UMUR
"Crowbar" is the eponymously titled 2nd full-length studio album by US, New Orleans based sludge metal act Crowbar. The album was released through Pavement Music in October 1993. It´s the successor to "Obedience Thru Suffering" from 1991. There´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Kevin Noonan has been replaced by Matt Thomas.
The material on the 10 track, 36:01 minutes long album continue the heavy and groove laden sludge metal style of "Obedience Thru Suffering (1991)", but the band successfully add a little more melody and a slightly more varied songwriting approach. When that is said, "Crowbar" isn´t the most varied album around, an a little more variation between tracks wouldn´t have hurt. Sometimes it all becomes a little too formulaic. Thankfully the skillful instrumental execution and Kirk Windstein´s angry despair filled vocal delivery often save the day, and you´ll find plenty of crushingly heavy riffs and delicious heavy grooves throughout the album.
"Crowbar" is a bleak album with a dark and depressive atmosphere, featuring lyrics which deal with pain, suffering, loss, and...well more suffering. Windstein comes off as quite discontent, combining his raw aggressive vocals with the occasional more melancholic tone. The album features a powerful, raw, and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly. So upon conclusion this self-titled release is a quality sophomore studio album by Crowbar. It´s obviously a lot more focused than the debut album, and the songwriting is generally also of a higher quality. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.