Wednesday 23 March 2016

R.I.P. - "In The Wind" (Album Review)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 14/03/2016
Label: Totem Cat Records


This is a doom record, for sure, but of the vintage variety and with a distinctly American flavour. Retro in approach, satisfying in content, R.I.P. are a welcome addition to the great tradition of rebel outsiders which litter the US cultural highways; get your motor running: R.I.P. are here!

“In The Wind” “2xLP track listing:

1. The Scythe
2. In The wind Part 1
3. Tremble
4. Black Leather
5. Smoke and Lightning
6. In The Wind Part 2
7. The Tombstone
8. Bereaved
9. Brave In The Grave
10. In The Wind Part 3

The Review:

The Pacific North West has given us this trad doom/trad/garage rock offering from R.I.P. Instrumental opener “The Scythe” sets a frantic pace, before things settle to more groovy tempos with the title track. Certainly, fans of Pentagram, Orange Goblin and even The Stooges should check this record out.

With biker stylings “Black Leather” and a good line in song titles “Brave In The Grave”, the band have a recognisable schtick and play it as straight as they come. Even though some of the tracks exceed seven minutes, it is all very straight forward. Riffs that you could learn after one listen, steady tempos and vocals which are a pleasingly plaintive wail in style... in the parlance of another band of desperadoes: “Nuthin' Fancy.”

Naturally, “Tremble” features a cowbell and the sound is rough and ready with lots of distortion on the bass. For those doom fans whose tastes veer more to Uncle Acid, Demon Eye and so on, this record is a gift from the 70s gods. As doom becomes more about noise and less about riffs, it is nice to hear a band that have done their history homework and who have written some actual songs. I prefer the faster and more groove orientated songs on this debut full length, but that is just me; another listener may feel differently.

There is a sequel to the title track which kicks off the second half of the album and things remain loud and in the raw. The instrumental mellow-out of “The Tombstone” is a nice addition to the record as it lets up on the throttle and allows the final few tracks to really hit home. “Bereaved” has some groove filled riffing  which simply chugs out of the speakers, while the final two tracks including part three of the title track sequence(!) clock in over six and seven minutes respectively. If there is one minor criticism of the record, it could be a bit shorter... but then again, you get more for your money so the criticism will remain minor!

This is a doom record, for sure, but of the vintage variety and with a distinctly American flavour. Retro in approach, satisfying in content, R.I.P. are a welcome addition to the great tradition of rebel outsiders which litter the US cultural highways; get your motor running: R.I.P. are here!

“In The Wind” is available here



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