--------------------------------------- ABDULLAH S/T --------------------------------------- Daredevil Records ABDULLAH - Abdullah (People Like You/Meteorcity) Review by Thomas Schubert Yes, this is the one, the Doom release of the year 2000 so far. The band was formed in 1998 (as far as I know), and this is the first official CD output via Meteorcity (People like you in Europe), after a demo CD SNAKE LORE. The Ohio based duo, delivers the goods for sure, playing Doom Rock in the vein of OBSESSED, ST. VITUS and COUNT RAVEN. The band manages never to fail the expectations, none of the songs are too long or even boring at all. Jeff Shirilla`s (Drum/Vocals) voices fits perfect to the compositions, which in all are held straight forward. Listen to the 2nd track, I thought Wino`s is singing this one. The production is also a plus, giving the songs the needed depth. The CD comes in a Digipack + booklet with lyrics. Two songs (THE PATH OF ENLIGHTENMENT / THE BLACK ONES) are taken from the SNAKE LORE CD. Music: 9 Sound: 9 Genre: Doom Info: 11 tracks/67.51 minutes Daredevil Records --------------------------------------- Zoopa Loop ABDULLAH "Same" (Meteorcity / People like you records ) All what is called "stoner" at this time takes its roots in the early heavy/doom scene with bands as Saint vitus, Trouble, etc... Abdullah is a two headed band coming from the USA playing doom in the steps of these previous bands. They recorded one Demo Cd "Snake lore" , one of the most acclaimed demo of 1999, and several months later meteorcity gave a deal to the band. Here comes their first album and people who were sad of the split of Trouble or the vanishing of Saint Vitus can run to their record store to buy it. Abdullah took the spirit of the mighty Saint vitus particulary on "Visions of the daughters of time", sometimes on this song you think that Scott Reagers will begin to sing. They took the essence of the heavy guitars riffs of Trouble ("Earth's answer" that ends on a riff close of the intensity of the introducing riff of the song "Black sabbath"). Some gloomy parts are dispersed during the 11 songs of the record ("The path to enlightenment", "Earth's answer" or "Proverbs of hell" ). "Now is the winter" sound as we were back in 1970, heavy tormented riff, close to Black sabbath. But they also mixed their doom with more 70's progressive rock influences as on the beautiful song "Lucifer in starlight" that gives the impression that you are alone, trapped in a crystal prison. There are two songs that already were on "Snake lore": "The path to enlightenment" and "The Black ones". With this record, Abdullah gives the real proof that doom is not dead but fuckin' alive. Everyone who like Trouble, Saint vitus, Pentagram or The Obssesed must support the band. Zoopa Loop E-Zine --------------------------------------- Death to Dead Things Abdullah (CD I Used To Fuck People Like You In Prision) Review by Ian Bucking all the trends Abdullah come across like Stoner rock never happened. Taking their cues directly from Sabbath and the likes of St. Vitus and The Obsessed this is pure doom metal. Excellent riffs abound on the eleven rather lengthy tracks and though I could see many a Kyuss freak turning off in boredom, those with affection for the Spirit Caravan album will find plenty to get their teeth into. Very enjoyable in a depressing sort of way. Death to Dead Things E-Zine --------------------------------------- Stonerrock.com Abdullah - s/t Meteorcity (People Like You) CD (DigiPack cover in Europe) Releasedate: Out Now (in Europe) Review by hogfeldt If you�re starved for some really high class doom, look no further... There seems to be no end to the flood of great releases this year, this being one of them. These dudes get my attention right from the get go, the first song �Path To Enlightenment� manages to remind me of both Trouble and Grand Funk Railroad, great doom with really great vocals... I had just heard a couple of songs from Abdullah�s demo before(you�ll find 'em at the MP3 Jukebox here at StonerRock.com), and those songs are great, but... this album are even better... Take everything that�s good about bands like Trouble, Solitude Aeturnus, Grand Funk Railroad and add just a little bit of Metallica and Alice In Chains to the mix and you�ll end up with something pretty close to Abdullah. There�s 11 songs on this album, some of 'em up to ten minutes long, so you�ll not only get an incredible album, but you�ll also get value for you�re money when it comes to the length of the album... 68 minutes and no bogus �dead space�. I won�t waste you�re time by listing each song and whats good about it... I�ll just simply state that this a great album, and it should be in every true doom fans record collection, so get your ass to the recordstore and demand to get your copy of it now... I guess Meteorcity will release the U.S. version pretty soon.. For once I�m glad I live in Europe, I got this masterpiece before all of you U.S. doom fans ;) On the other I still don�t get to see Electric Wizard tearing up the stages of Sweden... :( Stonerrock.com --------------------------------------- Free Times Ohio's Largest News, Arts & Entertainment Weekly Vol. 9, Issue 8, Page 44 November 8, 2000 Abdullah (Meteor City) Review by Edward Angelo Sotelo Once you had your basic fruit juices: apple, grape, the ubiquitous orange. These days it's Choco-Mango-Radberry, with Ginseng extract. Now take the underground movement known as stoner-rock. From Sabbath to Kyuss to Fu Manchu to Richfield natives Abdullah, the flavor remains the same: it's just gotta be heavy man. This three-piece is rapidly earning a place in the honor society of the stoner-rock niche, and with good reason: Abdullah adhere to a certain metalhead orthodoxy. As with the aforementioned bands, thick, bluesy guitar riffs wail away over grindingly slow tempos, again and again. Drummer/vocalist Jeff Shirilla's melancholy Layne-Staley-ish wailing and the sparkling-clean production will no doubt endear Abdullah to alterna-rock fans who'd normally steer clear of such high-volume bombast. But don't expect surprises: Abdullah's one more band keeping stoner rock a limited style. For those of us hoping for that nutritious ginseng tang, sometimes the same damn juice won't quench the thirsty ear. Grade: B Free Times --------------------------------------- Dark Wave ABDULLAH : Abdullah (Meteorcity, 67'51', 11 tracks, stoner /doom-metal) : The fans of the stoner / doom-metal should know this fantastic label. The reason is this label from America releases only stoner and doom-metal music albums and these releases are really interesting. One of the new releases from Meteorcity is Ohio's Abdullah. First full CD for the band and I am really surprise about it. All the best elements of this musical style are in this first release : songs that are very heavy, stoner, melodic, very good production and great compositions. Imagine a mix between St Vitus, Alice In Chains mainly in some vocals ("Earth's Answer") and with some Spiritual Beggars touches, I find Abdullah shows this musical crossover. A good first release, true stoner / doom-metal music. (7,5/10) Dark Wave --------------------------------------- The Crass Menagerie Issue #90 (Part One) November, 2000 ABDULLAH s/t CD Review by: Jeb One of the biggest weaknesses of the doom metal scene is a real lack of originality and diversity so on the strength of creativity alone ABDULLAH is going to be able to turn some heads. On one hand, that hand being music, they are a doom metal posterchild with Sabbath inspired riffing that is plodding, infectious, and relentlessly powerful. But on the other hand, vocally,they are incomparable. Vocalist/drummer Jeff Shirilla has a clean and soaring voice that could fit into an AOR band or a pop band as easily as it does ABDULLAH. Clean vocals certainly aren't new in doom but Shirilla still separates himself from the pack by virtue of the melodiousness and emotive inflections he manages. His highly intellectual lyrics certainly help. The first couple of times through this CD I couldn't quite put my finger on what was so impressive and after repeated listens I still don't know if I can, but the repeated listens in and of themselves indicate that this is a CD that comes highly recommended. The Crass Menagerie --------------------------------------- Critical Metal Web Journal Abdullah "Abdullah" (11 tracks. 