Crowbar Will Crush Your Head In

The riff. Kirk Windstein is a human riff. Actually, he's a beard with a man attached to it, but his riffs are pretty sweet, I must say. The thunderous heaviness (physically and musically) of Crowbar is so bombastic it could cause earthquakes. Kirk is one of those rare guitarists that is instantly recognizable, as quickly as a single note. His tone and groove are unmatched and the fact that Crowbar has always been crushingly heavy never took away from a deepened sense of melody and Iron Maiden-like harmony.

Their albums are classic and songs are anthems. Their lineup has been a revolving door or NOLA's who's who, but Kirk has always been the mainstay and the driving force behind this wrecking ball. Just listen to defining tracks like "(All I Had) I Gave", "I Have Failed", "The Only Factor" and "Broken Glass". Then go listen to their later-era material that blows away most of their older stuff. Anything off Equlibrium, Sonic Excess In Its Purest Form (especially "The Lasting Dose") and the so-fucking-good-it-hurts LP, Odd Fellows Rest. This is where they found the beauty of atmospherics mixed with their already potent sound, mixed it with melody and obviously smoked way better weed.

Oh, Kirk is also a founding member of Down and his newer project with Jamey Jasta caled Kingdom of Sorrow. KOS is really good and different yet the same for both Kirk and Jamey, but Down is something really special. It lets Kirk let his Zep love shine through and he gets to feed off the best in the game, Pepper Keenan. Down is one of the few examples of a "supergroup" that works. Fucking amazing band.

There will be a new Crowbar record in 2009 and while 2005's Lifesblood was a solid record, I'm expecting this upcoming release to demolish it.

"The Lasting Dose"
"I Feel The Burning Sun" (sickest riff!)
"Planets Collide"