The Obsessed - The Church Within

The Obsessed’s The Church Within turned 15 yesterday. I picked it up back then because Phil Anselmo wore a Church Within shirt. (That was when Columbia was putting out all sorts of metal, including Earache’s death metal records.) At the time, I didn’t get it. It seemed dark yet dull. Even now, after I’ve become a huge Wino fan, it doesn’t seem that interesting. The production is fairly sterile, and the songs lack the quirks and spirituality of Wino’s best work.

Streetside
Neatz Brigade

But Wino’s worst still beats the best of most. The songs are catchy and streamlined. Scott Reeder’s departure probably “helped” in this regard; his lovely, expansive bass lines made Lunar Womb great. “Neatz Brigade” never fails to make me laugh. It has perhaps the most tortuous rhyme ever constructed: “The pictures that I wanted to see / Were paintings in the wrong museum / The difference between you and me / Is like making love in a mausoleum.” Say what??? Peter Steele in the house!

I would kill to see the half-hour promotional documentary that accompanied the album. (It was up on YouTube before grinches took it down.) However, you can see a trailer/clips from it below. It has interviews with Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, J. of White Zombie, and a very young Phil Anselmo. Dale Crover’s scarf alone is worth the price of admission.

– Cosmo Lee

http://d.yimg.com/m/up/fop/embedflv/swf/fop.swf

Categories: