Let me briefly go into how I learned about this band in the first place, it kind of coorelates with this review in the first place. Let’s rewind back to the early 00’s and I was just getting into the whole stoner rock scene, as an initiatory Black Sabbath (ozzy era) fan, I learned that a whole sub genre was created out of their sound and other bands, I am too ignorant to name. At the time there was a web site by the name of stonerrock.com. But it was basically a archive of all bands in the aforementioned genre of music. I would go through the bands randomly listening to different artists and hearing what was out there.
One of the bands that kept my attention was a group by the name of Abdullah. I had a scant amount of mp3’s of theirs. At the time my mom was heading to Chicago for some kind of business expo, and while we were there I got to go to this giant record store. And that is where I obtained their 2002 release “graveyard poetry”, a disc that got a lot of spins. Fast-forward a few years and my collection of music got expunged to gain funds for what I can remember for probably drugs or something irresponsible and not worth the abandonment of material possessions.
Well I was at a record store around here in my neighborhood. They have a small “metal” section of Cd’s, and I almost shit myself when I saw graveyard poetry there. It was a measly $5, so it was a no brainer and I picked it up. I know what your thinking, “cool story bro…”. But to me this was some kind of intuitive intergalactic sign, the cosmos were telling me to stop listen, and reminiscence with some of nostalgic relic.
Another side note, I actually remember conversing with the band over AIM (aol instant messenger) at the time, and I remember them telling me that they were going to be playing at Mac’s Bar (a local gig). I never did attend the show, which I still kick myself today. Maybe the band would have stuck together had they been given the support and recognition they deserved.
So the music here I can only describe as some psychedelic rock/metal with melodic clean singing. I can’t name a song that doesn’t have a catchy ring to it. It’s more upbeat then what I was typically listening to. But this is all played well and the vocals go great along with it. Listen I am not good at going into detail with musical details, you will just have to take my word for it. And give it a listen. You can find the full album on youtube.
Here is a liner note about the band…
abdullah is:
jeff shrilla – voice * alan seibert – guitar * ed stephens – bass * jim simonian – drums
graveyard poetry was:
recorded by paul hamann
at summa recording studio
bryan stauffer played piano on 13
jeff played drums on 5
artwork design by jeff
dedicated to jasper and matt shirilla
we love and miss you
contact us:
abdullah * po box 159
richfield, oh * 44286 * usa
[email protected]
www.stonerrock.com/abdullah
not 100% sure if any of the contact information is still active or correct.
