Amid all the acclaim that has deservedly seen him canonized as the patron saint of American doom metal, Scott "Wino" Weinrich has arguably never been busier than at the ripe young age of 50 (more like 80 in drug years), which sees him juggling solo albums, recordings with supergroup
Shrinebuilder, and even performing reunion shows by ‘80s doom icons
Saint Vitus. So the creation of yet another original power trio -- this time named
Premonition 13 and featuring old personal friend Jim Karow on guitar, Matthew Clark on drums, and no evident bass player -- clearly begs two questions: namely, how does Wino find the time? And where does he find the inspiration? Well, in the case of
Premonition 13's debut full-length,
13, the answer to these questions would appear to be a far from romantic "in the rehearsal space" (apologies to anyone who was hoping to hear "at the crossroads"), given the obviously jam-birthed looseness displayed by most of these tracks. Furthermore, apart from a few atypical detours into forceful heavy rock ("Hard to Say," "Deranged Rock ‘n' Roller," the
Hidden Hand-reminiscent "Clay Pigeons"),
13 is dominated and defined by a series of stoned-out, psychedelic doom jams -- the nine-minute introduction of "B.E.A.U.T.Y.," the cryptic "La Hechicera de la Jeringa," the dreamy "Peyote Road," etc. -- doused in billowing clouds of guitar psychedelics. As such, Wino's latest project may find the most favor among fans orphaned by the dearly defunct Spirit Caravan, for obvious reasons. That being said, until further evidence is provided,
13 doesn't really feel like one of the man's most inspired or immortality-bound efforts, but rather just another reminder of Wino's prolific consistency. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia