Reviews of The Purity of Oblivion CD
Salt of the Earth is one of my favorite local bands and their new 4-song CD demo is totally awesome. To my ears, these guys sound a lot like High On Fire, but have their own sound for sure, that's slower and more classic-doom, with lead guitars that are sweet and psychedelic, but ripping and tough at the same time. Seeing these guys live is a treat, because they're just three dudes tearing through a kick-ass set with very little hoo-ha in between songs. "This one's called ‘Not of This Earth’" might be the only words you'll hear coming from the stage all night, other than lyrics, of course, which are delivered in a way that reminds me of Sleep's Jerusalem epic. I can't wait to hear what these guys sound like once they get signed and put out a full length! Anything they do is pre-destined to be a future classic. chicagostonerrock.com
I have it on good authority that Salt of the Earth is a live crusher, and if this disc is any indication then the band must be a fearsome live beast indeed. This is depressed stoner/doom, with an emphasis on the doom. In fact, I'd be tempted to simply call this traditional riffing doom, but it seems to invite you to get busy with your bong, much as stoners of old did in the halcyon days of Master of Reality and Paranoid. I don't throw the names of those hallowed documents around lightly, but when listening to Salt of the Earth you'll agree that any description of their music should start there.
The Purity of Oblivion's title track has an old school “Fairies Wear Boots” doom groove, which Paul and Sean's rhythm section carries like a lurching runaway train on a steep downhill grade. “Not of the Earth” has some great stoned-out wah guitar work, with nice Celtic Frost-like tone. The last tune, “Under the Influence - of the Moon” is a slow, shambling, 14+ minute destroyer which encourages you to abandon all hope, starkly underlining that sentiment with some depressingly spare and despairing guitar notes about 5 minutes from the end. Rick's guitar work is exemplary throughout, as are his edgy, doom-bellow vocals singing of socially critical themes.
Of course there's the Sabbath influence, but there are others as well, most notably Sleep. Lovers of those bands, along with other misery lords like Planet Gemini, Ocean Chief, Mountain Maker, Slow Horse, and good ole' St. Vitus will want to sign up with these depressive Hoosiers. doom-metal.com
There is some serious doom coming at you from this four-track debut demo from Salt Of The Earth. While not quite as crushing as their recent set at Templars of Doom, this does pack a wallop (over 35 minutes of one). The production loses a little power compared to the live show but is very admirable for a one-day session and very good for a demo.
The lead (and title) track brings the traditional doom right from the gate. It's all about the riff and the darkness and gives the first hints of a guitar tone somewhere between Celtic Frost, later period Vitus and Internal Void's Smokestack demo, in other words good, good stuff. The middle two tracks "Not Of This Earth" and "The Gods And The Dead" are the real meat here, awesome doom with the rhythm section more doing a great job of holding up the gargantuan riffs.
The last track "Under The Influence Of The Moon" is a brooding behemoth, edging toward the territory that Winter used to inhabit, but not breaking from it's traditional doom roots. All in all a very worthy effort and very promising. Get this now doomsters or you'll be trading for a copy later. hellridemusic.com
In my opinion, the best thing about this release from these purveyors of chug metal and doom is the fact that this release is highly representative of their incredibly crushing live shows. Have you ever bought a CD from a local or touring band that you were just blown away by live, only to find that the CD is tinny sounding, and doesn’t rock with their cocks out? Well, Salt Of The Earth’s The Purity of Oblivion won’t disappoint. It captures the pure essence of these cats’ live show. Not everyone can pull this off … kudos to the band and the cat behind the board twisting the knobs. For those of you unfamiliar with Salt Of The Earth, there’s a bit of High on Fire, crossed with the two by four to the head of stomp of Meatjack, and now and then a little Trouble. But that’s unfair to make any comparisons. Salt Of The Earth rest nicely in their own niche. Say you like doom … there are elements here … but without all the repetitive unintelligible screaming. Are you a denim jean jacket with a Cathedral back patch wearing type? You’ll dig their metal sensibilities. Want that classic heavy riff crossed with a twinge of skull crunch psychedelia? It’s here. This is what you want … this is what you get. Here’s a real treat. The lyrics are delivered with evil clarity … clear enough to understand the message of imminent destruction and the resulting despair of a post-apocalyptic world. If I were walking the fallout littered streets as the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust, these riffs would be haunting me and constantly playing in my head. Let me state … this is evil with a capital ‘E’. Anyone who sings about “stealing from the blind” isn’t about to sprout white angel wings! This is good enough to put a shit in your pants scare in the trick or treaters at Halloween time. Play it loud when the doorbell rings!!!! Go get pummeled by these guys live … if you can’t see them live, contact them to obtain a copy of this CD. You’ll feel like you are up against the stage monitors with your chest collapsing under the low-end heaviness. P.S. Don’t let the 4 tracks fool you. This is of long player length clocking in at over 35 minutes. stonerrockchick.com