Holy supergroup! Even as that term is overused, for underground metal and heavy music, Shrinebuilder is just that when you read the members that comprise this group: Scott "Wino" Weinrich (The Obsessed, St. Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand), Scott Kelly (Neurosis, Tribes of Neurot), Al Cisneros (Sleep, Om), and Dale Crover (The Melvins, Nirvana). These four notable characters got together and recorded this beast of a record in just three days (impressive by any measure), which makes it even more amazing as this album sounds so good; but the real question probably rests at whether or not this album delivers according to the talent of the people involved or not.
This album surges with power and precision in a way that one should probably expect, but even still, the musicianship on display is a huge surprise; maybe it is because these four men gel to such a large degree and maybe it is because the song arrangements work so well, but regardless these five tracks are a huge delight. The trading vocals between Scott Kelly and Wino in "Solar Benediction" can almost distract listeners from the massive groove and subtle guitar leads for the rocking part of the song, while the mellow and bridge is a lush layering of acoustic and electric guitars rumbling bass and strong percussion making a perfect addition and really sets the track apart for Shrinebuilder. It is the right choice for the lead off piece on the album. Kelly's vocals at the opening of "Pyramids of the Moon" set quite a somber tone for this mid paced bruiser of a track with more excellent guitar leads plowing across a solid rhythm section that sets a great groove to pace the song. A majority of the songs have decent length instrumental passages (see "Blind for All to See" and "Solar Benediction" for examples) that may have jam like quality, but these passages never push the composition into a "jam" band type territory.
The four men who make up Shrinebuilder pull off being a band better than most, defying many of the pratfalls that super groups can fall prey to on their records. Shrinebuilder may only be five tracks, but it is a cohesive slab of raging music that somehow carries the indelible marks of the participatory musicians while sounding tight and powerful. The production of the album is strong and backs the solid material well but at the same time does not have a ton of variation (on a personal note, I would love to hear these guys produced or engineered by Neurosis's long time collaborator, Steve Albini) that can seem to leave the levels at one peak most of the way. A solid debut that only leaves listeners wanting more (my major complaint with this record is at less than forty minutes, it seems so short), Shrinebuilder does have a ton of potential at their collective disposal; we can only hope that they tap that deep well again and deliver another album that is just as powerful and subtly melodic again.
