KIRK WINDSTEIN
Dream In Motion
EONE
Crowbar frontman journeys from riffs to reverie
DREAM IN MOTION EXISTS IN A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE FROM CROWBAR’S SEMINAL SLUDGE
THERE SEEMS TO come a moment in nearly every metal musician’s life when the need to make a solo album becomes simply overwhelming. Often, the results are brilliantly misguided and entertainingly calamitous. Sometimes, the results are spectacular. But only sometimes. Which is partly why you may be forgiven for questioning why Kirk Windstein really felt the need to make a solo record, given that Crowbar have always been, in essence, his singular vision made real and super-heavy. So strong is the guitarist’s musical identity, and so deeply rooted in Black Sabbath’s riff-worshipping ethos, that it’s actually quite hard to imagine him making any other kind of music. And in truth, Dream In Motion isn’t exactly a radical departure for Windstein; a few seconds into the opening title track and it’s more than apparent who is responsible. There’s a huge, slithering riff and that unmistakable Ozzy-via-NOLA rasp: a strong air of melancholy and the familiar resonance of Windstein’s trusty Gibson SG. But where Crowbar albums have always hinged on the power and punch of their trademark chugging, here it is their leader’s penchant for haunting harmonies, psychedelic atmospheres and old-school heavy metal dynamics that dominate.
Hollow Dying Man makes no bones about its debt to Black Sabbath’s Planet Caravan, occupying similarly lysergic ground but with some prime Windstein riffs woven into the woozy melee. Once Again is underpinned by a rumbling, rolling rhythm that shuffles and tumbles through world-weary, synth-tinged vistas, shades of old-school Iron Maiden in its arpeggiated guitar hook. Enemy In Disguise and Necropolis are elegant but forlorn ballads, with medicinal twinkles in their sleepy eyes and notably soulful and restrained vocals from the man himself. Meanwhile, The World You Know and instrumental The Healing wallow in slow-motion despondency, tempos reduced to a disdainful crawl, as Windstein infuses his stripped-down approach with acres of amorphous, ululating sonic space. Even the slightly more straightforward Toxic sounds far enough removed from Crowbar’s riff myopia to reaffirm that Dream In Motion exists in a different universe from that band’s seminal sludge.
If any further proof is needed that Kirk Windstein is stretching out in his old(ish) age, a closing cover of British prog rock legends Jethro Tull’s much-revered 1971 album title track, Aqualung, says it all. While no one is going to be stunned by the fact that Windstein enjoys listening to old prog records, it’s gently thrilling to hear him performing such a melodically and structurally intricate piece with such obviously gleeful braggadocio.
Assuming that he decides to make more solo records in the future – and it’s worth noting that a whispered return to the ranks of former band Down for their 2020 dates could well keep him busy for the foreseeable future – further deep plunges into the progressive realm would be one tantalising possibility. Either way, Dream In Motion strikes the perfect balance between delivering the cherished goods and boldly going where New Orleans’ king of the riffs has only tentatively strayed before.
FOR FANS OF: Crowbar, Kadavar, Windhand
DOM LAWSON
ANTI-FLAG
20/20 Vision
SPINEFARM
Pittsburgh’s punk forerunners take aim at our despotic age
Anti-Flag have been at the forefront of punk rock for over two decades, but the socially conscious collective have always refrained from singling anyone out via their sonic protests. On album 13, the band’s focus is firmly fixed opens with a Trump soundbite, hurtling into hair-raising screams and a call-to-arms chorus propelling it into anthem territory. Lyrics seethe with contempt for the US administration whilst elsewhere the mantric sensibilities of temper the vitriol. It’s a joyfully aggressive return.
