Dead Meadow

Dead Meadow

Feathers (Matador)

Dead Meadow is emblematic of the clever ways in which many outfits in recent years have taken Black Sabbath's sound and dissected, reassembled, and built upon it like new, hellishly magnificent wings of a crumbling, ancient castle. Similar to Bardo Pond and Comets on Fire, Meadow adds a bit of sweetness to the stoned-out riffage, Jason Simon's echoing croon providing a welcome counterpoint. Unfortunately, the D.C. quartet has taken a half-step back from the grandeur of 2003's Matador debut (and fourth record overall), Shivering King and Others. On Feathers, the vocals are upfront and the production more friendly. They've built upon the calm, dreamy songcraft that highlighted previous efforts, but the risky sludgefeasts have lost much of their psychedelic bluster, sounding instead like mellowed-out Mudhoney B-sides. Even on the potent folksy chillouts, the ubiquitously jacked-up reverb leaves songs so distant-sounding they don't truly engage. Epic, 14-minute closer "Through the Gates of the Sleepy Silver Door" is the exception rather than the rule. It's the pinnacle of Dead Meadow's potent brew: a flowing river of trippy guitar squall, slow-burning doom riffs, and light-crust bluesy scrabble punctuated by Simon's vocal reverberations. It seems like it never ends, but to its credit, it never needs to. If only the rest could match. (Friday, March 18, 10pm @ the Parish)