As far as The Obsessed deep cuts go, “Touch of Everything” is probably about as deep as they get. The song appeared as track 11 of the total 13 on The Obsessed‘s final album, 1994’s The Church Within. By then, the band was comprised of guitarist/vocalist Scott “Wino” Weinrich, bassist Guy Pinhas and drummer Greg Rogers, and whatever else you can say about The Church Within, by the time it got down to its 11th track, it had pretty much played all its cards. I dig that record and all, but it’s a straightforward album across the board and there aren’t a lot of surprises as it moves into its second half. Accordingly, it’s easy for a song like “Touch of Everything” to get swallowed up by all the classic riffing and rolling grooves surrounding, which, duh, is all the more reason to single it out. Presumably the person who put together the fan video below for it had the same idea.

What “Touch of Everything” might have to do with the 1956 sci-fi film Forbidden Planet, I don’t know. That one’s a mystery. But that movie — which was the first appearance of Robby the Robot, which would later appear on tv’s Lost in Space and in numerous other films and shows and which also served as a major inspiration for the original Star Trek — is nonetheless the basis for the video, and it’s been edited so that the footage more or less lines up with the song. YouTube user “DaemonPazuzu” obviously put a lot of work into editing, so I’m not about to trash the effort just because I don’t see what one has to do with the other. Screw it, you get The Obsessed and old sci-fi. I’d hardly call that a loss.

Enjoy the song and the clip and have a great Wino Wednesday:

The Obsessed, “Touch of Everything”

Of all the bands Wino‘s played guitar in, The Obsessed have always struck me as the most stripped down. If it wasn’t so slow and thick, you could almost call it punk in form. Riffs, verses, choruses, solos — The Obsessed never got too fancy, never strayed from rock and roll, never fell into pretense. They just rocked. Then they stopped. Then they started again. Then they stopped again. And so on.

That cycle seems to have hit a “stopped again” point, particularly with the reunion of Spirit Caravan this year. When they got back together in 2012, The Obsessed did a full European tour, but nothing in the US to compare with the month-plus Spirit Caravan spent on the road this spring. Maybe that’s due in part to Spirit Caravan‘s higher profile — they’ve always been a fan favorite, and bassist Dave Sherman‘s stage presence and tenure fronting Earthride has only increased interest in Spirit Caravan since their early ’00s breakup — but either way, aside from the appearance at Maryland Deathfest XI last year, from which this week’s Wino Wednesday clip comes, The Obsessed haven’t done much in the States for their reunion. With both Spirit Caravan and Saint Vitus currently active, it’s hard to know where The Obsessed might fit in.

Still, the safe bet is that they will — if not now, at some point — reemerge. Formed as Warhorse in 1976, The Obsessed has been a home base to which Wino has returned several times over his journeyman’s years between projects, and “Skybone,” which was the centerpiece of their to-date final outing, 1994’s The Church Within, shines light on a lot of what has always worked best about the band. It is unremittingly straightforward, an easy groove to ride along with and that asks little indulgence in return. Obscure lyrically, but irresistibly riffed, and bassist Reid Raley and drummer Greg Rogers, though both lower volume in the video than Wino‘s guitar (it was filmed on his side of the stage), nail down the nod on the sleeper favorite.

Enjoy:

The Obsessed, “Skybone” live at Maryland Deathfest XI, May 25, 2013

I don’t want to give the impression that about 25 minutes ago I was sitting in my squeaky office chair thinking, “Golly, it sure would be nice to have an excuse to buy another copy of The Obsessed‘s The Church Within” or anything, but more or less I was. And here it turns out that Real Gone Music are handling a reissue on CD and 2LP both of the Wino-fronted trio’s to-date 1994 swansong, which will follow the Live Music Hall Koln December 29th 1992 live album, released last year, as another post-reunion offering that may or may not act as a precursor to a new studio full-length. Obviously I’m gunning for the “may” in that scenario.

The reissue comes with bonus tracks and some new liner notes, and it’s available to pre-order now, as the PR wire informs:

THE OBSESSED: Real Gone Music To Reissue The Church Within On CD & Double 180-Gram Vinyl November 25th

Biker metal, doom metal, stoner metal… whatever metal subgenre in which you wish to place him, Scott “Wino” Weinrich has been at the forefront of it for over thirty years. The unmistakable rasp of his vocals and thick, fuzzy Gibson guitar tone have spearheaded bands ranging from Saint Vitus to Spirit Caravan to Probot, but for many his crowning achievement (and most accessible) was The Church Within, the last album he created with his first band, THE OBSESSED. Released via Columbia in 1994 (Wino’s lone major label release), The Church Within features the dark vision and crushing, slow-motion riffs beloved by fans of Black Sabbath, but the driving intensity and atonal guitar solos recall Motörhead and Black Flag, respectively; in short, this album transcends genre classifications even as it defines them.

Now, for the first time, this lost classic of ’90s metal is being reissued by Real Gone Music on CD and double 180-gram gatefold vinyl with two bonus tracks — the single, “Mental Kingdom,” and the unreleased number, “Melancholy Grey” — added photos, the original album art with lyrics and a new note from Wino himself. Everyone from Henry Rollins to Dave Grohl to Ian MacKaye has sung Wino’s praises… it’s time to join the chorus.

Comments Weinrich of the reissue: “The Church Within describes my philosophy on being; it’s really not what’s around you — man made denominations, expectations of others — but what’s in your heart, exaltation of spirit and freedom of soul. This record was the culmination of a lot of inspiration, frustration, ecstasy, anger, hope and futility. Its resurrection is testimony to the relevance of this music in our lives past and present, thank you…for believing.”

The Church Within Track Listing:
1.To Protect And To Serve
2. Field Of Hours
3. Streamlined
4. Blind Lightning
5. Neatz Brigade
6. A World Apart
7. Skybone
8. Streetside
9. Climate Of Despair
10. Mourning
11.Touch Of Everything
12. Decimation
13. Living Rain
Bonus Tracks
14. Mental Kingdom (1994 Version)
15. Melancholy Grey (1994 Version — Unreleased)

THE OBSESSED’s The Church Within will be reissued via Real Gone Music November 25th. Preorder your copy via Amazon at THIS LOCATION or through a record store near you on LP HERE or CD HERE.

http://www.realgonemusic.com
http://www.theobsessed.com

The Obsessed, “Streetside” official video