Crowbar

When I interviewed Crowbar’s frontman Kirk Windstein last year, he said that the band’s next album would be phenomenal. He described the upcoming album as a serious endeavor that would be a culmination of their 25 years in existence as a group, life experiences, and a desire to make it bigger than ever. Since its release, this album has already broken their previous records: Symmetry in Black sold over 4,000 units in its first week. It debuted in three notable positions on the Billboard charts: No. 3 in Hard Rock, No. 7 in Indie and No. 68 on the Top 200. Selling out venues, including local ones, it’s easy to see (or hear) why this band is reaching new territory. Crowbar’s dark and foreboding sound is intoxicating. “Symmetry in White,” which could be called the antithesis title track, is a wistful, yet dreary song; Jeff Golden’s bass growls loudly throughout. Immediately following, “The Taste of Dying” is laden with more hard rock-sounding guitar work by Matt Brunson and Windstein. Crowbar doesn’t worry about being sonically “heavy,” rather, it comes naturally from Windstein’s gruff singing voice, his and Brunson’s howling riffs, and Tommy Buckley’s slowly-cadenced drums. “The Foreboding” contains a good example of this as well as the vocals being relatively high-pitched and choir-like at times, but still quite menacing. The opening song entitled “Walk with Knowledge Wisely” is an apt title; Crowbar has a seasoned knowledge of music, and will continue to prove themselves as one of the biggest metal bands in the world.