They go quick. Here we are at number 16 and it’s Earthride‘s first album in half a decade, Something Wicked. Released through their own Earth Brain Records, Something Wicked had no pretense about it, made no grand claims about what it was trying to accomplish. It came in, rocked solid for its 52 minutes, and then was gone again. Charismatic frontman Dave Sherman was in top form, introducing more clean singing to his approach, and the band behind him grooved in the key of Orange like few acts can.

The title track was a highlight, thanks in no small part to the hairy thickness of Kyle Van Steinburg‘s guitar, and cuts like “Wake up Your Mind” and the speedier “Grip the Wheel of Death” made Something Wicked an album I went back to time and again throughout the year. I mean, seriously, “Hacksaw Eyeball?” I’ll take it, and while you’re at it, throw in the Wino guest appearance on “Supernatural Illusion.” Can’t go wrong.

It was doom for doomers to the nth degree, and asked little other than for your attention while it put its sizable boot up your ass. With the recent news that bassist Rob Hampshire (also of Nitroseed) has been replaced by Josh Hart, one hopes that Something Wicked will spawn a new era of productivity for Earthride, but whatever happens, they delivered a kickass album in 2010.

Tags: Earth Brain, Earthride, Maryland, Maryland doom, Top 20 of 2010

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 at 4:19 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.