SAINT VITUS - Lillie: F-65

Almost two decades have passed since American doom veterans Saint Vitus have given birth to new sonic offspring. Reunited in the early 00s in the line-up that recorded most albums released under the SST label in the 80s (such as Born Too Late, Mournful Cries and V…i.e. Scott “Wino” Weinrich on vocals, Dave Chandler on the guitar, Mark Adams on the bass and Armando Acosta on the drums), the band focused mainly on old songs, to give the new generation of fans the chance to see them in the flesh. Leather jackets and decorative skulls. Even after Armando Acosta stopped being a member in 2009 (and then died in 2010), Saint Vitus continued with their tours, murdering any trace of optimism with their guitar tones, nonchalant voice and sombre atmosphere, adding the Texan Henry Vasquez on the drums (Blood Of The Sun and former colleague with Dave Chandler in Debris Inc.). But let’s leave the band’s history alone! What’s this, an album review or the brothers Grimm? Well, it’s a bit of both, it’s in fact a review of a grim album!

When I saw them in 2010, they included a new song in the set list, to gauge the fans’ reaction and decide whether a new album would be well received. The song was Blessed Night and for a Saint Vitus fan it confirmed the theory that like bands such as Obituary, AC/DC, or even Slayer…Saint Vitus seem to be cryogenically frozen after each album and then broken out and told: “this is still the 80s, play what you know best!”. As it was to be expected, the reaction was positive, so the new album contains 7 songs, among which the aforementioned Blessed Night. In a recent interview, Dave Chandler stated that if he were to compare the album with another of their discography, it would be closest to Mournful Cries, as regards the number of songs, instrumental interludes by Chandler and Wino (compare When Emotion Dies with Vertigo from Lillie) and the atmosphere of the riffs.

In addition to the distinctive and completely unchanged guitar sound of Dave Chandler, Wino’s always destructive voice (itself unchanged … I’m sure that after a nuclear war, only cockroaches and Wino would survive), a new element brings a breath of fresh air to the band: Henry Vasquez. This time around, drums are more devastating and have great sound, both for Saint Vitus’ brand of doom and for a drummer with his roots in the 70s, dynamic and expressive, such as Henry. The mix is the cleanest the band has ever had, but it does not affect the vintage and primitive elements that set Saint Vitus apart from any other band. It is clear that they’re back in force and they’ll keep delighting their fans with such albums for a long time. I repeat, they have the same energy as their classic albums, but with much heavier drums.

About the songs on the album, one small personal complaint would be the choice of notes/strange harmonies that prevent this album from getting under your skin at first. It takes time, even for a die-hard fan to place these 7 songs on the same pedestal with earlier songs. Catchy parts are not the catchiest, but somehow …this makes the album more interesting.

The first song, Let Them Fall, also equipped with a video, is dominated by the drums and the amazing voice, somehow bluesy (natural, improvised performance) by Wino, especially with the lyrics dealing with insanity/paranoia.

On the second song, The Bleeding Ground, a bit longer, guitar leaves enough room for the drums, bass and voice, again. After three quarters of the song we have a change that is similar to the one on Into the Void (Black Sabbath… the part with “Freedom fighters sent out to the sun, etc.”), allowing for a noisy solo by Dave Chandler.

Vertigo, as I have written, is different from the rest of the album. Adorned with acoustic guitars and especially Wino’s distinctive e-Bow, the song could easily appear on an album by Spirit Caravan, Hidden Hand, The Obsessed or any other band with Wino.

The Blessed Night returns to normal, with a good-flowing groove.

The Waste of Time (superb title) is probably the darkest song on the album, a perfect for the weird successions I was referring to before. Its heaviness will leave you breathless.

Dependence starts as a tame instrumental like “Vertigo” but turns into a typical Vitus song, but very concentrated on the sounds emitted by Dave Chandler.

Withdrawal ends the album and is a collage of the aforementioned noisy guitar sounds. Dave Chandler says that they decided to record this soundscape at the last minute, after a suggestion by bass player Mark Adams “Dave, why don’t you record what you usually do live with your guitar, when you rape the amps?”

Overall, this album could have been perfect, but maybe I haven’t become fully attached to it, to its riffs... and it does not contain enough songs to give me more options. Compared to Mournful Cries, that one’s is better in song writing, but this one has all the advantages in sound. In any case, this is no comeback album, it seems Saint Vitus just continue where they left off with Wino. And live it sounds even better!

Matei T. Nota: 8