67:43). Fans of Solitude Aeturnus take note. The opening notes of this CD sound vaguely familiar, then that voice comes in. The combination of music and the voice of Jeff Shrilla hint at the opening of SA�s "Through the Darkest Hour" CD. But Abdullah is a little more commercial than Solitude Aeturnus, and their sound can be said to combine elements of commercial grunge and southern rock. Normally the grunge part would turn me off, but here it is the right combination. In terms of sound alone, Abdullah is a winner. Abdullah is a very intriguing band for other reasons as well. The lyrics on this album are very thought provoking, very philosophical, and touch heavily upon metaphysical issues. Notable are the opening tune, "The Path to Enlightenment" and also the song "Proverbs of Hell". Also notable is the artwork. The overall effect invites a lot of reflection from music to lyric to artwork. You are at once pleased aesthetically and also disturbed spiritually by it all. The end result is a very intriguing CD. Critical Metal --------------------------------------- Electric Basement ABDULLAH-Abdullah Review by Brian Coles Yet another pleasant surprise from the Meteor City roster. Is it just me or are the labels getting a more picky of late? Abdullah certainly has the expected Sab influence, but there is an added depth and beauty to their music, in comparison to the average bong ampage we're used to. The interludes are better thought out and the vocals are more like Cream than the groovy, wasted rock ranger wanderings that almost define the genre. The riffs are sharp and used to maximum effect. In some ways this is what Hendrix did so well. Take a distorted nugget and make the most of it without losing its effectiveness. But to be fair, Abdullah tends to be more expansive when one stands back and maps out the whole construction. Don't worry, it isn't as heady as it sounds. Quite the opposite. It's all for the sake of music and spirituality, not showing off. Of note, the religious theme is strong, so its relation to the average listener could be difficult. But honestly, the music and soaring vocals are exquisite and will likely speak to any fan of balanced, soulful compositions. One of the year's better releases. 4 out of 5 lava lamps Electric Basement --------------------------------------- Ultimate Metal Abdullah MeteorCity Review by Chris Barnes If there is a chance that Doom can have widespread appeal, it's right here. Abdullah's first full-length release is nothing short of an extraordinary listening experience. The arrangements are clean, the production is near flawless (sounds fantastic on a pair of Bose speakers) the lyrics are among the best this doomhead has heard in the genre, and there is a clear-cut juxtaposition between beauty and dread in each soulful tune which makes the whole damn thing awfully compelling. Jeff Shrilla (vocals, drums) and Alan Seibert (guitars) have created a masterpiece. Even the packaging this release comes with reflects a painstaking attention to detail and the upmost in quality. The CD booklet itself is a work of art, mixing obscure symbols with photographs and vintage hand-drawn pictures that accompany the lyrics inside. The booklet is a perfect complement for the accompanying music and vice-versa. I get the feeling that these two are perfectionists in every sense of the word. "The Path to Enlightenment", a stern warning against the chasing of riches and the resulting poverty of soul, is the opening track and sets the standard for the rest of the music to come. The opening riff is a monster and the remainder of the song fluctuates between heavy doom riffage, heavy groove, beautiful, even uplifting passages and *gulp* harmonies! It, however, all comes together to work beautifully and this song alone can expand the musical horizons of how we view Doom. "Visions of the Daughters of Time" is a slow and low homage to being torn between life and death and a comes with an unexpected acoustic ending with a Dobro. "Lucifer in Starlight" is a study of beauty in both lyrical content and music. A tale of Lucifer as a reluctant, solitary and lonely figure will bring a tear to even those most die-hard Christian. "Journey to Orange Island" features one of the heaviest retro-groove riffs that's bounced off my tympanic membrane yet. "Lotus Eaters" is an acoustic doom ballad (yeah, you read that right!) that showcases both Jeff's golden-throated talents as well as his immense capacity to write lyrics that entertain, inspire and provoke thought...this guy has read some classic literature in his day and has a way with the word that only a special few are gifted with. All I can say is that MeteorCity has done it again with another outstanding release. Abdullah will be a band to be watched in the future. If they can sustain this type of quality output , they truly will have a place in the classic annals of not only Doom, but hard music itself. Ultimate Metal --------------------------------------- Underground Symphony Abdullah-Abdullah Holy Shit! It looks as become the Doom and Stonerfanbasment Chrismas-Time much earlyier as the other years before.Abdullah�s Release is for my definetly one of the Hightlights this year.Mastermind Jeff Shirella,the Drummer and Vocalist of the Band wrote the most Stuff on this record alone by himself,und these guy definetly knows how a Hammer must pound.The Opener comes along with the straight rocking"The Path of Enlightment" followed by the first"Alltimeclassic-Song"..the godly" Earth Answer".The next one is a very still and slow Song who�s called "Visions of the Daughter of Time",a very very sad piece of Music with the Atmosphere it needs.It would be stupid to take one Song out of the Playlist cause all 11 Songs are still Classics before they are released.Shirilla�s Voice shows up more than one time a little tendence to old Ozzy stuff ,and a little taste of Ian Gillan (his dark Voice parts).The whole record is guided by a great touch of Melancholie. Both Sides...Music and Lyriks comes togehter as one in a perfect Harmony.Beside the Monsterriffs which exist here much more than one time does work�s Abdullah with Accoustic and clean Parts which gives the last Kick to make this one so great. The absolutley Highlight on this Record is the last Song"Lotus Eater", a Ballad with 100% deepness,Great!!.The Sound which is produced by Paul Hamann and the Abdullah guys himself, brings enough warmness and straightness to the production,to work in the same Line like this Song�s needed.Abdullah�s first officell Album....the whole 68 Min...... just came out to find a place at your CD-Collection....Pure Cult!!! 10 from 10 Points Underground Symphony Here it is in German: Heiliges Rohr !!! Die Doom und Stonerfraktion scheint dieses Jahr schon vorzeitig Weihnachten zu haben,was Abdullah hier vom Stapel lassen ist f�r mich schon jetzt einer der definitiven Highlights des Jahres. Mastermind Jeff Shirilla der seines Zeichens Drummer und S�nger bei Abdullah ist und auch f�r den gr��ten Teil des Songwritings und der Lyriks verantwortlich ist, scheint genau zu wisssen, wo der Hammer zu h�ngen hat. Den Startschuss setzt das rockige "The Path of Entlightment", das sehr straight r�berkommt aber dabei seine Wirkung absolut nicht verfehlt. Den ersten richtigen Alltimeklassiker gibt es dann mit dem g�ttlichen "Earth Answer", gefolgt von dem sehr ruhigen und getragenen "Visions of the Daughters of Time", das nicht minder geil ist. Eigentlich ist es eh Schwachsinn hier einzelne Tracks herausheben zu wollen, denn alle haben mal etwas mehr,mal etwas weniger schon vorzeitigen Kultcharakter. Die Gesang Shirillas�s tendiert, wen wird�s �berraschen, mehr als einmal in Richtung Ozzy Osbourne beherbergt dabei meiner Meinung nach aber auch einen kleinen Schlag Ian Gillian, wenn dieser in tieferen Tonlagen werkelt. Das komplette Album wird von einer sehr getragenen Melancholie durchzogen, die sich sowohl musikalisch, wie auch textlich bestens herauskristallisiert.Neben den m�chtigen Riffs die es hier zu Hauf zu h�ren gibt Arbeiten Abdullah auch des �fteren mit ruhigeren, bzw. akustischen Parts die das ganze noch interessanter werden lassen als es ohne Zweifel eh schon ist.Der absolute Highlight des insgesamt knapp 68 Min. Longplayers ist der Rausschmei�er "Lotus Eater", eine Ballade mit 100 % Tiefgang. Der Sound der von Paul Hamann und den Jungs von Abdullah selbst zusammengezimmert worden ist kommt druckvoll und ausgeglichen daher und birgt eine Menge W�rme in sich, die das komplette Songmaterial von Abdullah bestens unterst�tzt. Ich m�chte allen Leuten ((und nicht nur der Doom/Stonerfraktion)) dieses Album w�rmstens ans Herz legen.Also checkt es allermindestens mal ab wenn ihr auf eurem n�chsten Streifzug durch die CD-L�den seit. Kult!!! --------------------------------------- Loud Planet ABDULLAH Abdullah Label: People Like You Release Date: 6th November 2000 Line-up: Jeff Shirilla (vocals, drums), Alan Seibert (guitars, bass) Track Listing: 1) The Path To Enlightenment, 2) Conundrum, 3) Earth's Answer, 4) Vision Of The Daughters Of Time, 5) Now Is The