-- Hidden Hand - Divine Propaganda | (Audio CD) MSRP $ 15.98 Amazon Price $ 15.98 Savings $ 0.00 | |  Release Date: 26 August, 2003, Meteor City Records
TRACK LISTING - Bellicose Rhetoric
- Oamyata
- Screw the Naysayers
- Sunblood
- For All the Wrong Reasons
- Tranquility Base
- Last Tree
- Hidden Hand (Theme)
- Divine Propaganda
- Prayer for the Night
Usually ships in 24 hours | | | Keep that bass player away from the mic. | | As a bassist I feel safe in saying that it is generally an ominous sign for a band when the bassist wants to start singing. There are certainly exceptions to the rule (ie. Motorhead) but it should be noted that the last album that the great Spirit Caravan (Wino`s last band) released was the first one where they finally gave in and let the bassist sing a song - and then the band broke up! I mean, with the greatest voice in stoner/doom in the band, what on earth is this competent bassist with an extremely average voice doing singing most of the songs? IN additon, his lyrics are kinda hokey and awkward sounding forced rhymes abound. The music is still heavy and crunchy and the guitar playing is awesome. It`s still a Wino project and worth having but the band`s eagerness to get their message across seems to result in the music simply being a dressing for the message rather than something that forms a synergy with it and enhances it. Without Wino`s guitar solos and his occasional vocals, this disc could easily be indistinguishable from a thousand other heavy bands we`ve all heard screaming about government mind control and the healing power of organic foods. It`s a righteous message for these times, but the Dead Kennedys did it far, far better. | | | | Something old, something new | | It`s not necessarily a bad thing, but the Hidden Hand isn`t just more of the same Wino. I came to this really wanting more in the vein of cosmic/psychedelic style Spirit Caravan, and was initially crushingly disappointed. I think the track order more than anything else gave me a very bad initial impression. In particular, listen to the samples of "Bellicose Rhetoric," "For All The Wrong Reasons," and "Screw the Naysayers." The music is much rawer than Wino`s recent work. These, to me, will probably appeal more to the fans of the harsh Obsessed songs rather than some of the more melodic and psychedelic St. Vitus and Spirit Caravan songs. Throwing those grating songs at the beginning of the CD was a huge negative to me and I put the CD away for awhile, severely disappointed. The liner notes also turned me off-- it`s obviously that Wino and crew are really coming at you from a far Left viewpoint, but they don`t knock you over the head with it in the lyrics...or maybe I`m not listening that hard. Anyway, I don`t buy CDs for political punditry and spend more time enjoying the music than analyzing the lyrics. When I first heard Wino in St. Vitus, it took repeated hearings for me to really get it, and Hidden Hand likewise really deserves repeated listening. I still don`t like the songs I mentioned, but for the Psychedelic Doom fan, the album is a worthwhile purchase, especially for the tracks that aren`t sampled here. There are some songs that really come off great to me-- "Prayer for the Night" won`t disappoint the Psychedelic fan at ALL, it a tremendous instrumental song. "The Last Tree" is great. "The Hidden Hand" sort of bridges the gap, and the rest of the album is really enjoyable. If you`re a Spirit Caravan or a Psychedelic Doom Metal fan, this album would probably be a good purchase. The album, overall, will deliver what you follow Wino for (even if you have to reburn it minus a track or two...) .... It`s definitely not recycled SC, but Wino`s heart is still in it and I think it will come through for you. | | | | Mourning The Last Tree | | Ya just never know what Wino will do next, eh?..but rest assured it`ll jam like hell. This new band of his is just the right blend of departure-from-the-usual & what fans have come to expect. Give me Spirit Caravan anyday, but it`s good to hear Wino take things in slightly different directions while remaining true to what he does. "Divine Propaganda" is a rare psychedelic/rock/punk album w/heaps of heavyweight doom riffs to spare. Ya just can`t go wrong here. The Hidden Hand, despite it`s far-left philosophy/ideology/spiritual beliefs, may reach, in the musical sense, a wider base of rockers/listeners than his prior bands.
That`s not to say it isn`t as heavy as Wino`s prior material, but many of the tunes on this generally move along in ways that may easier garner the attention of new/younger people...& the lyrics couldn`t be more topical!!! It`s refreshing that the homework has been done here & done w/conviction - they even include a list of recommended books to read!..how cool is that?!...Wino as the Noam Chomsky of the heavy music underground? Ha, maybe not too far off. Wino & Co. really want you to wake up..& appropriately, the call is spiritual..one of being wary, not specifically "political". In fact, w/2 of the last SC tunes recorded, "Brainwashed" & "Dove-Tongued Aggressor", ya notice that lyrically, things were kinda moving in The Hidden Hand direction.
I read somewhere from this guy who said that Wino reminds him of one of those long haired guys you used to see standing on street corners holding signs that read The End Is Near...ha, not to venture too deep into this territiory, I`ll just say that once you`ve had your eyes opened to the all pervasive level of corruption and deceit within this culture, you can never go home again, as it were. It`s no wonder that some of the lyrics to these tunes would sail right by most folks` radar, ya know?
It`s all about something being accepted in the guise of something other than it is. The lies are sold & bought, swaying public opinion through apathy & familiarity..the encouragement of greed, superficiality & ignorance, & the inevitable, albeit `necessary` mass denial of this process & how it grinds life into dust.
This isn`t just some stoner kids claiming you shouldn`t trust authority & mass media, no..within this message is genuine outcry for a very real social/humane/natural/spiritual declivity.
Wino has always been soothsaying in this regard, but The Hidden Hand expresses these views for the listener to contemplate or ignore. Another book I`d recommend is "One Dimensional Man", by Herbert Marcuse. But even if ya choose to ignore it philisophically/substantively, you`re at least sure to groove on the jams!...and man, this DOES do that! | | |
-- zzzz
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