Review Summary: An absolute monolith of doom metal, Reverend Bizarre have crafted a sound that is both epic and accessible. This is for fans of merciless and unforgiving riffs.
Reverend Bizarre play doom metal the way it should be played, grinding out slow to mid-tempo riffs on down-tuned guitars with the bass cranked up. Sadly, though, they are no more. It was a planned break up. At the end of 2006, they announced that they would be releasing their third and final album. And so in August 2007, III: So Long Suckers was inflicted on an unsuspecting world with the legend “Doom Metal is Dead” emblazoned on the cover.
This is no frills metal. Guitar solos are present but few and far between. There is nothing technical about this and no-one would call this stuff progressive, but my God it is addictive, addictive and epic. In III: So Long Suckers, Finland’s Reverend Bizarre have produced eight tracks, covering 2 CDs and 130 minutes of music. Let me rephrase that, in case you missed it, eight songs in 2 hours and ten minutes. Now when you realise that two of the songs only use 7 of these minutes, it immediately becomes evident that the remaining six are pretty damn monumental. The song writing is consistently good. There really is no filler. Three songs clock over 25 minutes in length, but somehow Reverend Bizarre keep it interesting, developing and interchanging riffs with just the right level of frequency.
Vocalist/bassist, Albert Witchfinder, is the lynchpin of this three piece band. His voice, though somewhat unremarkable is nevertheless easy on the ear. Certainly he is no Messiah Marcolin. He has a moderately rough untrained baritone. On the opening track, “They Used Dark Forces/Teutonic Witch”, he manages to sound somewhat like a gruff Ian Gillan. In fact, Witchfinder keeps the vocals clean throughout, his voice pretty much pitched around the octave below middle C (I’m guessing). The drums are not frenetic by any stretch, but Earl of Void keeps it interesting. I actually find his subdued fills and variations refreshing. He provides a subtle backbone to the relentlessly repeated riffs that make the repetition totally captivating.
And really it is the riffs, sometimes slow and methodical, sometimes chugging, sometimes meandering along the lower registers of the fret-board that are the heart of Reverend Bizarre’s music. Performed to perfection by guitarist Peter Vicar, they are never better than on the song he contributed to this collection, “Caesar Forever.” It begins with a variation to the opening riff of “Under The Sun” on Black Sabbath Vol. 4. Witchfinder sings a glorious doom metal melody line backed by uncompromisingly precise power chords. For nearly sixteen minutes the song warps and grows until the chanting climax: “Christs may come and Christs may go, but Caesar is forever.” The Sabbath influence is also evident in the twenty-five minute epic “Sorrow.” Not as catchy and accessible as CD opener “They Used Dark Forces/Teutonic” (who would have thought a 30 minute track could be accessible), “Sorrow” is an absolute monolith of slow, relentless doom. And just when you think there is going to be no respite, at minute 16, no less, it breaks into a riff that is totally reminiscent of “Children of the Grave” – different enough to avoid plagiarism, but definitely a nod to the Godfathers of doom.
The other major ingredient of Reverend Bizarre is the bass. Now this is where I feel like waxing lyrical, because Witchfinder’s bass is nothing short of awesome. Not only is it audible, it is like a bulldozer with fangs. If Metallica’s …And Justice For All had incorporated Witchfinder’s bass, a generation of metalheads would have gone deaf with a smile on their faces. Fast forward to the last two minutes of “Funeral Summer” and you’ll get an idea of what thrash could sound like.
The production is excellent, particularly for doom metal, and this is probably what makes III: So Long Suckers so listenable. The tone is solid, powerful and heavy. Each instrument is distinct, yet it all melds together in a glorious metal tone. Yes, you will hear echoes of Black Sabbath and shades of Candlemass, but when you add it all up, this release is uniquely Reverend Bizarre. This is their magnum opus, their final contribution and with this release I am convinced that they have carved a place for themselves in doom metal history. If you are a fan of heavy metal, this is definitely worth a listen.
Dunno, I think its something to do with the production and the turn of phrase they have on their riffs and melody lines.
