Drone-rock from experts

Om - Pilgrimage
Posted by Laila Hanson on 22-May-08 @ 03:40 PM

[3/5]
It took three albums and change, but finally, Om fans won't listen to Pilgrimage and reminisce about Sleep (who spawned both Om and High On Fire), while imagining Matt Pike's guitar raining feedback over the proceedings. Om lock in the tempo somewhere between "tortoise" and "elderly driver" and never waver. In some hands, that would mean a 30-plus-minute run-on sentence, but Om punctuate the monotony with Middle Eastern flourishes, psychedelic overtones, mournful chanting and somber vocals that could accompany peyote-induced hallucinations on a windy autumn day. Unlike past efforts where every song's running time broke double digits, Pilgrimage features "Unitive Knowledge Of The Godhead," a positively restrained near-six minutes of clanging cymbal-ism and chugging, distorted bass that is as straight-forward as Om will probably ever get. (SOUTHERN LORD) Brian O'Neill


Official Website: http://www.southernlord.com