Crowbar
Sever The Wicked Hand

March 2011
Released: 2011, Ent. One Music
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Metal-Rules.com UK Team

It's been six years but New Orleans band 'Crowbar' have finally returned with their Ninth Album release 'Sever The Wicked Hand'. Led by guitarist and vocalist 'Kirk Windstein' who is also in 'Down' and 'Kingdom of Sorrow' this is definitely a band which needs little introduction.



Crowbar were established in back in 1988 but it was 1991 when 'Obedience Thru Suffering' first hit the shelves when 'Thrash Metal' was at its peak and although a lot of time has been spent on the road with 'Down,' its great to see this release has put 'Crowbar' back on the map and the band are seeing this as their official re-launch!



When first hearing this album I did notice that tracks seemed to lack the edge of some of their previous work, but I can't fault them. The music is amazing, with beautiful melodies in true melodic doom style and the more I listen to this album the more I'm liking it. For me the first few tracks on this album are my favorites including the opening track 'Isolation (Desperation)' its been publicly known how Kirk has been 'sobering up' the last few years and I think some of the lyrics in these songs shows this.



Just as I thought there wasn't much more to come with the rest of the remaining tracks it soon picks up with the song 'Cleanse Me, Heal Me' which I really enjoyed, leaving 'Symbiosis' the last track on the album which takes the tempo down again. There is a great energy coming from this album & I enjoyed all the songs, including the lyrics. As a whole this is a great album from the guys and a great way of getting 'Crowbar' back out there again, I look forward to hearing even more from them!



Jo Blackened