indy cd & vinyl

BLACK MOUNTAIN—In The Future

Take the best parts of Black Sabbath, mix with the Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin and 80’s heavy metal, sprinkle lightly with Pink Floyd (keyboards), David Bowie, and Kansas(!),  and, voila,  Black Mountain results. While this reviewer generally treads lightly on referencing past bands’ sounds as a guide to current groups, Black Mountain openly proclaims their influences, both in print and on wax/disc. The trick, of course, is not just to “rip off” these influences, but to integrate them into something unique, and, with In The Future, Black Mountain achieves this goal in excellent fashion. Sabbath is the closest comparison, as In The Future resounds with heavy, heavy riffs, melodic vocals, and acoustic interludes, just like Paranoid, Volume 4, and Master Of Reality, the albums Sabbath made when they were at the top of their game (i.e, when Ozzy was in the band). But there are also differences, particularly when Black Mountain’s Amber Webber lends her female pipes to cushion the musical heaviness. And then there’s Jeremy Schmidt’s inventive, “churchy” organ parts which underlie so many of the group’s brilliant riffs. Add in drummer Joshua Wells’ fondness for martial beats to go along with his 4/4 pound, and you get heavy-metal goodness heretofore unheard in the new millennium. The album opener, “Stormy High,” starts with a plucked, reverbed guitar, which gives way to a straight-ahead beat and a chunky riff, all of which leads to a beautiful choral refrain which plays off against the heaviness to wonderful effect. It is this balance between bludgeoning riffs and beautiful interludes that goes on to define the rest of the album. Everything comes together in their 16+ minute epic “Bright Lights,” which moves effortlessly from riff to drone to heaviness and back again. Then the album closes with “Night Walks,” which contains some of the gentlest music on the album, headed by Webber’s gorgeous voice. While Black Mountain’s previous album and EP were both fine achievements, it is with In The Future that all their musical elements come together to provide a fine statement of heavenly heaviness and bombastic beauty. Black Mountain are clearly in it for the long haul. On the evidence of this album, it looks like it will be worth our while to tag along for the ride.