Human Failures

More and more bands nowadays have obviously studied the masters of the stoner rock domain: Kyuss and Black Sabbath. Two such outfits that have learned a thing or two from these aforementioned trailblazers include Spiritu and Village of Dead Roads, who were paired together on a split CD in 2006, Human Failures. Like Kyuss, Spiritu hails from an arid and dry locale (the New Mexico desert), and appear to only have two set members — guitarist Chev and singer Jadd — with other "helpers" coming and going. And like Black Sabbath, Village of Dead Roads hails from a tough, industrial town (Erie, PA). Both groups mine similar sonic territory, and are given four tracks each to show their stuff. But whereas Sabbath was known to trim away the fat and hand in concise rockers quite often (most notably "Paranoid"), Kyuss was content to jam the night away, and both groups here focus primarily on the latter's approach. Fans of doom and stoner metal alike are sure to enjoy such standouts as Spiritu's "The Ten of Seven Bell" and Village of Dead Roads' "Skin Prison" (the latter of which sounds a bit like Tool's Maynard James Keenan fronting Sabbath or Kyuss).