Review: Black Mountain – ‘Wilderness Heart’


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Wilderness Heart is the third full length album from Canadian quintet Black Mountain. Recorded partly at Seattle’s London Bridge Studios, the same place where many seminal grunge albums by the likes of Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Temple of the Dog and Pearl Jam were recorded, the album packs a classic Pacific Northwest vibe reminiscent of the aforementioned 90s mega acts. Big guitars, throaty vocals and classic rock grooves are all in abundance, but the band departs from formula not only by including some cool retro keyboard and synth sounds but by featuring two vocalists, Stephen McBean, who also fills out the guitarist role, and Amber Webber. There’s a bit of a Dead Weather vibe happening with the complementary male and female vocals, and while both bands are obviously operating from a similar reference point, the two headed vocal attack seems to work a bit better in the Dead Weather, the twin screaming banshee wail of Alison Mossheart and Jack White, whose voices are eerily similar, sounding more consonant than the gravelly roar of McBean and the sweetness that Webber brings to the table. From that standpoint, then, the vocal dynamic in Black Mountain is more reminiscent of the interplay between Black Francis and Kim Deal in the Pixies, even though the musical styles of the two bands are somewhat different. If anything, Webber’s vocals might be a little too sweet in the context of Black Mountain’s music. Nevertheless it works, and the shared vocals make for a nice change of pace from the typical heavy rock fare.

The record opens with “The Hair Song” which firmly establishes the agenda for the album. It’s a mix of classic rock riffing and tasteful acoustic playing somewhat reminiscent of 90s grunge bands with some tremendously ugly and awesome guitar sounds. While it’s a fairly upbeat song there is a dark undercurrent to the music – a little bit of evil – perhaps best exemplified by the eastern sounding licks of keyboard player Jeremy Schmidt that may as well have been lifted from an outtake of “Kashmir.” And this dark undercurrent permeates the entire record. It’s to be found on “Old Fangs,” which uses retro organ and synthesizer sounds to good effect over a driving beat that takes the song into Melancholy-era Smashing Pumpkins territory. Think “Zero” with 64% less Billy Corgan-angstTM.

“Radiant Hearts” dials down the intensity of the opening twofer with an effective duet between McBean and Webber. It’s with the fourth track, “Rollercoaster,” however, that the album really opens up as the band seems to revel in its appreciation of the monster riffing of Black Sabbath complete with funky fuzz bass lines played by Matt Camirand. This part of the album is largely covering the same territory Wolfmother does but without the slickness and polish of the latter. In other words, Black Mountain comes off sounding much more authentic. This Black Sabbath tribute continues on “Let Spirits Ride”, which actually kind of veers into early Metallica territory, think Kill Em All or Ride the Lightning, except Black Mountain’s drummer Josh Wells doesn’t suck. I mean, seriously, how Lars Ulrich and his lack of anything resembling a groove have gotten away with such poor musicianship for over a quarter of a century now is beyond me. He should be jailed for fraud or something. Exhibit 1 has to be his playing on “Nothing Else Matters,” which wins the prize for the most grooveless, inappropriate drum part ever. Ulrich couldn’t swing in a playground. Unlike Ulrich, Wells grooves like Bill Ward and actually lets the music breathe when it needs to. Oh yeah, and his kick drum doesn’t sound like he’s hitting a piece of paper with a pen. It sounds like a kick drum. What a novel concept. Wells definitely deserves to reap some kudos for his performance on this record. When it’s called for he can be tasteful and understated, but when left to bash to his heart’s content, he’s a monster featuring thunderous fills and patented Bonham broken kick-drum triplets. And McBean gets to wail his ass off in a couple of wah-wah-fueled, psychedelically charged shred-fests both here and on “The Way to Gone” which calls to mind the playing of Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell over a tune that bears more than a passing resemblance to Heart’sMagic Man.”

Buried by the Blues” is a slower number that evokes the best that hippie stoner rock has to offer, while the groove of the title track could have been lifted from the Dead Weather’s latest release. Here again there’s a bit of a Metallica influence in the ascending guitar line featured in the bridge. The record closes with a pair of lighter numbers “The Space of Your Mind” and “Sadie” which serve as a fitting way to end the album and also as a needed space to catch your breath after some intense and claustrophobic moments on the record.

In all, Wilderness Heart is a successful record that blends classic influences while managing to sound fresh and novel. Split almost evenly between heavy and softer moments the album offers something that fans of heavier rock should appreciate, especially folks weaned on the super sounds that emanated from Seattle in the 90s.

Nick Fokas


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