Tracks Side 1:

1. To Protect And To Serve (3:05)

2. Field Of Hours (5:38)

3. Streamlined (2:09)

1. Blind Lightning (3:39)

2. Neatz Brigade (6:49)

3. A World Apart (1:32)

 Tracks Side 3:

1. Skybone (3:50)

2. Streetside (3:25)

3. Climate Of Despair (3:03)

4. Mourning (4:05)

Tracks Side 4:

1. A Touch Of Everything (4:37)

2. Decimation (4:08)

3. Living Rain (2:24)

Listen At YouTube:

Okay folks, this is not doom. This is pure, honest, heavy rock music. One could call it metal, it is heavy as fuck, but if I were to speculate, I’d say The Obsessed did not refer to themselves as a heavy metal band. The ethos of this record, and of this band, is simply put – no bullshit. The most defining aspect of The Obsessed, and of Scott Weinrich, is honesty. This record looks you directly in the eye and its voice does not waver. The rocknroll swagger is there, naturally, but in the form of a subtle self-efficacy rather than wankery or show-boating. The music of The Obsessed is devoid of pretense, and I must reiterate this is not doom, and if you’re expecting The Obsessed to resemble Saint Vitus you’re in for a surprise. There are no feelings of hopelessness or despair or no-way-out, but rather an atmosphere of certainty and hope. What you will experience here is the utter fearlessness of heavy rock, and the courage expressed in these songs is fucking contagious.

Let’s go ahead and get a certain point of discussion out of the way: Saint Vitus is not Wino, and Wino is not Saint Vitus. Obviously, something extraordinary occurred when Wino joined Vitus, but when he left, one could argue that things got even better, in the form of The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, Premonition 13, Adrift, Heavy Kingdom… Fuckin A! The dude is just plain relentless and he ain’t gonna quit.
If the opening riff of “To Protect And To Serve” doesn’t knock your dick in the dirt then I can’t help you. The guitar tone is fuckin mean, the riff is absolutely infectious and the rhythm section is brilliant. This is textbook pocket drumming, nothing flashy, but performed so effectively that each song flows effortlessly like a rocknroll river. The transitions are smooth and natural and there’s not one moment on this record that feels contrived or stunted. Sometimes we metalheads get so caught up in what we’re doing we forget to just have fun. We all know that rock comes from blues and classical and what have you, but I’d say the desired effect of listening or performing is to have a good fuckin time while doing it. The Church Within gives me this feeling of motivation and empowerment. It makes me feel like I can handle anything. The lyrics of “Streamlined” remind us that life’s a dream and Wino makes an offer that no rocker can refuse: “Get high with me for life!” I’m not sure what the previous reviewer was on, or if she and I are even talking about the same record, but dude, seriously? A sleep aid? Anyway, the disrespect and snide dismissal found therein have been buggin me for a long time.

Not only is Wino a riff-meister, is leads are equally awesome, much like one Tony Iommi, but this no trilled-note Sab-worship. Check out “A World Apart” for some pissed off punk aggression as Wino roars “FUCK…THIS…WORLD!” Who sleeps through that? On the whole I could see how this album might seem a bit entropic, but listen closely because each song will contains a hook or three, tasteful bass runs, and hard hitting drums. In fact, for most of “Streetside” the only beat that can really work is a boom-chuck with quarter note hats, but the dude plays it like he fuckin means it, and it rules. “A Touch of Everything” has some of the records finest lyrics, and again, the atmosphere is hopeful, soulful, and uplifting. Doom albums can be pretty oppressive with their tendencies toward pessimism and sorrow and just general negativity. That’s why Bill Ward coined the term “downer rock.” As a downer myself I revel in all of that, but this is “upper rock.” In other words, this is not going to be the soundtrack to drinking a fifth of Jack alone in a basement and then chasing it with both barrels of a shotgun. I might pick Grief’s “Dismal” for that kind of thrill-seeking, but everybody’s different.

I tend to believe that things happen for reasons, and the relationship between Scott Weinrich and Saint Vitus is ultimately symbiotic. It just sucks that Wino’s own bands don’t get more recognition. Vitus is legendary, of course, but pull that lid off and a veritable ocean of badass music awaits on a distant planet known as the American heavy rock underground, where people are real and the internet is not. (hippie_holocaust/metal-archives.com)

Scott "Wino" Weinrich - Guitar, Vocals
Guy Pinhas - Bass, Vocals
Greg Rogers - Drums, Vocals

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