Chewing Pine

Stinking Lizveta – Scream of the Iron Iconoclast (At a Loss, 2007)

(This originally appeared in the Summer ‘07 issue of Skyscraper)

Dedication to a single form goes a long way when you’re a band like the three piece Stinking Lizveta. Arriving on the scene more than a decade ago and releasing a number of full lengths, this band has doggedly stuck to the concept of metallic rock music incorporating various other rock related elements from the expanding life of the cannon. Hired gun Steve Albini is behind the boards on this one, which honestly probably doesn’t matter. By this point with the legions of producers and bands like this, recording a ballsy live sound isn’t any longer a task or a surprise. Even as this album covers a lot of ground within the arena of rock, each track, which is void of vocals, ends up sounding like the previous one. Save for the almost Stevie Ray Vaughn like blues jam of “Cyclops”, SL attacks their new set of songs with focus. The slower tempos of “Willie Nelson (Tired of the War)” and “Secrets of the Past” do show the band has a bit of versatility. But the title track as well as the opener “Gravitas”, are grand statements of guitar wankery. Perhaps Yanni Papadopoulos is overly sure of his six string prowess, but that’s why people listen. Come for the metal riffs and stay for the random Minutemen funk rave up of “Requiem for a Rock Band”.