So this is where my journey has lead me. Sort of right back to where it started but with all kinds of tweaks along the way. When I started, I mean when the decisions were all mine, I was first and foremost a metalhead. But it's been 31 years since "Kill 'Em All" and I have done some wondering. I turned my back on metal in the mid 90's (really not a bad time to turn) and focused on the burgeoning indie rock scene and then just started looking in all directions when that scene forgot how to rock. I found that slow and repetitive was something I enjoyed. Ironically, bands like Low and Acetone pulled me in (not very rocking, sure) but then I found all those weird 70's German bands cranking out long, robotoc jams. Instant gratification was no longer a prerequisite. When I finally came back around to my roots and sought out some new metal, I discovered there were bands playing heavy ass music much in the same vein. For example, Bongripper. Yes, I have finally gotten to the point.
"Miserable" is their latest. It is 3 songs. 3 songs that take up 4 sides of vinyl. Any Yes fan out there is probably intrigued. But this record is most definitely not Yes in that there aren't hundreds of parts in each song (and not a solo to be found). Bongripper are more than content to take a riff, a slow, plodding riff, and play it until your head is forced to bob in rhythm. Album opener, "Endless" (aptly named) somehow even out Sleeps Sleep. Just a dirty doom riff played over and over, gradually feeling heavier each time around. The surprise comes from the second track, "Descent", which chugs along at double normal Bongripper time, proof that this band is not a one trick pony. That is, until it hits the brakes and comes crashing in amongst a swell of noise.
There are more pony tricks on the finale, "Into Ruin", which of course is broken up into both sides of the second LP. This is Bongripper channeling their inner Earth. New'ish Earth. The kind of Americana version of Earth. This is not surprising as clearly there is a debt owed to not only Earth but Sunn0))) and Sleep. The beauty is that Bongripper have found their own niche within the genre and, on "Into Ruin", find a way to throw some (almost) thrash into the middle before, once again, bringing things home on some bone crushing doom. Repetition may be key but "Miserable" is not without some twists and turns. I know Pelican and, to a lesser extent, Russian Circles supposedly have the Chicago instrumental post-metal market to themselves but I don't think either come close to the heaviness of Bongripper. And, dare I say, the band has matured since their earliest work, refining their sound, cutting away the fat, and leaving just the meat. The heavy heavy meat. "Miserable" is the sound of a band at the height of its powers.
Oh, if you can get it on vinyl, do. I have had discussions about digital ruining double albums because you hear them as one hour plus slog rather than broken up into sides. This album deserves to be attended to, flipped, cleaned, each side getting its own loving care. I know as of this typing they have re-pressed them. Go here for to get yourself one. It's worth it.
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