Reverend Bizarre
III: So Long Suckers


2.5
average

Review

by rasputin USER (201 Reviews)
July 16th, 2008 | 92 replies


Release Date: 2007 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Extraordinarily simple and monotonous, Reverend Bizarre’s final album is a chore to listen to.

Reverend Bizarre are somewhat an anomaly in doom metal. Their music is epic, traditional doom, generally based around incredibly long songs, and very well liked. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad thing said about them. It’s true that the idea behind the band is awesome; crushingly huge riffs, getting your money’s worth in terms of playing time, and being rather easy music to get in to. Credit has to be given where it is due, and the band certainly have made a name for themselves. However, upon my first listen of the band, which happened to be their final album III: So Long Suckers, I was duly unimpressed.

To say the band’s music is simple is an understatement. Sure, it’s doom metal, technicality is not expected, but Reverend Bizarre simplify things to the extent that it becomes terribly monotonous. Then to rub salt into the wounds, the songs are incredibly bloated. III: So Long Suckers has two songs at 25 minutes, and another at 29, with another three over 10 minutes. Length by itself is by no means an issue; it’s the fact that the band’s music is overly simple and repetitive, coupled with the horrendously long songs, which makes this album so dull.

Adding further injury, repetition runs rampant throughout the album’s 2 hour length. The recycling of riffs is so blatantly obvious, that I’m at a loss to understand why it doesn’t bother anyone else. Any riff that has a somewhat fast tempo sounds exactly the same, and you can be sure that Reverend Bizarre are going to play it for as long as possible. For example, the album’s opener ‘They Used Dark Forces/Teutonic Witch’ begins slowly and incorporates a couple of miniscule changes into the same riff while gradually upping the tempo, for close to 8 minutes. The main part of this riff sounds, in fact, exactly like the main riff of Wolfmother’s ‘Woman’, for those who know the band/song. Don’t think that I’m accusing the band of anything; I’d hardly think Reverend Bizarre had even heard of Wolfmother, but have a listen and you’ll be surprised at how similar they are. Furthermore, this very riff, or at least a variation of it, was most definitely used again elsewhere in the album. In other words, all the songs sound terribly alike, and after listening to the colossal first track, you’ve pretty much heard everything the album has to offer. Had the songs given us a small slathering of heavy riffs, and then perhaps refrained from playing out these same riffs for 5+ minutes, it would keep listeners coming back for more, but this is not the case. One song is enough Reverend Bizarre to last you a long while. The only positive side to the structure of the album is probably that it is good for when you’re doing something else, such as playing videogames or studying, when you can zone in and out of the music at your will. Otherwise, III: So Long Suckers is a dry and flavorless album to listen to.

Now, the album is not completely bad. One thing that particularly stood out was the prominence of the bass, as well as the fact that it’s not simply there to complement the guitars; it’s utilized as an actual instrument, taking the lead in several instances. More than once the bass would be off doodling away while the guitars would either be absent or playing a slower riff, complementing the bass. The reason for this may be because vocalist Sir Albert Witchfinder (Sami Hynninen), who is perhaps the band ‘leader’ if you will, also plays the bass, hence the emphasis on the instrument. It’s always nice to hear the bass coming alive, but unfortunately such moments are still very spread out. In regard to Witchfinder’s vocals, he’s a very mixed bag. He’s by no means a poor vocalist, but he definitely is not the most talented, even within the genre of doom. His voice suits the band’s style of music, and feels ‘right’. Unfortunately there aren’t all too many variations in his voice, contributing to the dullness of the album. I’ll admit I was impressed several times, such as when Witchfinder held a note for a long period and another instance when he turned a wail into a coarse scream. The locations of both and others like it are lost to me in the length of the songs, but they’re in there somewhere.

The popularity of Reverend Bizarre within doom circles undoubtedly led me to have higher expectations than I should have when coming into this album, but this still does not detract from the glaring faults that plague III:So Long Suckers. The album is not necessarily bad, and I quite like the idea behind it, but it’s just so relentlessly tedious and drawn out that I found it hard to derive too much pleasure from it. If this album was the first track alone, I’d be at the front with everyone else screaming praises for the Finnish trio, but as I already have mentioned, the remainder of the album contains nothing new compared to ‘They Used Dark Forces/Teutonic Witch’, and once I’m through that track I have absolutely no desire to sit around and listen to another hour and a half of the album. It seems that Reverend Bizarre have made this long simply for the sake of being long, and this coupled with the repetitive nature of the music really hinders any sort of advancement one can make with the album.



