Customer Reviews

Sperm Whale + White Rabbit

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bassist Joe Preston came from Earth, one of the only bands that ever gave the Melvins a run for their money to take the "heaviest band ever" trophy back in the early 1990s. In 1991, the Melvins invited Joe to leave Earth and join them. Personally, I believe the Joe Era was the best period of the Melvins' existence. But the Joe Era didn't last long. (barely two years, three records, maybe? Lysol, solo EPs, Night Goat 7") The Melvins kicked Joe out, and then proceeded to go downhill at about 3000 mph. Joe disappeared for a couple of years. Then he began his Thrones project. He's released several singles and one previous album, Alraune.

The Sperm Whale CD is actually the combination of two four-song 12" EPs- White Rabbit from a year or two ago, and the brand new Sperm Whale EP. (Ironically, all of the songs on Sperm Whale seem to be about bears. Joe is a self-proclaimed "friend to animals".) But it isn't formatted as Sperm Whale with the tracks from the previous EP tacked on to the end. All eight songs from both EPs are completely intermixed (not remixed, I'm talking about the track order/sequence) in a new order to more or less form a full album.

Thrones in general basically picks up where the Melvins left off back before they started to suck. Granted, most of this stuff doesn't actually sound like the Melvins... but some of it really does. Some of the vocals sound EXACTLY like Buzz. Man Mountain is a good example. There are a couple of more or less "ambient" tracks that didn't set my pants on fire. But when Thrones are on, they're ON, and they sound nothing like anyone but Thrones. Bass, drum machines, samples, vocoders, and a big hairy guy bellowing his ass off. The opening song, Oso Malo (Spanish for "Bad Bear") ROCKS as hard as a song can rock, and the last track, Obolus, is absolutely beautiful. Vocoders and ultra-overdriven electric bass never sounded so dreamlike and nightmarish. And thankfully Joe recorded his live-favorite, Django, a Spaghetti Western theme song. As a whole I find this to be leaps and bounds better than the already great Alraune, and I can't wait to see what Joe does next.

i love it when music that seems like it should be scary becomes total bliss.

It's seriously that heavy and scary, folks. This album is so balls out massive at points that you can't help but wonder what could have been had Joe gotten along better with the Melvins... or you might agree with me that getting kicked out of that band might have been the best thing for Preston, and for us.

I can't put this album down. It snakes its way back into heavy rotation no matter what else I get into. Joe's drum programming is not just adequate, it carries it's own irreplacable aesthetic. And what he does on top of those drums is mind blowing. These are the heaviest riffs I've ever heard. Preston doesn't let them drone on excessively like Earth and Sunn))), he keeps them immediate and powerful, taking thick chunks of flesh and bone with every deliberate stroke. His use of vocoders really enhance the experience, taking this album to the left of being a sludge-fest towards some dreamlike uncharted territory.

In a lot of ways, Thrones owes much to the Melvins. But as this album testifies, Joe has taken that influence and improved upon it... and also broken some new ground, which is exactly what chanelling influence is all about. I really, really hope he pushes the envelope and puts out another album.

Truly one of the most astonishing things I have ever heard in my life. As I write this, I am in the process of constructing a shrine to Joe Preston. 'Nuts & Berries' made me f**king regress - foetal position - tears or eyes just watering (not sure). 'Ephraim' doesn't really do anything or go anywhere but still manages to be the most unnerving piece of music I've heard since somebody played me a Goblins record on a broken turntable when I was small. 'The Anguish Of Bears' is sooooo phenomenally crushing and beautiful, made me cry (this time, sure). And finally 'Obolus'. This is the really special one. Restrictions of language as means of communication mean that I cannot tell you how this will affect you, suffice to say you will be different when it stops. Angels, gravity and pretty angels...

take one bearded man, give him a wall of amplification, a double necked guitar, a bass, a multi-effects processor, a synthesizer, a couple of drum machines...and what do you have? <THE THRONES> the bass sound on this record alone makes it worth the cash. a rumbling, lower-than-balls thunder machins assault on all that is holy and divine. joe burns down whole cities and leaves nothing but broken strings and ashes in his wake.

The reviews below say it pretty well: This is diverse, innovative and heavy as hell. Definitely for fans of the Melvins (which Joe Preston was a member of at one time), especially their weirder stuff, and now I hear Mr. Preston is a member of the OTHER heaviest band in existence, High on Fire! Check them out too. The first song on here is wild, sounds like Brainiac jamming with 9 Black Sabbaths.

Typical in an overhyped, flavor-of-a-moment way, where so much feels irrelevant or downright ugly-edgy in an attempt to subvert the lack of real talent (hear how the intro sounds like TVOTR's- who can be overpraised in their own right- retarded step cousin)...but, including just enough compelling musical insight throughout the jagged and jaded indulgence to wearily lead me into a final, (beginning of) track where he seemingly "gets it" and places ingredients of doom, bloom, and boom optimally.

I think this album is a work of art, it's mezmerizing and very haunting. It's awesome music to tripp to, and I think Thrones is a Metal Age Pink Floyd...