Earth – Pentastar: In the Style of Demons LP

Description

Dylan Carlsonmay best be remembered asKurt Cobain‘s friend, probably not the way he would like to be seen in music history. But besides having that going for him, he was also the brains behind Earth, a Seattle combo that tried to recreateBlack Sabbath, but much slower. Earth’s early albums showed a lot of promise, but never quite delivered the epic sound that was hinted at. On Pentastar,Carlsontries to find the middle ground between the space rock ofHawkwindand the noisy guitar work ofthe Melvins. Unfortunately, he forgot to write any songs, instead letting the noise speak for itself. As an ambient noise project, the album actually works. It makes great background music, but very rarely does the music stand out. Songs blur together, and only on theJimi Hendrixcover “Peace in Mississippi” does Earth sound like a rock band. TheSabbathinfluence rears its head on the noisy “Tallahassee,” but it seems like too little, too late — since the long instrumentals may keep people from actually reaching that song. IfCarlsonreally wanted to make his mark, he should have just tried to rock instead of hinting at it. As it stands, open-minded fans of doom metal may want to check this out, but few others will be interested in what is going on here. -All Music Guide