Winter, 6) Lucifer In Starlight, 7) The Black Ones, 8) Awakening The Colossus, 9) Proverbs Of Hell, 10) Journey To The Orange Island, 11) Lotus Eaters Abdullah pound out chunks of doom soaked riffs played on down-tuned guitars with a little borrowed from the likes of the legendary Black Sabbath. The emphasis here is on riffage which is apparent from the moment the opening track 'The Path Of Enlightenment' kicks in, plodding along on a heavy almost seventies guitar sound with some Sabbath style time changes. One of the stand out tracks is 'Earth's Answer', you'll love this riff, imagine 'Ziggy Stardust' played by Tony Iommi and your close. Elsewhere it's much of the same mid-paced stoner rock from the groovier 'Conundrum' to the doom-laden 'Journey to the Orange Island', broken only be the acoustic ballad 'Lotus Eaters'. Stoner rock seems to be enjoying a resurgence at the moment and Abdullah do the scene justice, although the tracks do get a little samey when listening to the full CD all in one go. Three star of david's out of five Loud Planet --------------------------------------- Martin Popoff Abdullah - Abdullah (MeteorCity) Review by Martin Popoff Somehow, this one never got moving for me. Abdullah play a slow doomy Americanized stoner rock, definitely going for mood over impetus, stacking large lethargic chords within a clear but powerful mix, underneath clean vocals from Jeff Shirilla. Cool lyrics though, a sort of spiritually pan-discipline and depressive tread on Trouble's worn path. But it's just too much of a slog, I guess designed for (loud) head-bowed contemplation. But after track after track of average riffs at below average speeds, I'm a blunted mess by the end of it, perhaps closer to the divine given the trippy booklet, but physically more than anything, ready for a nap. Note: tough grade, but we've all got to get together soon and raise our standards. Stone for stone's sake shouldn't be allowed to cut it the way it did in '97. Rating 5.5 --------------------------------------- Abrasive Rock Abdullah-Abdullah Style:Stoner Rock/Doom/Sabbath Worship Rating: 8 This is music to mellow out to. This is what I imagine being played as the sun starts to rise after an all night soiree. People crash out on the sofa, floor, front lawn, and wherever else they landed when they passed out. This is the Prozac of metal. It's done very well by what seem like very seasoned musicians. They even have a little bit of that magic chemistry that so many bands that play this style seem to lack. This cd is full of passion. It is also full of Sabbath riffs, but they have enough talent to make it all seem fresh, (even though we all have heard this a hundred times before). This is more in the St. Vitus vein. Very slow and moody. Imagine a more hippie version of Solitude Aeturnus and you get the idea. There are way too many bands like this out right now, but these guys have a chance to rise above it all. How does Meteor City find this many good bands that play the same basic style? Someone knows what they are doing. That is clear. Abrasive Rock --------------------------------------- Stonerrock.com Abdullah - Self Titled Review by robwrong (StonerRock.com) Meteor City Records Now this is some serious stuff. Not very often do you hear a band that makes you remember them the next time you hear a song of theirs randomly. You're like- hey that's Abdullah!!! The new self titled EP has the classic rock and roll- thing down, but more doomy... The first band that I can associate with is Solitude Aeturnus. Doomy, good vocals and tons of soul and classic twists that are un-expected. But mainly the simplicity is genius in it's own way... Song writing isn't about throwing together a bunch of riffs that sound mind blowing and calling it a song. Most of the good ones start as ideas and develop over time like a fine 12 year old Scotch... Abdullah has classic-simple riffs that are arranged very genius-like... You listen to the way a song flows together and it's pretty cool. The guitar sound is overdriven- with lots of leads and the man can lay down the chops... The songs are all pretty moderate tempo, but super tight and loose grooved. Vocal harmonies are amazing, as are the lead vocals... Pure soul and right out front where they belong. Some of the songs throw in these little twists that get brought down in mood- and slightly in tempo and volume...mood changes. The song 'Earth Answer' has one of these changes... right in the middle there is this part that comes down and creates a whole different mood to the already southern-fried sounding rock part... It reminds me of something right out of the middle of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, or Sabotage... Then, back into the southern-blues riffs--guitar solo over the top...then out of nowhere it breaks into this slow heavy riff that Iommi himself would be proud of...very 'St.Vitus Dance' sounding. And it doesn't stop there... The rest of the record continues on to different paths and un-expected time/tempo/era/ changes, while still retaining it's (only can be described as) Abdullah edge...for real. This album has just entered into the top albums of 2000 list. I suggest you pay attention when listening. Killer blues Doom... you will probably really like it. Stonerrock.com --------------------------------------- Beat the Blizzard Web Zine December 2000 Reviews ABDULLAH: "Abdullah" (I Used To Fuck People Like You In Prison Rec.) Reviewed by AJ. Blisten Abdullah is a black metal band from Iran... Ehem... just kidding, of course! Anyway, it's a strange name for a band to choose and it doesn't say anything really about what music they play. The music is right up my slow and dark musical alley. This is doom with clean vocals and slow guitars along fairly good melody lines. The band consist of two regular members - a guitarist and a drummer that bangs the skins nicely with a gentle touch. Jeff Shirilla, the drummer, is also the singer and his vocals is clean and soulful. This band started out as a two man band which they still are. But there is a difference in the instrumentation on this album, which is their debut CD. They have hired a bass player for this recording. Strange, isn't it, for a doom metal band to hire a bass player? To begin with they were just two - guitar and drums. I have never listened to Abdullah without a bass in the line-up. Wonder how that sounded... Anyway, this is a decent doom metal album - with a nice bass tone in place and all. The songs is well structured groovy doom anthems that in some of the guitar parts and riffs reminds me of Trouble in the old days. III / V Beat the Blizzard --------------------------------------- Daredevil Magazine Abdullah - Abdullah People Like You / Meteor City If you like doom in the vein of old Trouble, then don't look any further. Because Abdullah is probably what you've been waiting for. These two guys from Ohio write some damn good songs, even if they exceed the six minute barrier. And yes, they actually know how to lay down the right breaks at the right moment, so the in itself not really groundbreaking style gets something of its own and keeps you clinched to the stereo set throughout the whole CD. During the slower parts they even manage to get close to the intensity and magic of good old Zep. Add to that some great solos (reminds me a bit of Ace Frehley meets Slash (don't ask me why)) and outstanding clean vocals, and you know what you need to get you through all those dark, muddy days in your life. Eleven songs, well over 60 minutes with soon to be classics like "The Path to Enlightenment", "Earth's Answer" and "Journey to the Orange Island". Dig It! Rating: 1 (this is the highest - ed.) Daredevil Magazine --------------------------------------- Bravewords.com ABDULLAH Abdullah (Meteorcity) Review By Mark Gromen From the rural confines outside Cleveland, Ohio, comes the debut by a heretofore unknown bunch of Sabbath worshippers. Actually the doom-laden sound is the closest I've yet heard to the vintage St. Vitus, who perfected mid-paced, '70s blues-tinged distortion. While so-called 'stoner rock' has become a phenomenon, few get the long-winded, down and dirty, depressive vibe of Vitus. The opener, 'The Path To Enlightenment' shows all the tricks, beginning as a dirge, then briefly revving up, only to downshift to an acoustic guitar solo and finishing in the vein it started. 'Earth's Answer' is a blend of simple, catchy Southern-bred riffs, similar to Masters Of Reality. Like most of the 11 inclusions, it ventures beyond the seven minute mark. No platter within the genre would be complete without reverb and while evident throughout, 'Now Is The Winter' rides the motif forever. 