Customer Reviews

Singles

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the doomy slow rock genre has almost outgrown itself in recent years. fans of this sort of crushingly low tuned and oppressive form of metal used to have but a handful of bands who they could call their own; and now it seems that everyone who can crank up the distortion and tug on the e-string every 5 minutes is putting out their own brand of sludge. when i think of quality bands of this ilk, there are a few particular examples that spring to mind. Black Sabbath are undoubtedly the masters and creators of this particular brand of monolithic metal. and their sound went on to influence the wacky, and confusing heaviness of The Melvins; and the crawling dirge-like soundscapes of Earth, as well as more traditional doom rock bands like Electric Wizard and Grief. all of these groups borrowed elements from each other...the trancelike wall of distorted sound, the lower-than-low rumble of the bass guitar, and of course, the slow and steady pounding of the minimal (but highly effective) drumwork. but while all these factors are genre specific, each band had the atmosphere and the songs to carve out their own distinct personality.

Now we come to Harvey Milk, one of the most amazing and confusing of all the sludgy bands; and one who certainly did their fair share of carving out a personality for themselves. i hesitate to put them into a "metal" category or a "doomy" category, because most of their music simply does not fit into that genre. although, bearing many similiar traits to alot of metal bands, Harvey Milk seem to have more in common (at least on this particular album) with alot of the old hard rock bands like Kiss or ZZ Top (both of which the members of Harvey Milk are fans of). but the audio quality of these tunes share a link to those old AmRep bands like Jesus Lizard or Hammerhead, or maybe even early work by the Dazzling Killmen. the guitar sound is so distorted that it sounds dirty and ugly, the snare drum sounds menacingly strong and tight, and the bass just sounds pitch black dark and seems to wrap itself around these songs like some kind of creepy ominous fog.

the songs on this cd are all taken from various out-of-print 7" singles and compilation appearances, so i'm not really sure that this would be the best place for a Harvey Milk newbie to begin the search (for the uninitiated, i would wholeheartedly suggest the Courtesy And Good Will album - which amazon doesn't seem to stock...shame). and there is alot of variation on display here...some slow sludged down numbers, some acoustic interludes, as well as a surprising number of fairly upbeat and fast songs. this is a rough batch of tracks, but it shows a profound evolution of the influence of the doomy slow rock that all began from the mighty Black Sabbath. Harvey Milk fans should be happy as hades to have this cd in their hands. The Singles is a highly recommended collection that suits the legacy of this unique, inspiring, and sorely missed band.

Fans of the Melvins -- particularly the early stuff -- should get a kick out of this. Thick, slow, heavy, crunchy, and funny. The ultimate first-date makeout album.