ALBUM REVIEW: Obsessed With The End – Painted Wives
Imagine this; you press play on a record and the first track is a soft piano melody, it’s enticing, it makes you feel warm inside and you want to find out more yet if it’s off a metal record you already expect it’s going to turn into something heavy. The abrupt change from that to one of the dirtiest riffs you will hear for a long time is unexpected; in terms of it didn’t gradually introduce the heaviness, it went straight in for the kill. In this case this worked really well. If that doesn’t leave the listener hankering for more who knows what will. The opening in question comes from an album titled Obsessed With The End by Californian doom metal quartet PAINTED WIVES; their doom riffs and vocals with a tint of stadium sounding ambience is sure to win them a great deal of fans, whether they are metal heads or not.
Hailing from Midway City, Southern California, PAINTED WIVES’s mission is to inhabit the space between acts such as HIGH ON FIRE, GOJIRA, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and ALICE IN CHAINS. It’s perfectly safe to say they have achieved this with full marks; they have achieved the aggressiveness yet a sound that will sit well on the ears too. It can be stated that there is a MUSE type vibe amongst the music; the visionary imagined alongside this sounds would be extraordinary.
Bearing in mind the opening alone leaves you wanting more, when you immerse deeper you are completely drawn away from reality. The rough sounding riffs, clear vocals and the pounding drum will have you submersed from the word go. All you have to do is close your eyes and turn it up to full volume; that’s the best way to experience this complete masterpiece.
What’s great about this record in general is the variety of songs; one minute you have the upbeat bouncy belligerence of My Sisters that will no doubt cause chaos and pandemonium when it’s performed live. Next you could have complete sludginess and doom vibes, which can be heard in the instrumental Kubrick’s Tongue. Tracks such as Countless and Dig are soaring beauties that will have you completely immersed. So there is a different track that provokes different experiences and emotions on this record.
The concluding track Interstellar is completely stunning, it’s very rare that word is used to describe a song but it is one of the best examples of music that can be heard. It has the complex, thought provoking melody which has both soft and aggressive elements; these two opposite ends of the scale work remarkably well to create a unique fusion of pure magic. Along with the opening of the album this will encourage the listener to press play again when finished or leave them eager for more. Either way this band’s sound is extremely addictive.
This stunning debut record will leave you speechless, breathless and blown away; it will no doubt make history and be a favourite amongst the music community. What’s the best thing? Anyone will enjoy this spectacular feat, whether you’re into metal and rock or not.
Rating: 10/10
Obsessed With The End is out now via Century Media Records.
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