'The Black Ones' and 'Awakening The Colossus' are both sludgy odes to their mentor, Black Sabbath. A lengthy instrumental jam, 'Journey To The Orange Inland' recalls guitar champs like Frank Marino and Pat Travers. A hard rock history lesson, from relative newcomers. What a treat. 7 Bravewords.com --------------------------------------- Night Ritual ABDULLAH "s/t" Meteor City Records Review by Renee` Maxwell I'm so happy ABDULLAH hooked up with a label. A truly great band in the stoner/doom genre. Recommended to fans of TROUBLE and ST. VITUS. Night Ritual --------------------------------------- Keep On Groovin' Abdullah- S/T (Meteor City 2000) Review by Kevin Payne If you're a veteran fan or just getting into the almighty Abdullah this album picks up and continues where 'Snake Lore' left off. The latest release and world-wide debut contains some re-recorded classic Abdullah material: 2 tracks from the 3rd demo ('Conundrum' and 'Now Is The Winter') 2 trax from the 4th demo or what would become 'Snake Lore' demo ('The Path To Enlightenment' and 'The Black Ones') 7 brand spankin' new doom tracks were recorded for the first full length ('Earth's Answer', 'Visions Of The Daughters Of Time', 'Lucifer In Starlight', 'Awakening The Colossus', 'Proverbs Of Hell', 'Journey To The Orange Island' and 'Lotus Eaters' which is similar to 'A Tribute To My Apathy'). The song writing and playing by Alan & Jeff is extremely extraordinary, completely euphoric. The lyrics, riffs... they are the best doom band alive. Finally the whole world is being let in on the unearthly music that I've had the pleasure of listening to on a daily basis for better than a year now. This isn't really much of a review but like I've said before when it comes to reviewing Abdullah's material I cannot describe how good it is, and that is the honest to god truth. I can't describe it; you just have to hear the heavy crunchy groovy doom they play. Their music is euphoric. Just take my word for it and get this album. I can't wait to hear the next release! Keep On Groovin' --------------------------------------- Terrorizer Issue 85, Page 48 Abdullah 'Abdullah' People Like You Review by Chris Chantler Abdullah's debut mini-CD 'Snake Lore' has only just left my stereo, yet here they are again with an even-doomier full-length. While 'Snake Lore' was rather more raw and versatile, there is a deftness of touch here and a relaxed confidence that lends this one a whole new set of merits. Two of the debut's doomiest tracks reappear here, 'The Black Ones' sounding even more like a lo-fi Solitude Aeturnus than it did first time around, while the Obsessed obsession is tempered by a smooth Alice In Chains-ish dirgefulness. Improved production just about drags this most Luddite of bands out of their basement four-track, but needless to say Abdullah are still best savoured through bulky twenty-five-year-old headphones, and with a bag of heavy grass. I dunno, I just find something extremely comforting about Abdullah's hazy blanket of laidback melodic doom rock. I daren't close my eyes during 'Snake Lore', but 'Abdullah' demands you nod off into it's steady, morose grooves until it turns your blues black. Quietly brilliant. [8] Terrorizer --------------------------------------- The Free Spirit Online CD Reviews By Roman Sokal Issue #6 Abdullah - s/t The Mushroom River Band - Music For The World Beyond Lowrider - Ode To IO (Meteorcity) Review by Roman Sokal Meteorcity are vanguards in exposing, hoisting and knocking down buildings with their roster of bands that chug with metallic riffage that is as course as desert sand. This style of music, first inseminated by the mighty legends that were Black Sabbath (and then Kyuss), is being kept alive by many emulators, but, Meteorcity knows exactly as to who is doing it right. Abdullah, hailing from anonymous Ohio USA, infuse what is called 'doom' (think incantations and minor chords). Their approach is not skewed; the vocalist sings like a seasoned pro, a master. One might even correlate the feel as being similar to Type O Negative and perhaps some Fear Factory session in the company of the Church of Satan. The guitars are fluid and evil enough to cancel out the most haunted of houses. The other aspect of the desert scene is the default use of the 'herb'. Vastness and dryness promotes the requiement of mind expansion, which is partly where the labelelling of the 'stoner' genre came about. The Mushroom River Band. hailing from Sweden, shift more towards this plane and dole out the psychedelics in copious amounts. Their approach is less disciplined, and more based on relying on what is the overall experience- sweepy, dreamy yet dangerously heavy guitars and loose beats. The combination of the two fuse together to form Lowrider, considered the next best block of aural hash since Kyuss. Also hailing from Sweden, Lowrider take the residue of influence from Kyuss and attack the ears with even greater force than their predecessors. A refinement, if you will. These gents must have starved themselves and had a huge piece of meat dangling in front of them just out of reach in the recording studio...it's that fierce. The Free Spirit Online - CD Reviews by Roman Sokal Issue #6 --------------------------------------- Organ Zine ABDULLAH "ABDULLAH" People Like You Records They're from Ohio and they may just have encountered an Iommi riff or two in their time. The is a rather Sabbath loaded heavy rock album - yeah, another one, there's far more Sabbath flavoured doomed-out stoner albums out there than ever... Abdullah do have a little identity though, not so much of a groove ridden thing as a churning big riff machine of a gargantuan almost trance-like doomed out wizard wakening Trouble/Saint Vitus nature. A glorious quagmire of treacle pudding churning heavy rock, you need to take great big sticky spoonfuls of it while saying thank you for those little extra bits of Lynyrd Skynyrd/Molly Hatchet musical texture. It Rocks! Organ Zine --------------------------------------- Psychedelic Fanzine Issue 8 ABDULLAH : S/T Review by Poller Csaba It is extreme and unusual to say, but this album was something like a doom metal sensation of the last year: many people, I've talked to, had the same or similar opinion. In our previous issue I've already reviewed their self-financed debut MCD, called 'Snake Lore', which has been released at the British Rage of Achilles Records in 2000 and thanks to Meteorcity, they recently came out with a first full-length of the most beatiful and wonderful kind of doom metal heaven. The duo (Alan Seibert-guitars and Jeff Shirilla-drums/vocals) - helped out on bass side with Ed Milich and Jameson Walters from Boulder - represent a perfect essence, what a music always must be about: power, emotion, atmosphere, belief and honesty. Eleven masterpieces, pure gem of completely harmonic, sensually streaming structures, heavy kick-ass riffs, slowly-rollin' basical doom-rhytms and the vocals... Jeff is already like a classic rock-throat, holding deep energies and beatiful melodies. Oh, just listen to the 'Visions of the Daughters of Time', it is like a doom-hymn, but actually every second recorded on it is a brick of doom metal pantheon. So, yes, it is Doom time again and forever! Psychedelic Fanzine --------------------------------------- Metal Disorder Webzine ABDULLAH - Abdullah MeteorCity Review by Chris Papadakis Every time I hear albums like this I continue to believe that the spirit of doom metal is not lost yet. Here we have a release, which contains melodic pessimistic doom metal in the way it should be played. The guitar riffs are slow dark and melodic. The sound of the voice is wandering through the songs searching the path to eternity. Sometimes the speed of riffs becomes faster and the sound becomes heavier but it keeps its dark melody. Their music will bring you in mind bands like Black Sabbath and Saint Vitus, their music will wake up your darkest feelings, their music will take into a journey into the darkest paths. Here I have to mention a song that is included in this album. "Lucifer in Starlight" is just one of the best songs I have ever heard. It is probably the best song of the album. Something last: the band had also released a demo CD called "Snake Lore" which is in the same musical style. They had also taken part in many compilations. Check their debut out! If you are into doom metal then this is a record that you MUST have. Doom The World... 