Time to Die [LP]

The more things change the more they stubbornly remain the same in Electric Wizard's world. Time to Die signals more lineup changes in the return of original drummer Mark Greening (he has since been replaced by the man he replaced, Simon Poole). There is also no bassist in the lineup here (the "Count Orlof" referred to in the credits is actually Justin Oborn); Clayton Burgess is in the chair now. After garage sped up the rifftastic pursuits of 2010's Black Masses, Time to Die is a return to the slow, plodding, doom-laden grooves of the band's earlier incarnation. This set contains a number of very lengthy jams. Opener "Incense for the Damned" is nearly 11 minutes and offers one of their most misanthropic statements to date -- which is saying a lot. Amid Liz Buckingham and Oborn's low-tuned, twin-guitar vamps are documentary samples from the 1984 news media circus surrounding the infamous Ricky Kaso who, under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, murdered another young man during a re