutely dynamic, solid, yet creating angular tangents that do more than merely support the root of Dave's guitar chords, lending a simultaneous sense of stability and uncontrolled chaos to the maelstrom of heaviness. Vitus are a unique entity in the music world, often imitated, but they will never be bettered. DOOM OR BE DOOMED!

classic doom title, from the all time classic doom band. slow, mournful epics with Wino on vocals.

This is an early doom masterpiece with Wino of the Obsessed on lead vocals ! Songs are about LSD, alcohol, war & depression and have some killer slow sludgey riffs with wah wah freakout leads by Dave Chandler...CD even includes bonus tracks from the 'Thirsty & Miserable' 12" ...yes, 'Thirsty & Miserable' is a Blag Flag cover...a must for fans of early doom!

Dark, brooding powerful masterpiece heavily influenced by Black Sabbath. The music's riff's are so slow and so cool. This was my first Saint Vitus album and it opened my mind. The music deals with alienation, psychedelic drugs, alcoholism, war lust and depression. Don't get turned off by the term "doom" yes saint Vitus sings about pessimistic subject matter, but I always feel much better after listening to them. Doom Rock dose not get any better when then when Wino and Chandler crank it out. In my opinion this is the 2nd best Saint Vitus album placing it right after Saint Vitus's Mind Blowing "V" check it out.

This album marks the transition between the Reagers era, and the Wino era, at vocals. Without question, the band was different with each--but great, and always still Vitus. This is probably the slowest, and most basic, of their material. Born too Late may be the truest doom of Vitus' era (except for their self-titled first album), which is saying a lot, since it's all unarguably "true." It pounds, it depresses, it bemoans, it laments. It seldom strays from simplicity musically, and yet, for all its simplicity, there is much going on. The wah-wah pedal and fuzzed (almost static-like)guitar bits really comes into their own here (a later Vitus trademark), creating an absrasive (as opposed to dreamy) pschedelic/noise influence. It's basic, primitive, but very memorable. Because of these aspcts, if one listens carefully, he or she can see the slightest of Hendrix influences here, even though overall, this is a poor man's Sabbath, hungover and slowed down.

Lyrically, this piece of art definitely epitomizes the feeling of the outcast, the forgotten, the sullen. Whereas a lot of metal lives off anger, this expresses enough indignation to offer signs of life, but teeters ever so close to the edge of total resignation. Every time I hear it, and then read these guys are from LA, I picture guys living in rat-infested apartments off skid row in the dingiest part of town, lost in the 70s, and finding just enough work to keep from going over the edge. This isn't exactly intended as a compliment, but it is to say, they are authentic, genuine, and they feel what they are singing about. If LA is the home of glam rock, these guys are anti-glam, and not self-consciously so; they simply ARE. They are average in talent, but excel at "creating a vibe"--and their sincerity resonates in every dragged out note, every moaned phrase. Simply put, Vitus is for the downtrodden, but not the weak.

"Born Too Late" by Saint Vitus is another Doom Metal masterpiece that put this band almost at the same level of old Black Sabbath. Slow drums grooves, obscure guitar riffs and hallucinating solos make this album to the top of the genre. "Wino" at the vocals is terrific. For St. Vitus, time is stopped in early seventies ...record recommanded to all people who like good music, not only metalheads!

Saint Vitus is killer because even though Black Sabbath is everywhere in music they manage to be completley original. They don't sound like a sabbath cover band like Sleep or Sheavy. Saint Vitus are true underground legends never cared about anything going on in the lame world of pop music. Hair metal,grunge,rap & whatever the hell u wanna call garbage like static x & limp bizkutt. There will never be another band like Vitus. They don't make em like this anymore. Phil Anselmo got me into this band & he is right when he said Saint Vitus kicks serious ass. This album is great every song is a classic enough said.

One day I was browsing through my cd collection and I happened to find a cd, which I do not remember acquiring. It was called Born too Late. How it got into my stack of cd's I will never know, but I remember as I first listened to it on my walkman and immediately liked the slow and heavy sounds that this band made with tremendous eaze.

The musical style reminds me somewhat of other stoner metal bands like Bongzilla and Sleep, but they don't seem to be borrowing as much from Black Sabbath as those other bands are. Instrad Saint Vitus seems to be borrowing a lot more from the psychadelic movement, but blending it with the heaviest music this side of Cathedral (actually that is kind of an interesting correlation as there is a Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague).

This cd is infinitely listenable, whether or not you have a handful of the good green stuff or not. They surprise me even when I am not paying attention to what they are singing. Sometimes a guitar line will just jump out and grab me by the ear lobe and pull me back in.