Review by ZeroSymbolic7188 for Crowbar - Crowbar (1993)

NOLA Sludge Masters Crowbar play down-tuned crushing riffs and sing about the lows of life. They are incredibly consistent in terms of sound and theme, so if you've heard Crowbar this is more of the same. This album contains a truckload of great songs, with "High Rate Extinction", "All I Had (I Gave)", "Will that Never Dies", a cover of Led Zepplin's "No Quarter", "Existence is Punishment", and "I Have Failed" standing slightly above the other very good tracks.

Crowbar is what I would describe as "Survivor" music-often times the lyrics are discussing the internal thoughts of person battling some kind of immense personal obstacle, be that depression, addiction, anxiety, self-doubt, etc. What makes it special is that while the lyrics are often downer in nature, the music symbolizes the strength to survive these situations. I use the word survive rather than overcome because it's an important distinction, whereas another band or artist would make the song about overcoming a hardship, or defeating a problem, Crowbar acknowledge that sometimes you don't overcome, sometimes you just deal, and sometimes you even fail-but this does not make a weak man, and it's in that message that Crowbar becomes something much more real, and therefore much more inspirational than the fairy-tale another artist might present. You put Crowbar on when you're going through hell. Crowbar is strength in sonic form.