Skullflower

"All must bow before the pagan wall of drone..." So reads the opening line of Skullflower's website. Hearing their tortured, distorted, and eerily shamanic sounds emanate from the stereo for the first time in the early '90s was truly a revelation. IIIrd Gatekeeper and Obsidian Shaking Codex are two of my all-time favorite albums and have been extremely influential on the way my brothers and I approach guitar-based heavy music. To grab an instrument, drive a loud amplifier to its physical limit, and ride the drone into oblivion is ecstasy, and Matthew Bower has been showing us all how it is done for 20-odd years. Strange Keys to Untune Gods' Firmament evokes Wagnerian sonic bombast, a Nietzchean worldview, and a warlike cry of rebellion against the false, encased in a whirlwind both psychotropic and psychoacoustic. Each spin brings new themes to the forefront. Not easy listening by anyone's standards, Strange Keys is not for the faint of heart--but those willing to submit and immerse themselves in the deep, thick waters of self-transformation will be greatly rewarded. --Steve Von Till (Neurosis / Neurot Recordings)