9 Metal Disorder Webzine --------------------------------------- Metal Hammer Abdullah (I Used To Fuck People Like You In Prison) Review by Malcolm Dome When this oddball Ohio duo released a mini album earlier this year - on the excellent Rage Of Achilles label - they gave the impression that they were a tremendously brutal band with little or no time for subtlety. Well, that record was clearly only meant to showcase one aspect of this lot's remarkable talent. Because this self-titled, full album is more - much more - than a festival of brute force. Sure, there are some highball hijinx in the doom sphere - witness 'The Path To Enlightenment' - but there are an equal number of quite breathtaking excursions into a twilight world of stoner and psychedelic affectations. The likes of 'Lucifer In Starlight' and 'Lotus Eaters' are brilliantly haunting expositions which suggest Abdullah are more than capable of holding their own with the Queens Of The Stone Age, or even (ulp!) Radiohead. One of the year's greatest finds. [9] Metal Hammer --------------------------------------- GL Productions Abdullah(US) - Same Review by Gabriel Lilliehook One of the best new doom bands that has arrived on the scene have made their debut album on Meteor City. Abdullah that features guitarist Alan Seibert and singer/drummer Jeff Shrilla first got the attention with the Snake Lore demo that came out 1999, a classic epic doom metal piece with a very talented singer in Jeff Shirilla. Snake Lore got re-issued on a mini cd last year on Rage of Achilles. Snake Lore received a very good response and got the band a solid fanbase for themselves. This album got released late last year and have so far created quite a buzz in the metal press, the big paper mags and of course the internet. Abdullah are able to re-create the success that Candlemass had in the late 80s, Solitude Aeturnus early 90s they sure have the talent. The album have the classic The Path to enlightenment from Snake Lore in a re-recorded version, also The Black Ones are lifted from Snake Lore, the rest is new material and it is very refreshing to listen it cause it is not only slow hypnotic melodic doom metal it is also very progressive, psychedelic and very dark and gothic sounding. This is a very strong album but I would like to pick out a few of the faves that will get you going on this album. Visions of the Daughters of Time a dark seering slow psyched out doom trip reminds me of the legends Revelation in their early daze along with early Count Raven. Awakening of the Colossus reminds me of early Solitude Aeturnus and Saint Vitus a slow doomride with passages and bridges that is just amazing, Journey to the Orange Island a wet dream for every doom head a tune with a strong overdose of Saint Vitus and Witchfinder General. As said Jeff's vocals are really shining and Alan's guitarwork are fluent and inspiring, bass lines were done by session players Jamie Walters and Ed Milich. As I said this is a great album with a awesome production, excellent variations, emotional melodylines, brilliant instrumentations. A debut album with a lot to offer. GL Productions --------------------------------------- Stoned Gods ABDULLAH (2000 Meteorcity Records) Review by Alex Dark shadows and shining little lights is what I've seen listening to this debut full length of the two men band Abdullah. The band from Ohio have realized a monumental work based on doom mid-tempos and lighter floating melodies, sang by the drummer and main songwriter Jeff Shirilla. This eleven tracks are really as a strange dream/nightmare, so enchanting and so penetrating in your soul and in your mind. Not necessary the usual heavy basses and monolithic distorted stoner guitars, but also delicate chords and melodic vocals, as can be found in some parts of the great opener The Path To Enlightenment or in the long Proverbs Of Hell. The strong riffs and heavy drums aren't missing and can look back to some bands as Saint Vitus, Obsessed or (obvious?) Black Sabbath, but keeping an anguished melody as in some Alice In Chains things (pay attention to the Jeff singing, is really near Layne Staley!). All the work, from the lyrics to the booklet artwork, take inspiration in the dark side of the spirituality and titles as Lucifer In Starlight or The Black Ones (one of my favourites, that is included also in the Mob's New Plan compilation...) can easily explain the doom attitude of the band. This work has something particular, something that I can't explain, an unnatural fashion that make me to listen again and again and again to it, probably one of the most original stoner-doom works of all the stoner era... I wait for next releases, I'm sure that this bands have many other enchanting tales to tell us! Stoned Gods --------------------------------------- Shockwave ABDULLAH Abdullah MeteorCity Music Review by Bob Nalbandian What can I say about Abdullah that I haven't already said about Lowrider? Okay, the music is a bit darker, more melodic at times, and features pretty cool vocals and lyrics courtesy of Jeff Shriilla (drums and vocals.) But it's still boring as all hell! Now, I am one of the biggest Black Sabbath fans you'll ever meet, but even 30 years ago, Sabbath were capable of writing great tunes with dynamics, mind-blowing riffs, and brilliant chord changes. When bands such as Kyuss came about, it was sort of refreshing, in a retro-'70's kind of way. Now labels (such as MeteorCity and Man's Ruin) are simply seeking, and creating, bands in a sad effort to capitalize on a slowly growing "desert rock" trend, just as labels did with Seattle's grunge scene a decade ago. Let's not forget, underground, underrated American doom-metal bands such as Pentagram and St. Vitus were doing this style of music as far back as the '70s and early '80s (with more originality and diversity, I might add.) So, I said my piece... This review can be found at HardRadio --------------------------------------- Voodoo Fire Abdullah Abdullah The debut by Abdullah "Snake Lore" certainly proved that although a new band, they certainly have a lot to say, and this release confirms this fact. This self-titled first full-length release is even doomier than their sound before, but also demonstrates how the band have matured. The sound is very distictiveand pure, yet varied at the same time, showing their skill, and musical flexibility. 2 of the tracks off this CD also appeared on their first release, but are re-recorded, and merge in effortlessly with the newer material. Highly reminiscent of The Obsessed, the huge slabs of doom offered up here are tempered by a lightness of hand which makes the guitars really speak for themselves. Although the production here has obviously cost a lot more, and it is still easy to imagine them cranking out the riffs from a dark cavern of doom, with bong fumes clouding their minds. The pure blackness of their riffs demands that you sit back, turn the volume up to maximum, and let yourself be crushed by their dirges of groovy doom rock. Rating out of 10: 8 Voodoo Fire --------------------------------------- Bunt Mag Issue 14 Band : Abdullah Title : ST Label : Meteor City Abdullah start of very promising but rapidly descend into "that sounds like land" with riffs and pieces that sound very familiar to Led Zepplin...........That aside it is still a very interesting album, this disc contains old school metal variety doom, ala Trouble (sort of) and that in itself is a breath of fresh air compared to the John Garcia clones that are running rampant of late. If you are a lover of classic doom metal like Trouble, St.Vitus you should give this a listen as you may find that it is just right for you. Just not really my thing I guess. 5/10 PC Bunt Mag --------------------------------------- Vibrations of Doom Issue 26 ABDULLAH "Abdullah" (Meteor City) SCORE: 98/100 Review by Steve Cannon Damn! Ya know, I still listen to "Snake Lore," their demo CD that we reviewed a few issues ago. Their full length contains two songs from that demo, 'The Path To Enlightenment' and 'The Black Ones,' the latter song I didn't care for much off of the demo but for some reason I have started to get into it. There's so many tracks that are good I don't know where to start, so I'll get the bad parts out of the way. 'Lotus Eaters.' Not a bad tune, really, acoustics all the way making this a ballad type piece, but it's really long. And of course, 'The Black Ones' wasn't my favorite tune, like I said, but there may be times I sit through it anyway. Okay, the fun stuff. 'Visions Of The Daughters Of Time.' Hands down my favorite track, very slow and doomy, but with such heavy atmosphere and of course Jeff's vocals which are portraying some of the most intense and emotional vibes ever heard in this brand of music, which seems to border on stoner/doom, but it's very hard to place the unusual style to just these two. 'Conundrum.' Great tune, very short, but very catchy and guitar work is simply amazing. Lots of acoustic passages can be heard, some quite beautiful ('Proverbs Of Hell'), others simply add another atmosphere to a darker or heavier vibe. 