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 With the recent news that bassist Rob Hampshire (also of Nitroseed) has been replaced by Josh Hart, one hopes that Something Wicked will spawn a new era of productivity for Earthride, but whatever happens, they delivered a kickass album in 2010.

With Earthride, those who know already know what they’re going to get. Hell, it’s the bands slogan: “Pure Maryland doom for the brotherhood of music,” and if there’s a more accurate for the style in which the four-piece traffics, I’ve yet to hear it. On their third album in eight years, Something Wicked (released through their own Earth Brain Records), Earthride reaffirms their status as one of the most positively toxic stoner doom bands the US has to offer. Led by charismatic frontman Dave Sherman (ex-Spirit Caravan, Wretched), they leave a mark that is unmistakably their own, as though the songs were branding a backpatch onto your forehead.

Groove is central on Something Wicked. In many ways it’s the whole core of Earthride’s sound. Guitarist Kyle Van Steinburg has a tone so Orange you can’t rhyme with it, and the rhythm section of drummer Eric Little and bassist Rob Hampshire (Nitroseed) do an excellent job rounding out the material and evoking an even thicker, more viscous sound on tracks like opener “Something Wicked” and “Hacksaw Eyeball.” This is nothing new, but not everything is business as usual for Earthride, as Something Wicked finds Sherman trying out some new approaches vocally – growling occasionally and seeming to collapse into a melodic kind of yowl not too distant from Wino or Phil Anselmo’s on the last Down album, but frankly, more suited to what Earthride are doing song-wise.

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