SONG REVIEWED: "I Feel the Burning Sun"
I WITNESSED CROWBAR FOR THE FIRST TIME ON HEADBANGERS BALL MANY YEARS AGO. MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS, "THESE ARE SOME BIG, SCARY LOOKING MISFIT MOTHERFUCKERS". HANGING OUT WITH THEM ABOUT 8 YEARS LATER IN NEW ORLEANS, I STILL FELT THE SAME WAY. I WAS INTO CROWBAR FROM THE START JUST BECAUSE THEY LOOKED DIFFERENT. THEY DIDN'T LOOK LIKE ROCKSTARS. THEY WERE JUST REGULAR FUCKED UP GUYS. REGULAR FUCKED UP GUYS PLAYING SOME OF THE HEAVIEST SHIT I'D EVER HEARD. I COULD RELATE TO EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM, THEY WERE HEARTBROKEN AND FRUSTRATED AND I WAS 18 YEARS OLD.
I WOULDN'T SAY CROWBAR ALONE INVENTED THE DOOM-BLUES-METAL THING BUT THEY WERE CERTAINLY THERE FOR THE GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY. UNFORTUNATELY, ITS NOT EASY BEING A BAND HAILED, SOMEWHAT, AS ORIGINATORS. TO THE UNTRAINED EAR ALL OF CROWBAR'S SONGS SOUND THE SAME, AT TIMES THEY SOUND THAT WAY TO ME. TO SOMEONE WHO HASN'T BEEN BRIEFED ON WHO CROWBAR IS, I DOUBT THEY'D BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE MONOTONY. BUT LIKE MANY INNOVATORS PEOPLE SAY THE SAME THINGS. PEOPLE MIGHT COMPLAIN THAT 'THEY NEVER DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT', THEY MIGHT WRITE THIS RECORD OFF AS 'THE SAME OLD CROWBAR' BUT WHAT WOULD THESE SAME PEOPLE BE SAYING IF CROWBAR CAME OUT AND DID SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AND UNEXPECTED? THEY'D THROW STONES, NAIL THEM TO A CROSS AND DUST OFF THE MOST ABUSED WORD IN UNDERGROUND MUSIC AND CALL THEM 'SELL OUTS'.
UNFORTUNATELY ITS AN IRONIC FATE FOR MANY BANDS LIKE CROWBAR WHO HELPED BUILD A STYLE. THEY CAN'T WIN. THEY CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE. THEY'LL STICK TO DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST AND IF YOU'RE SICK OF IT, THEY'LL HELP YOU WITH THE DOOR.
SURE ITS HARD TO TELL EACH CROWBAR SONG APART, ITS HARD TO TELL THE ALBUMS APART BUT THAT RAW EMOTION IS STILL THERE IN EVERY WORD AND EVERY SONG AND FOR SOME PEOPLE, THEY'LL STILL GET IT AND THEY'LL STILL EAT UP WHATEVER THEY HAVE TO OFFER.