'Lucifer In Starlight' was an acoustic piece too, but it had some great insightful lyrics. 'Awakening The Colossus' had some very dark, heavy kick ass riffs, but Jeff's vocals bring the atmosphere to a more mellow vibe, which not only contrasts with the eerie vibe, but complements it as well! They have the knack for making instrumentation and vocals mesh together as one, a feat not often heard these days. Very minor points taken off, a great CD all the way around, I was very excited when this showed up in my mailbox. Vibrations of Doom --------------------------------------- Monolith Abdullah - Abdullah Review by Mr. Vitus The first substantial work of Abdullah, with Meteorcity in New York, and I Used To Fuck People Like You in Europe supporting it. Eleven songs of a dinosauric character, influenced by Black Sabbath, Pentagram, The Obsessed, Cathedral, Year Zero, Internal Void. In a more simplistic language, eleven songs of absolute doom. Long and slow riffs, despaired vocals, marching drums and solid bass section. The definition of doom. Eight out of the eleven compositions as well as the artwork of the cd belong to Jeff Shirilla (drums, vocals). The remaining three are shared with Alan Seibert (all guitars). May they fare well. One objection though (that's why it doesn't get a 10 out of 10), the photos inside the booklet (instead of the technique scetches of Snake Lore, which remind me of William Blake) and the existence of colours (though dull). Characteristic song titles are: "Earth's Answer", "Now Is The Winter", "The Black Ones", "Awakening The Colossus", "Proverbs Of Hell", "Journey To The Orange Island", "Lotus Eaters". "The black ones will shine on tonight, the black ones will rise to new heights, the black ones will shine on tonight, the black ones will suffer through life" Rate: 11/13 Monolith --------------------------------------- Metal Judgement Title: Abdullah Artist: Abdullah Label: Meteor City Review by Redwolff Hold on a minute, I need to find my bitch hat. Abdullah consists of two main members, the drummer, who, in the spirit of Mickey Dolenz, also sings, and a guitarist. Two members is fine for Steeley Dan, but I think this band should consider expanding. Despite the liner notes' claim that two guest bass players also contributed to this album, and despite the good production quality, the songs are very two-dimensional. Abdullah does not have a rich sound at all, and I was left with the feeling that there was something missing in the majority of the songs. This feeling was especially noticeable when faced with a number of long intros that feature a guitar only. In general, Abdullah sounds not like a band but like two guys. The first song did not bode well for me, as the singer goes off key more than once on the higher notes. This, unfortunately, continues throughout the rest of the album. The first three songs are slow and pretty boring, and even when the guitar parts are layered over each other they are still playing the same notes. By the fourth song, "Visions of the Daughters of Time," I began to identify with the first line of lyrics, "All life moves closer to death." I asked myself, should I really allow more of my life to slip away while I listen to this? And yet I pressed on, through the plodding fifth and sixth songs, until the seventh, "The Black Ones," perked me up momentarily due to the Sabbath-esque bassline. Then the singer began. The song is written in a major key, and yet the singer rises to an inappropriate minor note at the end of each line. And, as with the rest of the album, he goes off-key a couple times. Later, I noticed that the seventh song begins with the exact same riff as the sixth song, "Lucifer in Starlight;" the seventh song just adds a fuzz pedal. At first I thought maybe it was on purpose, but after a second listening I decided it probably wasn't. The beginning of the eighth song, "Awakening the Colossus," sounded so familiar, I had to think for a second and then realized it's very similar to the beginning of Fear Factory's "A Therapy for Pain," the slowest and most boring song off Demanufacture. The ninth and tenth songs are more of the same, and the last, "Lotus Eaters," consists mainly of the singer and an acoustic guitar (and various rogue notes) and showcases the goofy stoner lyrics which can also be heard on the rest of the album, only not as clearly. All I could think was, thank goodness I don't remember much of the seventies. Is my hat still on straight? Sigh. Both the liner notes and website are well-designed, with cool olden-days fonts, interesting photos and artwork. I wish the music was as impressive. 2 out of 5 skulls Metal Judgement --------------------------------------- Collective Zine Abdullah - s/t (CD) Meteor City Records Review by Alex Deller Nyurgh. Trying to summon the strength to review another doom rock record without reeling out all the usual comparisons. A difficult task that I'm not quite up to at the moment. Perhaps I'll just leave the unwholesome chore to my younger brother, who described this as "Black Sabbath with a grunge singer". Wise beyond his years that boy. So yes, it sounds like Black fucking Sabbath with a grunge singer, and now I can't plumb my memory for anything else worthwhile to say. Some truly monstrous riffs with an almightily thick guitar sound that occasionally strays into cleaner jazzy noodling or wacka wacka breakdowns, drums that make your ribcage seem like the flimsiest of contraptions and vocals that owe as much to the guy from Alice in Chains as to the Obsessed or Goatsnake. And it all manages to sound strangely warm, swaying into dangerously melodic territory, rather than the kind of music which makes me want to top myself in the passenger seat of Mr Bronson's car, purely to fuck him up. Then there's these occasional dodgy moments where the Almighty Riff is forsaken in order to get all maudlin, letting the singer warble in earnest fashion, and I'm sorry, but even calling a song 'lucifer in starlight' won't redeem you under these circumstances. Oh, and the acoustic ballad at the end was beyond unnecessary, believe me. The thing really makes my skin crawl: I can just imagine our rugged frontman in some horrendous tearjerker music video, sitting in some deserted place (beach/mountaintop/graveyard.) with just his geetar and a mournful expression on his face, tossing back his immaculately coiffured locks and maybe tugging on a garish silver crucifix from time to time. Probably some fire there somewhere as well. In simplest terms, not a good thing. So this review has been a difficult process. When I first played this cd nigh on a month ago I thought it truly was the ponies cajones, and now I'm not so sure. This could suggest either a lack of longevity or the fact that being in the mood for thirty second songs wherein the band all scream, fall over and wriggle like fools is not conducive to attaining a state of doom rock bliss. Rating: somewhere between six and eight or something. I dunno. Collective Zine --------------------------------------- Metallus This review is in Italian. No English translation available at this time. Abdullah Meteor City / Sound Machine Review by Fabio Negri Gli Abdullah sono una band black metal Iraniana che giunge al debutto con un disco di una violenza 'marcilenta' e� ehm, no, scusate, riprendiamo tutto dall�inizio� tre, due, uno�. Ci sono band di confine, come gli Abdullah, che pescano da coordinate apparentemente lontane fra di loro per approdare a modelli musicali quantomeno personali. Ovviamente i Sabbath, i Sisters Of Mercy, gli onnipresenti St Vitus, trasudano da queste canzoni, ma come non poter tirare fuori alcune inflessioni squisitamente a la Neil Young metabolizzate alla luce dei Pearl Jam ad esempio o la liquida psichedelia visionaria di un Tim Buckley che affiora in �Lucifer In Stralight�. La malinconia del doom, che fa invidia ai prossimi Cathedral, �, in questi settanta minuti scarsi, un effetto balsamico, che non sta troppo a rincorrere i classici streotipi ma si bagna anche di Radiohead nel saluto conclusivo di �Lotus Eaters�, spingendo le coordinate di un genere monolitico molto pi� avanti di dove finora nessuno aveva avuto il coraggio di andare. Abbiamo paura, dopo aver sentito questo disco e �Jupiter� dei Cave In, di venire assaliti da qualcosa di assolutamente stordente nel prossimo futuro. Se le direzioni sono queste, il metallo avr� nuova linfa dalla quale attingere, finalmente. VOTO: 9 Metallus --------------------------------------- Eternal Frost Issue 11 ABDULLAH Abdullah Meteor City Records (2000) Review by Jeremy "GoreChrist" Whitman Meteor City, a underground label that has gathered a nice following due to their ear for radio-friendly, melodic