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Wino Wednesday: The Wino Band, “Secret Realm Devotion”

wino wednesday

I’m not saying I’m doing a countdown or anything, but definitely as we get down to the wire on the last few weeks of having Wino Wednesday as a regular feature, it’s made me think about what are some of my favorite tracks the man has produced in his 30-plus-year career. And yeah, there are some classics along the way, between his work in The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, etc. More to the point, he’s been a part of shaping American doom as we know it today, in the part of the Maryland scene that still seems to be coming to grips with what The Obsessed accomplished during their run, and well beyond.

Over six years ago now, Wino joined forces with Clutch drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and Rezin bassist Jon Blank to form the Wino band and release Punctuated Equilibrium on Southern Lord. As a record, it seemed to draw together the various sides of Wino‘s songwriting that had emerged in Spirit Caravan, The Obsessed and The Hidden Hand, and while the band’s run would be cut short by the death of Blank following their 2009 European tour and Wino would proceed to use the moniker for his acoustic solo work — making his debut in that form with 2010’s Adrift while also fleshing out the Saint Vitus reunion — the record captured something of his work that none of the other bands had, and it retains a personality of its own listening back to it now.

I always dug “Secret Realm Devotion” and thought of it as what it felt like doing while standing around at an empty doom show waiting to watch something the world outside had no idea about. That’s not really what the song is speaking toward, as the lyrics show:

The patterns on the wall send messages to me
A piece unto the whole through blindness I can see
My heart’s like a bird in a cage, darkness obscures the display
Emotion caused reason to bend, devotions obsession transcends
Not a minute that goes by, without a presence in my brain
No limit just the sky, it’s beautiful and it’s strange
Secret realm inside heart beat turns the key
Deepest love inside unlocks the mystery
When I’m down inside a tear, wondering why I’m in this place
Your comfort is so dear, when the moon is full I see your face
Secret realm divine, ritual ecstasy,
Leave this world behind, becomes reality
You’re locked into my heart, I’m with you night and day
From the altar of your star, to the gleaming crown
Of the moonlight rays

But it was fun to think of it that way anyhow. Whatever it’s about, it’s a quality track that stands among my personal favorites from Wino‘s vast discography, and I hope you enjoy:

Wino, “Secret Realm Devotion”

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