Earth
Full Upon Her Burning Lips

Listening to a record by Earth is always a demanding experience, as you need to adapt to their game. Their purpose, since the very beginning, is to make you feel the "weight" of every note, every second, and every beat of the piece, something that can be discouraging at first glance. But if you let yourself immerse in the listening, your mind relaxes, and the sounds begin to transport you to a state of harmony, rarely felt in the chaos of these times. The initial riff of harmonics sounds like an invitation to dance with them in a shamanic dance, in a sort of mystical ritual of reconciliation with the earth, where expansive and hypnotic sounds transport the listener to images of sunsets over desolate lands, giving a sensation of complete solitude. It's a bit like listening to early Black Sabbath in slow motion, achieving the same effect as tantric sex, as opposed to a trivial "quickie" in a car. An album that should be listened to in one breath if you truly want to savor it, so much so that the division into tracks, in my opinion, is almost an obstacle to its flow. Since 1991, these gentlemen have specialized in going slow... but far, making slowness their trademark. But where is the difference from past records?? Certainly, we are far from their early works, with the "Melvinian" distortions missing, replaced by less harsh and noisy sounds. Dylan Carson and company have also put away the "Morriconian" guitars of the recent period, focusing entirely on Doom and Desert rock, achieving that feeling, which at the end of listening makes you think, "what? Is it over already??", only to discover that more than an hour has passed since the first notes. But by then, you've acquired a taste for it, and all that's left is to start over from the beginning. Among the best moments of "Full Upon Her Burning Lips" are: "Exaltation of Lars," "The Colour of Poison," "She Rides an Air of Malevolence" (probably the most inspired), and the closing track "A Wretched Country of Dust" (which, in my opinion, wouldn't suffer from a vocal line). The only flaw is a bass sound that I found at times a bit "weak." It's probably one of their best works, which will not disappoint genre enthusiasts and instrumental rock fans. Moreover, it could be the perfect musical backdrop for reading Carlos Castaneda's stories while sipping a good tequila or maybe while downing a glass of mescal (worm included). Listen to believe.