stoner rock, did a good job adding Ohio's Abdullah to their lineup. Some of the label's acts (The Mushroom River Band, for example) justify lack of talent with tasteless ear-candy and could easily be confused with over 95% of the radio music out there today. Abdullah, on the other hand, find a wonderful balance between crawling stoner doom and some fairly catchy verse/break/verse/chorus songwriting: "Earth's Answer" is a good example of this. They could really benefit with additional layering and some more dynamic appeal, which most mainstream-aimed hard rock almost always suffers without. The addition of some heavy blues, classic rock, and undeniable Black Sabbath/Sleep worship grant the act some extra points, though. Eternal Frost --------------------------------------- Cosmic Lava ABDULLAH (s/t) 2 LP/CD After the "Snake Lore" CD on RAGE OF ACHILLES REC this is the first full-length release from ABDULLAH and it�s a very strong and powerful album, that stands in the good old Doom vein.ABDULLAH are drummer and singer Jeff Shirilla and guitarist Alan Seibert, but they have used two different bass-player for the recording sessions.So you can hear eleven songs that are filled with a melancholic and spiritual vibe. Some of the highlights are "Visions of the Daughters of Time" ,"The Black Ones" ( a real Doomtrack ), "The Path to Enlightenment" or "Lucifer in Starlight" ( a wonderful sad song ), but it�s not easy to pick out single songs, because it�s like a conceptional album and the band has its managed to create their own sound. The vocals from Jeff Shirilla are still one of the trademarks of ABDULLAH. He has a clear, emotional and powerful style and his voice gives the music a lot of intensity. Guitarist Alan Seibert plays a lot of real heavy SABBATH-influenced riffs and the few solos he plays enriches the atmospheric songs. I think that people who dig about Epic-Doom bands like SOLSTICE or REVELATION will also like ABDULLAH, but they have their own way to write and create sensual melodies and strong grooves. So, together with the great coverartwork from Greg Shirilla it�s a highly recommandable album, which is a must-have for every Doomster. Cosmic Lava --------------------------------------- Metal Nightmare Issue #8 ABDULLAH 2000 METEOR CITY RECORDS No, this is not an album of Middle Eastern music by a bunch of camel jockeys. Being on Meteor City Records, of course this is pure stoner doom rock! What would you expect anyway? The vocalist of this band at times sounds like that poseur from STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, but his delivery and also the music in general reminds me a lot of THE OBSESSED. Obviously, that wins a lot of points with me, and I'm really into this disc (as is the case with practically everything on this label). Two bongs up! Metal Nightmare --------------------------------------- Aural Innovations Issue 15 Abdullah - "Abdullah" (Meteor City 2000, MCY-014) Abdullah's self-titled debut commences with the excellent "The Path to Enlightenment," a seven-minute anthem with the usual quiet and 'jazzy' middle section. I'm immediately struck by the confident and attractive voice of drummer/songwriter Jeff Shirilla - similar qualities as to Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, yet different. Taken together, the following two (shorter) tracks "Conundrum" and "Earth's Answer" pretty much repeat the pattern of the opener, at least up until the finish of the latter where the trio breaks into a slow Iommi-esque trill-laden guitar overture. Throughout the disc, Alan Seibert's lead guitar work is appealing though his solos tend to be short, likely due to the lack of a second guitarist to carry along the rhythm (on stage at least). Continuing on, the demon-possessed yet slowdance-able "Visions of the Daughters of Time" brings us towards Seibert's subtle ballad "Lucifer in Starlight," which again shines because of Shirilla's lyrical words and voice. "Won't you join me in this abyss? Won't you join me in my anguish?" Such nice thoughts. The latter half of Abdullah's 68-minute CD suffers from a persistent dragging pace, that continually gives me the feeling that the batteries are wearing down (except that this is playing on the trusty old home system). "Awakening the Colossus" wants to be the song "Black Sabbath," but it turns out to be just long and rather boring. [But if you like (San Francisco's) Sleep...] This metronomic mode continues uninterrupted throughout the rest of the album, and my thumb turns from strongly upright to roughly neutral. (Though the more psychedelic "Journey to the Orange Island" would have worked nicely if surrounded by different stuff.) Mix it up a bit better boys. You've got a good sound, excellent voices (both lyrical and instrumental) - the broth just needs a little additional spice, or perhaps a jolt of caffeine. A quick note to commend the band on a very nice looking booklet with many interesting drawings and all the lyrics included. Aural Innovations --------------------------------------- High Beam ABDULLAH S/T (METEOR CITY) By Andrew Mackenzie Following on from their debut ep "Snake Lore", this self titled full length is the band's debut on MeteorCity and what a blazing start it is. Basically there are very few doom rock bands as classy as these guys.Fluid playing, emotive vocals and great songwriting with songs crossing between hook laiden rock, laid back mellower passages and metal. The third track "Earths Answer" builds around a classic metal guitar riff, while "Proverbs Of Hell" gets all epic and the last track "Lotus Eaters" is acoustic and trippy. The surprise is the track "Lucifer In Starlight", this is definitely not one to listen to by yourself with the lights off and knife in your hand. A subdued acoustic piece with haunting vocals and heavy lyrics, this is far from easy going. All up a finer release than this you will be hard pushed to find. High Beam --------------------------------------- Rift Zine Issue #3 ABDULLAH Abdullah MeteorCity Records Length: 67:51 Review by Mike Grover Ohio�s Abdullah bowled me over with their self-recorded, self-released CD Snake Lore (which was subsequently re-released by England�s Rage Of Achilles Records). The maturity and depth of their music coupled with the extraordinarily rich sound they achieved recording at home with only a four-track recorder added up to one hell of a great CD. When I interviewed them in the first issue of RIFT, I mentioned how excited I would be to hear their music professionally recorded. Well, here it is, and it�s everything I had hoped for and more. Also, when I say professionally recorded, I do mean professionally, because Abdullah have enlisted the help of producer Paul Hamann, who has also worked with such acts as Grand Funk Railroad and The James Gang. As a result, Abdullah has a full, rich sound that only serves to further enhance the quality of their music. The aforementioned Snake Lore opened up with what is, for me, Abdullah�s signature song, "The Path To Enlightenment," and the same song kicks off this CD as well, as if to highlight the sonic facelift that the new production quality has provided. The song does sound much better, but even with a sterling production job, it�s hard to duplicate the thrill of hearing such a great song for the first time. The next song, "Conundrum," is also a new version of an older Abdullah tune, as are several of the remaining songs on this CD. Sometimes when a band re-records their older songs and places them alongside their newer material, the difference is obvious, but that�s not the case here. All of the songs on Abdullah complement one another while simultaneously standing on their own. There�s some truly heavy music on display here, but there are quieter moments as well, just as some songs are melancholy while others are more upbeat. Abdullah�s songwriting skills and musical abilities are impeccable, especially Jeff Shirilla�s smooth and expressive vocals, which have a presence equal to or greater than that of any instrument; this guy is one of the best vocalists in heavy rock today. The CD closes with a strikingly beautiful acoustic piece called "The Lotus Eaters," which I really found affecting. The first time I listened to this CD, I was blasting it out of the bathroom window as I painted the exterior of our house, and when this song came on, I just had to stop what I was doing, stand outside of the bathroom window and listen. I have to say that hearing this CD causes me to be that much more disgusted with the state of the music industry, because it�s my opinion that several of the songs contained within this disc could have the potential to be "hits," if only they were given airplay. The problem is, if these songs were