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 Post subject: Buzzov*en - Revelation: Sick Again (Reissue)
PostPosted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:11 pm 

Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 4:53 pm
Posts: 330
Location: Asheville, North Carolina
Hadn't heard much about this one, and, admittedly, I kinda' forgot about it myself because I've had the original for about a year now. Despite Hydra Head's attempts to advertise this as an unreleased Buzzov*en record, it isn't too much different from the original bootleg 2007 release. The production is definitely improved, and the tracklisting is slightly altered (including some title changes, such as the advisable move of shortening the track "Porch Monkey" to just "Porch"), but overall, if you have heard the old "Revelation: Sick Again," you've heard the new one. I'm sure it's definitely worth owning in its new glory if you're a super diehard Buzzov*en devotee, especially if you're a vinyl fan (and the new artwork definitely is cool; simplistic, but cool).

However, that is not to put down the music on the record. What you get on this album (or perhaps, more accurately, EP) is a continuation of the Buzzov*en we heard on 1998's "...At a Loss," an album that is so delightfully heavy and filthy that the reissue of it never leaves my goddamn car. I personally feel that this is the incarnation of Buzzov*en that most people think of when they look on them as sludge godfathers. Not to bash their earlier material, but it was with "...At a Loss" that Buzzov*en refined their sound perfectly and added some down-home swamp groove to their punky thrashiness of yore.

"Revelation: Sick Again" picks up here, with up-tempo tracks that tear your face off such as opener "Never Again (S.F.)," and slower, groovier tracks such as "Break Me Off," which features the depraved mutterings of what I believe sounds like "Dixie" Dave Collins, who was still on bass at the time of this album's recording. More often than not, though, the songs will include both aspects, jumping from moshpit-ready passages to immense slowdowns. There's even the interesting "Junkie" which features an overall cleaner sound (which is to say, still distorted, but not as overtly so as the others), giving it a southern rock vibe. Very nice.

What's more, the album is littered with lovely samples that (I assume) were provided by Buzzov*en's resident sample man and later frontman of Sourvein (whose "Black Fangs" is also heavily recommended, especially if you are a fan of this album), T.Roy Medlin. You have your nods to "Cheech and Chong: Up in Smoke," "Sling Blade," and even a well used sample from "Blazing Saddles" that takes a piece of dark comedy and puts it over some evil sounding riffage, effectively eliminating the comedy. Some would say samples are overused in modern sludge/doom, but I have always been a fan of well-done ones, and the samples here (as on any Buzzov*en record) are tasteful and only add to the texture...which I could only describe as slimy.

So where does "Revelation: Sick Again" stand? It's certainly not another "...At a Loss," but given that Buzzov*en are no longer making records (though recent events might turn out to prove me wrong on that statement depending on how far they take this reunion that they're on), it's a welcome addition to a woefully small catalog, and well worth the listen.

So, in the words of Kirk Fisher himself, "take it slow," and sit down on your porch on a hot, miserable summer evening with this one. You won't regret it.

_________________
Man is his own tormentor/He looks to the sky for help/He's punished by God's self-hatred/For man is his God himself


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