Primitive Blast is a great name for this record. Succinct and accurate, The Shrine’s sophomore record is a solid half-hour of nonstop hard rock, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Their sound is a mishmash of hard-pounding musical strains; punk, thrash metal, and Southwestern stoner rock.
The Venice, California band has certainly benefited from their location, as that region has been a fertile breeding ground for all three sounds. Most important to note is that these influences are not mixed in equal proportions — the thrash and stoner rock influences are much more evident than punk. The stoner rock energy has it equally at home blasting from a car stereo or drowning out the sound of smoke percolating through bong water, while the punk factor shines through in some aspects of the production and presentation: the album has resisted any potential urge for overproduction. The Shrine is a trio, and the only obvious overdub is an extra layer of guitar work. The stripped-down simplicity of the production contributes to a feel of authenticity valued by punk fans.
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It is most often production issues that can drive away punk fans from certain metal and hard rock acts, but The Shrine has another issue that will divide listeners of a purely punk background. Attitude is a key factor that can split fans along subcultural lines. The Shrine have both feet firmly planted in the heavy metal frathouse, and it comes out in the guitar work and vocals.
This album exists as sort of an alternative history scenario, like speculating if the South won the Civil War. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, as grunge music was taking shape, a critical musical battle was fought. Young music fans raised on both punk and metal were starting bands and reconciling their influences into a new sound. Overall, the self-depreciating punk attitude won out over the heavy metal swagger. Maybe it was the gloomy weather of the Pacific Northwest, or perhaps the opiates, but the scene chose to reject the metal hyper-masculine mindset. When grunge regained just a bit of that metal attitude, it morphed into alternative rock, and came to dominate the airwaves. The Shrine presents a scenario where metal became the dominant ingredient in a blend with punk, and grunge music never existed.
Some of the songs sound quite similar, and it blurs the line of whether this was intentional or not. The guitar work is consistently good, but by the end of the record it feels repetitive. The introductory riffs of “Louise” and “Whistlings Of Death” are just close enough to raise eyebrows. I find that sound a little bit annoying, but it permeates the Southern California stoner rock sound typified by Kyuss. Although not directly listed by the band as an influence, they don’t really need to — Kyuss was instrumental in establishing the musical realm that The Shrine inhabits. In addition, The Shrine has toured with the Kyuss Lives! tour, an offshoot featuring some of the additional band members.
(Tee Pee Records, Box 155, 200 East 10th Street, New York, NY 10003)