SHRINEBUILDER

Shrinebuilder is the debut full-length studio album by American experimental/ sludgy doom metal act Shrinebuilder. Shrinebuilder is a kind of supergroup consisting of Scott "Wino" Weinrich ( Place of Skulls, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, The Obsessed, Victor Griffin, Solace, Shine, Paul Chain) on guitars and vocals, Scott Kelly ( Blood & Time, Neurosis, Tribes of Neurot) on guitar and vocals, Al Cisneros ( Asbestos Death, Om, The Sabians, Sleep) on bass and vocals and Dale Crover ( Fantômas, Fecal Matter, Melvins, Nirvana, Porn) on drums. With prolific names like these in the lineup the expectations for what this group could accomplish have been very high. The kind of hype that surrounds a project like this is magical for many fans and the danger of being let down is always an unpleasant risk. When the magic works though it usually works wonders and for me Shrinebuilder is definitely closer to working wonders than disappointing.

The mix of Neurosis like post metal parts and the more sludgy old school doom metal parts ( think seventies Black Sabbath) works pretty well for the most part on the album. The three vocalists work well together and their different styles suit the music well. The album is filled with heavy riffs but they are actually quite varied and the songs are generally very strong. There are enough different parts in each song to keep me interested throughout. The songs are not perfect and some of the transitions between parts don´t work as well as they could, but it´s not something that truly annoys me. Just a slight distraction in an otherwise excellent picture.

The production is quite organic. Especially the drums sound like "real" drums.

Shrinebuilder is a very good release by Shrinebuilder and I´m sure that with a bit more time the compositions could have been even better ( according to an interview I read with the band they only rehearshed once the night before they recorded the album. The songs were written during breaks from their day-time jobs in their "real" bands), but my rating is still a 3.5 - 4 star rating. A very enjoyable album.