Variations on a Theme

Om

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 15, 2005)
• Original Release Date: February 15, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Holy Mountain
• ASIN: B00070Q87W
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,211 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Return to Holy Mountain., May 10, 2005

By	Heavy Guitar "Sunn" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

The cover of this album reminds me of the first Return to Forever album, released in 1975 on ECM. However, Om's "Variations on a Theme" is the dark (but not evil) twin of the Chick Corea album. And I think it's just as good. Return to Forever were "heavy" in the sense that they were ponderous. This is "heavy" in that it sounds like ten thousand tons of stone age lava and tar being poured on the last, groaning brontosaurus. Yes. That good. I think it'd be unfair to rave about this album "because it sounds like Sleep." Actually, I think High on Fire retained the sound of Sleep, but they simply sped it up. A lot. But if you prefer the trudging sounds of prehistoric doom -- a la Sunn, Earth, Electric Wizard, and yes, Sleep -- then this is probably the best thing to show up on your doorstep since the Grimmrobe Demos. No shtick. This CD has been in my player for days, and I think it's a great addition to your stoner-doom collection, and yet it doesn't sound anything like those other bands. Sure, it's heavy; but Fu Manchu and Nebula are heavy, and I'd never lump them in with the Wizards. That, and the lyrics don't actually follow the usual stoner-doom formula of Sabbath-aped, Lovecraftian doom and gore. They're more interesting, more puzzling, and somehow more optimistic. In other words, this is the least gloomy stoner-doom album I've heard in awhile, but it's sound is still blackened...riffs that are ten miles tall and heavyheavyheavy. And slooooow. So what do you make of an album like that? Absolutely nothing. You just enjoy. You buy. You enjoy. Then you enjoy it again. This is not a "rock record," though it rocks. This is not a "doom" record, in that you won't be doomed after you here it. This is an experimental, experiential record, and I can't wait for the next one.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YES,FIVE STARS, May 4, 2005

By	T. Hardin (seaside,oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

i have no intentions of boring you with lengthy descriptions of the past merits/deficits of SLEEP.Nor will i make a comparison,though with two thirds of that line-up comparisons will be inevitable.
this is beyond music,very nearly a "religous" experience as you allow yourself to become fully enveloped by the hypnotic bass & drum attack that follows.
without a guitar,this release actually re-invents the concept of "heavy" in a minimalistic,ritualistic attack on your eardrums

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly good debut from the rhthym section of Sleep., March 19, 2005

By	Parkansky "MERP" (Morehead, KY USA) - See all my reviews

OM is a bass-and-drums duo from San Fransisco, CA, that makes some of the coolest music you will ever hear. After 7 years of not playing in a band, bassist Al Cisneros of Sleep joins his former music buddy, drummer Chris Haikus, to make a new band that focuses more on groove than assualt. For those of you unfamilar with Sleep, they were a stoner/doom metal band in the vein of Black Sabbath. Now, OM is born from the ashes of the previous band. Granted, this will bring back memories of Sleep's last album, Dopesmoker, but this is a definete improvement over that album. For starters, when OM jams, it's a lot more focused and interesting, and not as montonous. Al's monk-on-acid singing also helps the atmosphere of the record, and Chris's jazz drumming also helps too. For fans of Sleep, Neruosis, and Black Sabbath, this is for you.