Crowbar
Crowbar

THE REVIEW

Crowbar is the name of a band composed of typical overweight Americans, who play sludge-metal that's truly tough, badass, and extremely heavy.

Their founder Kirk Windstein, whose appearance is close to that of a pig, gave birth to the band called Crowbar at the end of the '80s, which in Italian translates to... crowbar! The line-up is made of true heavyweights: besides Kirk (vocals and guitar), we find that enormous Christ named Todd Strange (bass) and Matt Thomas (guitar). The only one with decent cholesterol seems to be the drummer Craig Nunenmacher.

The CD in question is the second album developed by the band after "Obedience Through Suffering" and produced by their friend Phil Anselmo, who later took them on tour with Pantera. The cover, which depicts a bleeding and suffering Christ, provides plenty of space for the idea of torment and pain that takes shape in the work. The sound of "Crowbar" is damn slow, exasperating, disarming, and pissed off. Kirk's voice sounds like that of a fucking furious and restless ogre ready to tear apart and kill any living form, terrestrial and not. The lyrics are nihilistic, depressed, full of frustration... incapable of finding light at the end of a cold and dark path. The quartet gives the sensation of being like a German Panzer: heavy, evil, belligerent, and decidedly effective. Their music indeed hits the mark and leaves you no escape, suffocates you, and makes you suffer until it destroys you.

Singles like "All I Had (I Gave)" and "Existence Is Punishment", along with the poignant "No Quarter", are the emblem of the tough Crowbar sound. They are not easy to digest, but they know it well and they widely demonstrate that they know it.