The Hidden Hand--Mother * Teacher * Destroyer
Southern Lord 2004
Perhaps no other name is as tied to doom rock as Scott "Wino" Weinrich's is. That's with good reason--the guy has forged a flawless musical track record over the years as a member of such seminal bands as the Obsessed, Saint Vitus, and Spirit Caravan. For the last couple years, his current outfit the Hidden Hand have been changing the view of what most listeners consider to be standard issue from the great one. On their new album Mother * Teacher * Destroyer, they provide the most challenging listen for diehard doomers yet. Ready or not, it's time to expand some horizons.
From the very first recorded strains the Hidden Hand dropped, you knew this band was going to be something different from Wino. Yes, the king of doom rock has continued to unleash his patented monolithic riffs and blistering lead work, but the band's last album Divine Propaganda saw that classic doom base sound becoming infused with elements of psych and prog. The way those auxilliary influences have blossomed on Mother * Teacher * Destroyer is beyond comprehension. Never has a band pushed the bounds of doom n' groove the way the Hidden Hand have here. This is a truly exciting and groundbreaking listen.
While Mother * Teacher * Destroyer is very capable of straight-up doom rock, as evidenced by "Magdalene" and "Coffin Lily," even during those moments there is a psych-minded slant to the delivery. The Hidden Hand let you know what's up right from the get go, though-- album opener "The Crossing" is dripping with classic Wino groove and shred, only filtered through prog forms and shifts, an idea continued on "Travesty As Usual." Still, the more pointed the psych side of the band's style gets, the more awe-inspiring the results. Implementation of acoustic guitar during "Half Mast" and "Black Ribbon" makes those cuts come off as the fully realized destination of where Spirit Caravan were headed before their split. "Currents" ultimately proves itself the crown jewel of this collection, boasting vocal harmonies sounding as if they were nicked directly from "Bracelets Of Fingers" off the Pretty Things' psych masterpiece S.F. Sorrow. Rest assured, the way these guys pull everything together, you've never heard anything like this before.
To put things into a fitting psychedelic context, Mother * Teacher * Destroyer is the doom rock equivalent of Love's masterwork Forever Changes. This is a record which sets new standards for its given form and is sure to shatter all preconceived notions of what is possible within that genre. The Hidden Hand have delievered an instant classic with this one. Quite possibly the most important disc in Wino's backcatalog--heavy words, but very justified.
Score this CD directly from SOUTHERN LORD
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