Om - Variations on a Theme (2005) (Full Album)

Om is a stoner doom metal band consisting of two of the three members of the legendary stoner doom band Sleep. While guitarist Matt Pike left Sleep to form High on Fire, which has evolved towards a more traditional style of metal; bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Hakius have continued the legacy that Sleep created while changing a few elements to make Om something original yet familiar to fans of Sleep.

This three song album feature only bass, vocals, and drums, there are no guitars. However, the massive amount of distortion on the bass makes this unnoticeable and the riffing is just as it would be if there were guitars on the album. The use of only one stringed instrument works to give the songs a more stripped down feel than Sleep had. The riffing can be compared to a mixture of the second and third Sleep albums, Sleep's Holy Mountain and Dopesmoker, in the way that it is slow but not quite as oppressively heavy or epic as Dopesmoker. Despite this fact there is plenty of heaviness to be found in the fuzzed out 70s styled trance-inducing riffs that the bass churns out; these riffs are as slow and heavy as you'd expect from ex-members of Sleep.

Drum-wise this leans more towards Dopesmoker in the way the drums methodically plod forward and utilize the heavier cymbals to bring out the heaviness of selected parts. Drum production is also reminiscent of Dopesmoker in the natural and live feel that the drums breathe into the music. The vocals are reminiscent of the subdued parts of Sleep's Holy Mountain; the hoarse stoned yells that appear on Dopesmoker are not present here. This subdued quality of the vocals makes them sound like sacred chants, thus adding to the overall ritualistic atmosphere the music invokes.

Overall this three song album that runs about 45 minutes long creates a ritualistic atmosphere full of stoner doom heaviness and fuzzed out riffing. Variations on a Theme establishes Om as a well-experienced band that that fans of stoner doom should not pass up. This is probably the closest you'll come to hearing something new from Sleep and it does not disappoint.

Debut from hypnotic drone doom band Om! Enjoy!

1. On The Mountain At Dawn - 0:00
2. Kapila's Theme - 21:18
3. Annapurna - 33:15

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