broadcast alongside Creed or Limp Bizkit or whatever else passes for heavy music on the airwaves today, the shoddy and derivative nature of those other artists would be painfully obvious, so that�s probably never going to happen. What a shame, because if the public at large could have a chance to hear them, I�m sure Abdullah would receive the acclaim that they really ought to have. Rift Zine --------------------------------------- Chaos Realm ABDULLAH - "Abdullah" CD '00 (Meteor City, US) Review By Ray Dorsey Wow, I was not exactly expecting this. Don't get me wrong, I expected quality from the people at Meteor City, but at the same time, I was figuring on something more in the heavy stoner style. ABDULLAH, on the other hand, are a 2-piece band (with 2 session bassists on this CD) from Ohio and their sound is quite unique. To me (and here I go again with another damn comparison!) they are a really cool combination of heavy, dark doom, laced with some very nice melodic vocals, at times reminiscent of King's X or early Galactic Cowboys. Cuts like "Lucifer Starlight," "The Black Ones" and the stunningly-different closer, "Lotus Eaters" show me a band who is not content to be a mere follower in a genre that's starting to get kinda crowded. They may be emerging as a real leader. Great stuff, and I'm looking forward to seeing these guys at the Doomsday Festival in Baltimore on July 14. Chaos Realm --------------------------------------- Ultimate Online Issue #25 Abdullah Abdullah CD - I Used to Fuck People Like You in Prison Review by Bart Marescaux People who shiver from bands like Saint Vitus should read this review with extra care. Abdullah is a duo that bring slow doomy music exactly in the Saint Vitus vain. Jeff's vocals really remind me of Wino's voice. Musically, Abdullah stands for slow repetitive doom metal (I know the times are changing and people dare call this kind of stuff stonerrock); the kind of doom people make after too much listening to saint vitus and Solitude Aeternus. Like said, this isn't original at all, but very good. The vocals are real good, the music isn't boring and the band succeeds in bringing heavy repetitive athmosphere that really fit's within the whole concept. I would even recommend this album to the not die hard fans; which means: worth buying! Ultimate Online --------------------------------------- Rock and Roll Goblin Abdullah "S/T" (Meteorcity Records) Review by "Jacob weed" I think the whole heavy music industry should be thankfull for bands like ABDULLAH for not turning into what we call "stonerrock" . Here we have a band that plays their music heavy, with Black Sabbath influences but yet manage to keep off the typical Stoner attributes. Abdullah is not singing about their total love for dope,cars and trips into the deep endless universe. I now want to make one thing clear I have nothing against bands singing about the above mentioned things. I love bands like Kyuss, Q.O.T.S.A.(and to smoke) Abdullah is above that! Their lyrics goes on the deeper level, a little towards the ocult. That�s O.K. because it suites the atmosphere of the heavy music that Abdullah delivers. The bands musical background I�m not familiar with but I think that there is a lot of Black Sabbath and The Obsessed records spinning in thier stereos. I�m also convinced that they have listend to some Alice In Chains as well. After encountering This album I will for sure check out their earlier work as well. There is no need for me to say that I really liked this album I think you already realise that. So what did I like most on the album? A lot of things, of course, but what stands out is the production on the vocals, wich really suites the music, the perfect amount of reverb used. And then I like the deep, buzzin �sound on the guitar. If I have to point at one thing that could be better it would have to be the drum production, sometimes the drums feels kind of weak sounding. That�s unlucky since the drummer got some cool things going back behind his kit. But there is really no reason to complain on anything here, It�s a great album. Rock and Roll Goblin --------------------------------------- Vae Solis Issue XIII ABDULLAH "Abdullah" THE MUSHROOM RIVER BAND "Music For The World Beyond" MeteorCity rating: 4,5 of 6 Here we have another dose of "the best stoner money can buy" from MeteorCity. Well, this label definitely succeeds in discovering various talents worldwide - and I guess it's pretty hard to find at least 10 bands in the world delivering splendid kind of stoner. Subjective? Yes. But who cares, anyway. B.t.w., despite that I decided to make this review combined, ABDULLAH is very different from THE MUSHROOM RIVER BAND, while THE MUSHROOM RIVER BAND is very different from ABDULLAH. The first ones are darker, also standing a bit more far from standard borders of stoner. First of all, the lyrical canvas definitely is a somber one (what about such songtitles as "Now Is The Winter", "Lucifer In Starlight", "The Black Ones", "Proverbs Of Hell" or "The Path To Enlightenment"?), while the music is no less somber. Oh well, maybe A BIT less somber. Rather sludgy, although "Abdullah" and "boredom" don't have anything in common. I truly like the vocalist: he really SINGS instead of bleating or copying Ozzy or whatever� And yes, the CD's appearance is a killer one, too. As to THE MUSHROOM RIVER BAND� Well, it's pure stoner rock with a singer borrowed from SPIRITUAL BEGGARS. Pretty nice, I'd say. Rather energetic and even nearly fascinating. Spice undoubtedly is a good singer, whilst the musicianship lacks any drawbacks - and the same goes for arrangements. Consequently we get a highest standard-stoner rock CD. Congratulations. Vae Solis --------------------------------------- Rockthrone Abdullah - S/T (Meteorcity) RETURNS THE AMERICAN DOOMSTERS ABDULLAH AFTER THE GREAT DEBUT PUBLISHED BY RAGE OF ACHILLES; THE NEW ALBUM ON METEORCITY CONFIRM THE GROUP AS ONE OF THE HEALTHIER REALITY OF THE TODAY'S DOOM SCENE. THE PARTICULAR MUSICAL STYLE OF THIS DUO (HELPED BY TWO BASSIST) HAS SUDDENTLY TAKEN THEM TO THE CRITICISMS ATTENTION, INFACT THE GROUP MIX GREATLY THE SLOWNESS, HEAVYNESS AND MELANCHOLITY OF DOOM TO THE TYPICAL DESPERATION AND EMOTIONALITY (OVERALL AT THE VOCAL AND LYRICS LEVEL) OF ALICE IN CHAINS AND CHARACTERIZED BY SUDDENTLY MELODIC OPENING THAT ENCHANT THE LISTENER. WITH TWO TRACKS ALREADY PRESENT IN THEIR PREVIOUS ALBUM (THE SPLENDID AND EVOCATIVE "THE PATH TO ENLIGHTMENT" AND "THE BLACK ONES") WE FIND THE ROCKING "EARTH'S ANSWER", CHARACTERIZED BY AN EPIC INSTRUMENTAL INTERMEZZO, THE ULTRADOOMY "VISIONS OF THE DAUGHTERS OF TIME" AND "LUCIFER IN STARLIGHT", THE BEAUTIFUL "PROVERBS OF HELL" AND AT THE END THE AMAZINGLY ACID "JOURNEY TO THE ORANGE ISLAND" THAT DISCOVER NEW SIDES OF THE GROUP ALREADY UNEXPLORED AND THAT PROMISES GREAT DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE FUTURE. A COLOSSAL ALBUM WVWN IN ITS LENGHT, WITH SONGS EVER VERY LONG THAT HOWEVER DON'T WEIGHT ON THE LISTENING AND INDEED, CAPTURE IMMEDIATELY; FOR THE DOOM'S LOVERS AND NOT ONLY AN OBLIGED PURCHASE. Rockthrone --------------------------------------- Gates of Hell Abdullah Abdullah Meteor City [11 Tracks] [67:43] 2000 Reviewed by Adramelech It would not be an exaggeration, nor would it be unfair to say that Abdullah sound like one of the ten million stupid generic American rock bands that exist today. Their label, Meteor City, hails Abdullah as being �the new lords of doom�. This just underlines the blatant ignorance and pathetic commercial mindedness that this label obviously possesses. Fuck knows how they managed to call this bullshit doom metal. Obviously Abdullah are so fucking shit and pathetic that they can�t sell their records being a rock band, so their stupid label decided to market them to a �doom� audience. The vocals are incessant, the sort of nasal (American) whining faggotry that comes from bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Actually these last two bands possess infinitely more intensity than Abdullah could ever manage. The drums move pathetically slowly, and the guitars are more often acoustic than not. The real giveaway is that the vocalist often ends his lines with a resounding �yeahhhhhhh�, something I have never heard on a �metal� album before (except maybe something from the early 80�s). The only resemblance this has to any form of metal is the titles of the songs, like �Lucifer By Starlight� and �Proverbs of Hell� (how gay), but these are even further offset by crap like �Journey To the Orange Island� and �Lotus Eaters�. It isn�t doom, it�s just a bunch of retarded fuckheads who can�t play their instruments past a snail�s pace. This album is a great big steaming pile of dog shit. Gates of Hell