Customer Reviews

Staring at the Divine

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

 

 

after crushing Riff. If you like Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Blue Oyster Cult. You know what I mean by craving Riff after crushing Riff. This band delivers.

Bands like this are living in poverty while weak, weak, weak music rules the airwaves and ... bands get rich. Its disgusting.

Alabama Thunder Pussy is the best band you've never heard of. ATP delivers once again in their 4th album, their sound is unique as always. Their sound embodies the rage of the defeated south, a hybrid that combines the power and darkness of Black Sabbath with the soul and rightousness of Lynyrd Skynyrd. This album is very powerful, a monstorus growl of anger throughout, with the unrelenting guitar power that ATP unleashes at will. The surprising highlight of the album is the closing track, "Amounts that Count". It has kind of a bluegrass feel to it, but that doesn't mean its a weak track. Its an anthem for the betrayed, done as only the southern masters can. Do yourself a favor and check this album out. Try to find their other 3 albums as well, "Rise Again" , "River City Revival" , and "Constellation". They were small independent releases, but all are great and are worth the effort to seek them out.

"Blah blah, I like band X!" "Sweet deal! So do I! Blah blah. They're awesome and your awesome and this is awesome! Yayyyyy!" Alright, none of that. I'm writing this as a pitch on behalf of underpaid musicians who I think deserve support from people who would support them if they only knew the potential thrill that sits waiting. I have an extensive and diverse music collection and I like listening to music so much that I hardly ever listen to music (if I can't give the music my undivided attention, its not worth my time). I own few albums that I would say I like as a whole and I rarely appreciate an album the first time through.

This is an exception to the rule. How on earth does an album this good get so little acclaim and exposure? Answer: its just that good. My honest but ultimately insufficient description for this album follows: Bluesy, melodic, free-spirited, heavy, passionate, stoned-out and cocked-sideways hard rock. Emotions ranging from beligerence and fury to brooding solemnity and austerity (avoiding nihilism) to whatever it is you'd call the impulse to tip a bottle of backyard hooch all alone in the middle of the woods in an unfamiliar place only because you can or because you don't know how you got there. Admittedly, that makes no sense at all. Sorry. Damnit, I'll never succeed. Anyways, these guys are very in sync with eachother. There is a true "meeting of the minds" on this legendary piece of work. There is a tasteful display of depth in the songwriting that is either liberated, unhinged, and completely natural, or the converse: well-thought and meticulously calculated. Either way, they're guiding principle seems to be: do whatever works; meaning: do whatever we think sounds great and what we feel proud to put our name on, and anything else is unacceptable. That is the integrity behind this musical unit.

As much as I loath cliches, I must admonish you: play this album very loud (optimally while inebriated, but sober is still nothing short of exhilirating) or don't play it at all. The passion and deep focus is unbelievably consistent; they never give up their excitement and interest in what they create here. This is the apex of a jam session in that it isn't repetative and predictable but it manages to preserve the character of technical proficiency and cohesion. These guys know their instruments better than their women, but their musical knowledge is applied with restraint and finesse (referring back to that principle: do whatever sounds good). You can tell these guys were having the time of their lives while writing and recording this album. The music sometimes even ascends to the "epic" quality. Don't expect anything drawn out grandiose like Tool though. This is semi-sludge, gritty,snot-nose rock.

Alas, no description serves to do it justice. There is simply no worthy description for music this uncompromising and yet open-minded and creative (in approach), music this good. Maybe thats all I needed to say in the first place. Maybe this steers you right. Maybe I failed. OK,enjoy. (or don't) Cheers! (as I take a drink from my bottle of evian).

I have recently got into this band. And I love what I hear. The best stoner rock/metal sound I have heard in a long time. I know they have other albums out, but it appears ATP gets better with each one. Can't wait to see them live. This band sings with soul, heaviness and attitude. If you like metal with a small classic rock southern touch, this is the band for you.

