Symmetry In Black by Crowbar

Symmetry in Black is the perfect album to arrive in the number ten slot of the Crowbar catalog, a penultimate achievement embodying the early sloth of doom touchstone Obedience Thru Suffering (1991), the moody dissonance of modern classic Odd Fellows Rest (1998) and the crisp thunder of the album’s eOne Metal predecessor, Sever the Wicked Hand (2011), with nuggets of Crowbar’s storied history sprinkled throughout. The crushing signature sound of Crowbar is at its peak on Symmetry in Black, the band’s most diverse yet cohesive release. It was coproduced with fellow New Orleans resident Duane Simoneaux, who worked on Sever the Wicked Hand and mixed by Josh Wilbur, whose diverse credits include work with Lamb Of God, Gojira and Killer Be Killed. “We needed to move our sound forward but at the same time, make sure everything stayed 100% true to who and what we are,” Windstein explains. “The album is heavy, dark and killer. There’s everything we are on here. It’s just Crowbar 2014. We’re really proud and excited. And where we stand with Crowbar right now, we can only go up.”

7.3 / 10

Hardcore metal veterans Crowbar have always managed to sound more straightforward than their peers, and that's still evident in their latest LP, Symmetry in Black. Their last album, 2011's Sever The Wicked Hand, found Crowbar warming up after a six-year recording hiatus, so Symmetry is the sound of the band back in the saddle.

In a genre as prone to flights of fancy as heavy metal, Crowbar have always felt like a grounding presence, anchored to reality with their seemingly impossible heaviness.