This is actually my second attempt at reviewing Minsk‘s Relapse Records’ debut The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment. The first review I wrote was written while I was half in the bag, included a lot of references to homosexual acts involving members of Minsk and gerbils and, while funny, didn’t really make a lot of sense, so I’m giving it another go this morning while recovering from a wicked hangover.

Peoria, Illinois-based Minsk play what can best be classified as experimental psychedelic tribal doom. As you can probably assume, Minsk aren’t an easy band to classify as their music doesn’t really fit into any specific genre of music. The music of Minsk is often slow-mid paced experimental doom with a heavy emphasis on the atmospheric elements. The material isn’t stoner music, but it definitely does have a very strong hippy vibe to it and sounds like the kind of stuff written by musicians who have eaten way too many mushrooms before entering the recording studio.

The majority of the material on The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment can’t really even be classified as metal. There are horns, tribal drums, strange psychedelic sounds and clean wailing vocals, things one generally find in a metal disc. The only reminder that this is a release on a metal label is the guitar tone is really rough and fuzzy. A lot of times the calm atmospheric bits reminded me of listening to a mellow Nine Inch Nails track, with some hippy psychedelic noises layered on top of a Neurosis album with a sludgy Melvins instrumental track playing in the background. Needless to say, the listening experience is… an interesting one.

To be honest, I can actually tolerate listening to this album in small doses, however, the three 13+ minute tracks tend to drone on, and on, and on, and on, and on for entirely too long, especially with the overall mellow sound of the music. The music is good to listen to and chill out to, but it’s definitely not a metal album, which makes me wonder why this disc was released on Relapse, rather than on Release Records. The only logical reason I can think of is the people at Relapse really liked the one band member’s huge bushy beard, the other’s big Hyde from That 70′s Show-inspired sideburns and who can say no to a guy with a Mike Tyson-like tribal tattoo on his face.

This album is basically for people who smoke so much weed that they’ve actually smoked themselves retarded and want to be at one with mother earth while swaying back and forth to slow psychedelic music. Listening to The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment makes me feel sleepy, and I think it may actually be a cure for insomnia; it really is that mellow and monotonous. I just can’t see myself listening to this album again, it’s not a bad disc, but it’s not good either, it’s just… different. Just don’t buy this album expecting to hear some crushing doom, or killer riffs, because there isn’t any.

Review byTeufel