After a decade of metal where speed and fury were emphasized,
Crowbar stepped into the '90s with a sound directly reacting to those ideas. Equally influenced by the robotic approach of
Helmet, the razor sharp riffing of
Exhorder, and the brutally slow pacing of
Melvins,
Obedience Thru Suffering shows a band who is not afraid to stand out with a bizarre mix of influences. The production is the roughest part of the album, robbing the riffs of their punch, bringing the bass too high into the mix, and attempting to pass the band off as a
Tad-esque grunge group. But the songwriting overcomes many of the weaker moments, as tracks like "Subversion" unveil a warped take on the
Sabbath sound that would later gain the nickname sludge metal. The incredible roar of
Kirk Windstein doesn't hurt matters any, as his brutal vocals are one of the key elements to the record. They would follow this up with a more impressive effort and continue a successful career into the decade, but this is where the group introduced the first true recording of the Louisiana sound. Fans will want to hunt this down, and any follower of Louisiana metal would do themselves a favor by giving this a listen -- it is one of the key releases in the formation of that scene.