Alabama Thunderpussy are, without much consideration, at the top of the mountain in the underground stoner rock/metal scene in 2002. from the opening note of "staring at the divine", it's clear the ATP exhibits above average songwriting skills with their heavy riffing and clever hooks. Recently, I saw ATP with 60 Watt Shaman here in Chicago and though both bands were excellent, ATP just knocked me over with one inspiring guitar part after another. they were just something else to watch live. Alabama Thunderpussy is one of today's most promising bands in the underground rock scene and with a little noteriety, they just might have what it takes to hit it big.

Hell, I just like staring at the album cover.

If you're a fan of bands like Down, Kyuss, Clutch, Sixty Watt Shaman, Corrosion of Conformity, and just good ol' stoner rock in general, then you'll appreciate the music on this album. While ATP doesn't sound like any other band I've heard, they've got close similarities to Sixty Watt Shaman in which the vocals are growly and just plain loud throughout the album. No high pitched wails, just rebel yells and then some. If you care about lyrics, then you'll find that ATP is a thinking man's band as well. Nothing is too positive and nothing is too dark. The guitarwork is in your face heavy and never lets up. If you like fast heavy riffs and a quicker pace to your music, you'll love these guys. This is just simply your backyard boozed up rock & roll band with influences stemming from the good ol' boys of Southern Rock from the 70's and 80's. They've had a couple of different lead singers, but the sound has always remained. That's always good.

Another great 70's rock revival band. Crunch rock with a southern rock slant that really doesn't sound like anybody else out there. Sort of similar to Fu Manchu and Nebula but not quite. They really have their own style that differentiates themselves from the afformentioned bands and each song is unique with its own musicality that adds to the replayablility. If you can't get enough of the 70's rock revival, like me, then this disc should be in your collection.

This is the type of album you need to turn the volume as high as your speakers will go without distorting the sound; Then sit back and listen to the incredible music tha Alabama Thunderpussy produced, it is up there with some of the best. The lyrics are not always easy to understand but, for some reason that doesn't matter so much. When you do understand they deal with the standard metal topics. Buy the album and spread the word Alabama Thunderpussy is HERE.
music: A+
lyrics: B

I was disappointed with this album. Compared to other ATP releases (for those new to the band - they play an excellent, if not slightly derived, breed of `down-south' stoner rock) it seemed a little bland and uninspired. Perhaps this is due to the messy break-up of recording parts with the now defunct Man's Ruin label, or perhaps due to line-up differences. Whatever reasons, "Staring At The Divine" isn't quite the monster I was expecting.

To be quite blunt the album takes too long to get going. This is not to say the opening tracks are bad - they just don't grab me. Firstly, Billy Anderson took charge of production, which is usually a good thing (for those unaware, Anderson is THE stoner/doom producer these days), but I'm surprisingly disappointed to say that his work on this one is sub-par. The sound is just lacking for such a band, with many of the guitar licks not hitting home due to the lack of tone, and the drums are just completely lost. This means that songs such as "Ol Unfaithful" and "Motor-Ready" just become very loud hazes, with a real lack of dynamics.

The album does improve though, thankfully. "Hunting By Echo" is the first song that I really enjoy, and the first time the band use dynamics properly - by complementing a catchy chorus hook with some quieter and subdued licks. Similarly "Twilight Arrival" uses a brooding verse, which slowly grooves and builds into a powerful chorus. The paramount song on the album is "Esteem Fiend", which sports the best vocals and the best riffs (particularly the huge closing riff). This song is why I bought the album, and pains me to think they couldn't repeat this excellence.

The album does improve towards the end, and the last half certainly spawns some memorable moments. But the lack of these moments and the annoyingly standard production means I cannot give this more than an average 3 star rating. Disappointing for one of the best bands in the stoner rock scene.

This is the first ATP cd I got my hands on, and it blew me away. Great music with an awsome voice to match. There arn't any lyrics in the cd booklet, but after a few listens you can understand them. This is a great piece of southern drug and alcohol friendly cd, and would recomend it to anyone who likes havin a good time.