CONFESSOR Condemned LP REISSUE cult avant-metal prog-doom loincloth watchtower

$

23

CONFESSOR Condemned LP

__________________________________________________________
(Earache)
*** This is a new and unplayed item, direct from the CRUCIAL BLAST shop. ***

DESCRIPTION FROM CRUCIAL BLAST:
     I know I'm in the minority. You'd be hard pressed to find a more polarizing band on the early 90s Earache Records roster than the North Carolina outfit Confessor. There are those of us that think that these guys were demented geniuses who delivered one of the most unique sounds to come out of the American metal underground. Then there are those that think that Confessor were total garbage. While I strongly disagree with those that hold that opinion, you can't argue that Confessor's weirdo tech-doom isn't a challenging listen, and not for all tastes. Musically, these guys were ridiculous, playing a strange sort of doom-laden metal wrapped around bizarre architectural riffing and brain-scrambling time signatures that often had them compared to prog-thrash giants Watchtower. But it was the unique, love-em-or-hate-em vocals of frontman Scott Jeffreys that either endeared or enraged audiences, and this weird mixture hasn't gotten any less confounding in the decades since the release of the band's infamous 1991 debut. Condemned is a classic slab of oddball prog-doom that's finally been reissued after a long stint in OOP-purgatory, now available on both CD and vinyl, and it's as always recommended (with reservations) to anyone obsessed with the more off-kilter, prog-damaged end of extreme metal. Your certainly not going to hear anything else quite like it.
     Confessor scramble your head right out of the gate with the lopsided math-doom of opener "Alone", as crushing, angular riffs stagger around the rhythm section's confusional time signatures and oddball rhythmic changes, but it's Scott Jeffreys and his high-pitched, almost Geddy Lee-esque wail that pushes this into utterly singular territory; seemingly singing either behind or ahead of the beat, Jeffreys delivers one of the strangest vocal performances in extreme metal history, enough so that plenty of folks have written this album off completely simply due to his singing style, finding them entirely too off-putting. For some like myself, however, his monotone falsetto yowl has an oddball charm that's intrinsic to Condemned's bizarre vibe, and indeed continue to grow on me with each new listen. It's been described by some detractors as sounding almost improvisational, but there are these weird little melodic hooks that emerge in his singing that weirdly work so well, there's got to be a twisted logic behind them. Musically, these nine songs are pretty far out, definitely very goddamn heavy, but in the form of jaggedly arranged prog-doom riffscapes that in some ways share Watchtower's level of difficulty, albeit fused to a slower, more Sabbathoid level of heaviness; backed by a crackerjack rhythm section (who would later go on to form the math-metal band Loincloth), the band frequently threatens to drop into a monstrous groove (and sometimes delivers - whenever that happens, it's absolutely skull-flattening), but more often subverts those buildups and expectations by spinning out into yet another, even more complicated blast of snare-heavy anti-funk. It's probably only comparable to what Candiria were doing rhythmically a few years later, and listening to this again makes me think that Confessor had to be more than a little influential on that NYC jazz/fusion/deathcore outfit. Man, I love this album. These guys were utterly unique and way ahead of their time, attacking their music with a rhythmic complexity that other bands wouldn't really begin to explore for several more years. And even then, no one ever came close to capturing the insane feel of this stuff.   © CRUCIAL BLAST
THIS IS A NEW, UNPLAYED ITEM. Please note that for LP vinyl orders, we usually remove the vinyl from the jacket prior to shipment in order to avoid seam splits or any other kind sleeve/jacket damage that might occur during transit. This may require that we open the shrinkwrap on the record in order to carefully remove the vinyl from the inside of the jacket (if the record was originally shrinkwrapped). Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding this policy.

Crucial Blast is an independant underground label, online shop and micro-press specializing in cutting edge, transgressive, experimental heavy music and related cultural artifacts, with a particular focus on avant-metal, black noise/industrial, dark ambience, infernal psychedelia, and hardcore improv/free-jazz. You'll find everything from art-damaged European metalcore to amplifier-exploding psychedelic drones to earth-shaking post-Ayler destructo-jazz in our listings, which we update roughly every two weeks with both brand new releases and rare finds from the vaults.

ALL REVIEWS FROM CRUCIAL BLAST ARE COPYRIGHTED, AND ARE THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF CRUCIALBLASTSHOP.NET., AND ARE NOT TO BE REPRINTED, REWRITTEN, OR BORROWED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM CRUCIAL BLAST. ::: SHIPPING AND PAYMENT INFO :::

Payment for your order is expected within SEVEN DAYS from the end of auction/buy it now purchase. Our turnaround time for orders is listed at 3 days, but we usually ship within 24 hours of receiving your order.

WE DO COMBINE SHIPPING ON MULTIPLE ITEMS ! PLEASE NOTE: In order to have us combine shipping, you MUST wait for us to send you a revised invoice for your order after you have clicked on BUY IT NOW for ALL of the items you want. Please contact us if you have any questions about this.

ATTENTION INTERNATIONAL (NON-U.S.) CUSTOMERS: Recent changes in the US postal system rates for packages going out of the US have raised the cost for sending small parcels internationally; you'll get a better value for your shipping cost if you order a minimum of 2-3 items at a time. Remember to let us send you a revised invoice for combined shipping for multiple items before sending your payment.

SHIPPING TIME: We will generally ship your order the same day that we receive your payment for the order. If there are any issues or potential delays with your order, we will contact you ASAP to let you know.

Don't forget to check out all of our other CRUCIAL BLAST-approved avant-metal/black industrial/trasngressive art items and releases that are available in our Ebay store and on auction. We also have many out-of-print and rare items available in our catalog as well... CRUCIAL BLAST: An online shop specializing in experimental metal, black industrial, black psychedelia, noise rock, dark ambience, and other forms of cutting edge and left-field heaviness. We also carry a carefully curated selection of books and other printed materials from the realms of black surrealism and transgressive thought.


Hit us up with an email
if you have any questions.

Click here to check out
all of the other 3,500 + items we have to offer from the realms of subterranean metal, transgressive art, experimental heaviness, and blackened industrial...