As Deep Purple's Roger Glover once said, "Heavy isn't about volume, it's about attitude." And no band better illustrates this statement than England's Electric Wizard -- the reputed heaviest band in the universe -- whose every album has managed to push the boundaries of down-tuned, grinding, monolithic doom metal to unprecedented depths. Sure, they pack plenty of volume as well, but none of it could possibly work without the band's uncompromising worship of weed and all things gothic and malevolent. After a long hiatus (during which they were no doubt traveling the cosmos without ever leaving their parent's basements or putting down their bongs), Electric Wizard finally returned to action in the year 2000. The resulting dirge masterpiece, Dopethrone, delivers walls of sound so dense that at first they seem too big to fit into your ears. At a paltry three minutes, the opener "Vinum Sabbathi" may be the Wizards' first true candidate for an actual "single," but it really serves as a teaser for what's to come. Introduced by short spoken intros taken from B-movies a la White Zombie, extended riff-monsters like "Funeralopolis," "I, the Witchfinder," and the three-part colossus "Weird Tales" are vintage Electric Wizard. Though they never exceed a snail's pace, they somehow manage to build in intensity, from single note guitar lines to huge power chords with deliberate, maddening certainty. First-time listeners will find it easier to cope with more compact offerings like "Barbarian" and "We Hate You," but with time, they'll see the light and embrace the obscenely heavy title track, with its patented "Iron Man" oscillating riff. In short, with Dopethrone, Electric Wizard has raised the bar for doom metal achievement in the new millennium -- good luck to the competition. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia
Recorded between May and June 2000.
Electric Wizard includes: Jus Oborn (vocals, guitar); Tim Bagshaw (bass); Mark Greening (drums).
Spin (p.78) - "[They are] impossibly molten merchants of narcotic tar." Alternative Press (4/01, p.70) - 3 out of 5 - "...A solid album...[of] pure filth-wallowing doom-sludge..." The Wire (10/00, p.62) - "...Appropriate for both the burnouts and power electronics fans of your Christmas list."
DOOM Gretest albu ever! Submitted by Johan (SWEDEN) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
Dopethrone Electric Wizard is heavy.. bottomline. Yet some of their songs are just too long. For instance, I Witchfinder would be better if 4 minutes of it were missing. Overall the music is good and heavy.. the way all music should be! Submitted by a reviewer (Alexandria, VA, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
A Classic Many people in the metal community hail Dopethrone as a classic in the Stoner/Doom Metal genre, and they're right to do so. The sound is gigantic. Distorted basslines, slow-crawling catchy-as-hell riffs, pounding drums, and in my opinion, some excellent vocals, albeit very buried. This album screams and reeks of weed. Out of the entire Electric Wizard discography, this has to be my favorite. The musicianship and songwriting skills are far better than their later attempts (mostly because of their later line-up changes). The solos are also much better on this album too, instead of the constant sound of down-picked solos like those on Witchcult Today. Highly recommended! Submitted by dreamfragments (Nevada) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
very good definite air of evil and sleeziness hanging over this cd. a bit rudimentary sounding but this is its strength. very slow, very heavy, not technical in any way. big stretched out riffs... real feeling of vertigo from them! a lazy comparison, but perhaps similar to sabbath but sounding as if they'd gone down the ultra hallucinogenic road rather than booze pills and powder route. even lazier comparison... early monster magnet but much slower, scuzzier and much heavier. probably more of a 4.5/5. Submitted by marko banano (in the middle, uk) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
"frightened people kill what they dont understand.." this album is...it.
its as high up there with all the great albums in music..
whether it be radiohead's "kid a",
the beatles' "abbey road",
led zeppelin 2,
cryptopsy's "none so vile"
or brutal truth's "extreme conditions..".
"masterpiece" is but a close word to attain its definition.
the three wizards here pushed where black sabbath left off, and brilliantly takes you to the realm of THC embalming anti-matter.
there are no words to describe it but "dopethrone"..
Submitted by isaganisimpliciano (quezon city, philippines) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
DOOM
Dopethrone
very good
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