Al Cisneros and Chris Haikus have unquestionably earned their spot at the rock pantheon with the string of classic releases from their previous band, Sleep, along with Matt Pike on guitar. While Pike’s High On Fire has achieved success in its own regard, Om’s meditative take on the stoner metal genre brought us 5 excellent albums, with Conference Of The Birds being the undoubted peak.
As previously mentioned, Om is a duo consisting of Sleep’s rhythm section. There’s no guitar in sight, as the band lets the bass provide these bluesy motifs on its own. The result is a unique, molasses-thick sound which might come off as drab on the surface, but chemistry between Cisnero’s Sabbath-esque riffs and Haiku’s reserved, simple drumming makes the album sound larger than the sum of its parts. For example, the first leg of “At Giza” is mostly dominated by these winding, enveloping bass riffs, that would sound incredibly boring on their own. Haikus knows how to effectively change up the beats as the song progresses, and is incredibly in control of the pacing of this moment, and the album as a whole. While this track does meander at points of its 16-minute runtime, the last crescendo finishes with walls of distorted bass that make it all worthwhile. Flight Of The Eagle feels much more straightforward, as Om jams with distorted, pentatonic bass riffs throughout most of the song. This track would very much fit on Om’s previous album, Variations On A Theme, but Flight is a bit more subtle than the debut’s restless, winding compositions.
The vocal work will make or break this album for you. Admittedly, I prefer Cisneros’ delivery of the Sleep days, and on the surface the singing on Conference Of The Birds might come off as amateurish, even awkward at times, especially since the lyrics are about absolutely nothing at all. It really is a matter of preference, however taking the vocals on this album at face value will expose Cisneros' lack of range and voice control. For me, they are quiet enough in the mix not to distract, and the vocal lines themselves, while not oozing technicality, can be kind of hooky, and fit the psychedelic tone of the music once the listener adjusts to them. The opening lines of the record see Cisneros reaching to the top of his register, which enhances the serene beginning of this album. It's moments like this elevate Conference Of The Birds above other Om releases, be it the expansive God Is Good or sparse Pilgrimage.
There isn’t much to say about the album’s composition overall, as it’s just over 30 minutes and the riffs change up relatively rarely. However, the core sound of Om is impressive enough on its own, as Conference Of The Birds stands as the best piece of music under the duo’s name, and honestly almost lives up to Sleep’s classic albums. Both tracks on the record feature the band's best pacing, most memorable riffs, and despite the songs being as long as they are, not a single note is unnecessary.
