Customer Reviews

Variations on a Theme

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

 

 

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.

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.

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

Sleep's break-up in 1997 was a bitter tragedy. They had just hit their preak, which was documented by their third album, Dopesmoker. (A.K.A. Jerusalem. Sort of... Eh, it's a long story.) They left a humongous void in the music universe, a void which was soon filled by hordes of unoriginal "stoner rock" wannabes. Guitarist Matt Pike quickly formed his own group, High On Fire. HOF is a great band and is quite reminiscent of Sleep, but Sleep it is not. Bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Hakius seemed to fall off the face of the Earth for a few years. Eventually Hakius returned in the Sabians, a band formed by Justin Marler, a former member of Sleep from their early days; he had left the group shortly after their 1991 debut "Volume One" was released. I personally don't care for the Sabians at all. If anything, they sound more like a watered down Tool than Sleep. Al Cisneros has remained MIA for all of these ensuing years. Until now.

Om is the reunion of Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius. I was over-joyed when I heard about it. Finally, God had heard my prayers and answered them. Upon hearing this album, however, I was disappointed to find that it wasn't perfect. It's produced by Billy Anderson (who produced all of Sleep's records,) but it doesn't sound like his usual work. Usually Anderson's production makes the band sound colossal and monolithic, like they're 500 ft. tall titans playing instruments carved out of huge slabs of granite. But this record sounds like a guy playing the bass and another guy playing the drums inside a little room. It has to be intentional; everyone involved probably wanted to try a new approach for a change. But to my ear, it doesn't sound "correct." The songs themselves are good- they pick up where Dopesmoker left off, more or less. Slightly more upbeat and energetic, perhaps. Cisneros is using a very natural and pure vocal style, similar to some of his work on Holy Mountain as opposed to his gruff bellowing on Dopesmoker. Sounds like he's meditated himself into a trance and chanting. They left Ozzy off of the thank-you list on Volume One, but Cisneros's Ozzy influence has never been more obvious.

Above all, what strikes me as a flaw on this record is that it feels like it's missing something: guitar. It sounds like Cisernos did his best to compensate for the absence of a six string by turning up his bass a bit louder and overdriving more for increased distortion, but it still sounds like a bass track and drum track waiting for the producer to patch in the guitar track. There are several bands I like who are bass and drum duos (Ruins, GodheadSilo, Thrones, Lightning Bolt, DFA1979) but this is different. Perhaps Cisernos is just locked into the power trio format and unable to break away from it. Or maybe I need to shut up and listen to this more until I 'get it.' Even with the supposed flaws I've listed, the music on this disk is still more than worthy of four stars. I'd hope that Matt Pike would join Om and Sleep would be resurrected... but High On Fire is really going strong (rightfully so, they're @#$%ing great) so I don't see that happening.

i think the best part of this album is that it makes you realize what made sleep great and it wasn't matt pikes little guitar solo's (which have improved greatly over the years, but, c'mon... ) it's the undeniable rhythm section... and on this record they are able to shine. ignoring the typical billy anderson cardboard box recording sound, this record captures all that was great about sleep, stoned out vocals, the epic song lengths of their later work and the sabbath-y tempo's of holy mountain. the drumming never gets boring, even after 20 minutes at the same tempo, and the bass work is a distillation of all that is stoner metal. i got to see them live two nights in a row in san francisco and they really owned, best "metal" band performance i have ever seen.

but buy it on vinyl!!!!!

variations on a theme is a like a freight train slowly pushing it's way across the country and you're just a bum that's decided to jump aboard. the same as having a ticket as opposed to just being along for the ride...you might own the cd but you've absolutely got to see them live! so damn loud!! take those beautiful green amps that al has and just crank 'em up all the way!

in terms of the music this is much more like sleep than i expected it to be (great tone, great jams, slow but totally rockin'). i especially dig al's voice on this one. it was recorded pretty high up in the mix, but it works well with the music. i find that this is really good for driving long distances. it sort of meanders along and fits with being in a car for 5+ hours.

This is sooooooooo gooooood....Alright, so it's not 'exactly' Sleep, but it is indeed an offering of that true-to-form Al/Chris/Sleep-y stoney, consciousness altering, heavy goodness. Basically it's like finally hearing another Sleep album after many long, dry years. The sounds on this slab o' vinyl are exactly what Al & Chris do best, and if you know what's what, you'll turn on, and your spirit will soar into majestic vibrations of new tomorrow. Thank them for it as you're tappin' on the king.

Om is such a cool, unique band. It features the drummer and bass player of the awesome band Sleep - the guitarist went off to form the so-so High on Fire, showing where the real talents of the band lay. Om's lyrics are sort of mystical, whether in a Christian or a general way, without being evangelical, just sort of trippy spacy. Opening track "On the Mountain at Dawn" contains lyrics like "arise to the sky and set free - release toward horizon/ to sun glides the albatross - set onto the skein of freedom." The bass sound is rubbery and intense, the drums more forming a backdrop, the chanting lyrics may have been delivered by robots and the whole song is measured and repetitive, strolling along at a good walking pace. This, then, forms the template for most of Om's songs. They do have songs that sound different on their three albums, but most of them follow this pattern. The songs are also very long - on this album there are only three, but two are over ten minutes long and one is over twenty minutes, making it just as long as some albums with eight or nine tracks. In fact, at 45 minutes, this is the longest Om release. The songs blend together and it is nearly impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. This may annoy some, but it also makes for a smooth, trippy ride.

I love the sludge and the roar but the vocals are monotone and the lyrics laughable. Gimme Earth or SunnO))) anyday.