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user ratings (98)
3.9
excellent
other reviews of this album
freudianslipknot (4.5)
An absolute monolith of doom metal, Reverend Bizarre have crafted a sound that is both epic and acce...



Comments:Add a Comment 
rasputin
July 16th 2008


14968 Comments


I pored over this review for a couple of hours, and I might still make some edits as I don't think it's all too good, but here it is anyway.

foreverendeared
July 16th 2008


14741 Comments


pretty damn good. a few typos here and there, and i disagree with your rating, but i haven't listened to this enough to make a decision. i'm thinking 3.5 right now

Willie
Moderator
July 16th 2008


20311 Comments


In my quest to expand my doom collection, reviews from this site, and especially yours, are the only thing I use these days. Voted- As Usual.This Message Edited On 07.16.08

HeadCharge123
July 16th 2008


475 Comments


"Then to rub salt into the wounds, the songs are incredibly bloated.III: So Long Suckers has two songs at 25 minutes, and another at 29, with with another three over 10 minutes. Length by itself is by no means an issue"

"with with" lol.

But other than that good review and I'll pos.This Message Edited On 07.16.08

rasputin
July 16th 2008


14968 Comments


Thanks a lot guys. Feel free to point out anymore typos/grammatical errors and such that I may have missed.
Willie, my guess would be that you'd like this, seeing as I'm pretty much the only one who doesn't.

HeadCharge123
July 16th 2008


475 Comments


I haven't liked what I've heard from this band myself tbh but then I'm not big on doom metal beyond Daylight Dies.

foreverendeared
July 16th 2008


14741 Comments


you're sorta right in calling this a chore to listen to. i wouldn't put it that harsh though. i'd say it can be a bit tedious, but overall, this rarely gets boring for me

jrowa001
July 16th 2008


8752 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

this is no way a chore for me to listen to. this album is one of my fav doom albums along with their other ones as well. good review though

foreverendeared
July 16th 2008


14741 Comments


it is a LOT to digest in one sitting though

rasputin
July 16th 2008


14968 Comments


Yeah, I was bored on my very first listen tbh

Crysis
Emeritus
July 16th 2008


17640 Comments


From what I've heard of this I agree. It was very boring.

jrowa001
July 16th 2008


8752 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

i understand it could be a lot to listen to at once. but i never listen to it if i dont have time to listen to the whole thing. im used to large albums so that never really has affected me.

rasputin
July 16th 2008


14968 Comments


I don't think it's becuase it's a large album, because I've listened to many large albums as well. It's to do with the fact that the music is so repetitive and drawn out, and the length merely exacerbates the monotony. For me, anyway.

foreverendeared
July 16th 2008


14741 Comments


yeah it doesn't bother me either, but 2 hours is a long time to sit down and devote your full attention without getting distracted, and that definitely takes away from the music as a whole.

Russell
July 16th 2008


21 Comments


Uh this album is superb if you're not a pussy.

foreverendeared
July 16th 2008


14741 Comments


cause that has everything to do with attention span. i personally have no problem sitting down and listening to the entire record, but i think a lot of people will

Russell
July 16th 2008


21 Comments


it does

HeadCharge123
July 16th 2008


475 Comments


^^have you ever got yourself some pussy?

south_of_heaven 11
July 16th 2008


5614 Comments


Obviously he has if he is willing to sit down and listen to something go on and on for two hours just to get something out of it.This Message Edited On 07.16.08

Wizard
July 16th 2008


20564 Comments


are incredibly bloated.III: So Long Suckers

Double or single space, whatever your formatting is.

Other than that, its about time someone stood up to the people on this site that think these guys are amazing. These guys just suck really bad. I regretfully purchased their album In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend and it was soooooooooooooooooooo boring. Don't get me wrong, check out some of the bands I listen to and you will see that I love music with long compositions. But this is just tedious stuff that only someone with their head truly up their ass could appreciated and pretend to be all elitist about. Terrible band. Great review, thank you for showing people the light! And to all the people who will flame me for this comment, I will still respect your opinion despite your love for this band hahahaha.





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