Search - Casket Salesmen :: Sleeping Giants

A Promising Debut

Kal Peduzzi | Somewhere Else | 04/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I signed onto my Myspace page one day, and found yet another band requesting an add. Usually, I'm severely unimpressed by bands on Myspace, but I usually at least check out a song or two. When I went to the page of these so-called "Casket Salesmen", I was expecting some sort of unintelligible metal band, although their album cover looked pretty cool, so that was a plus. I started listening to the first song on the list, "I'll Buy That For a Dollar", and it instantly struck me as the type of music I haven't been hearing enough of lately. I scrolled down to see their influences, and just about every band on the list was also part of my own collection. Some influences are obvious; the driving riffs and subdued vocals are very reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age, the chunkier guitar riffs occasionally echo Tool, as do the tribal beats that pop up during interludes and segues. Sometimes you can even hear melodies that bring you back to the Beatles, such as the line in Anaheimlich Maneuver, "And know he's going to a better place".



Although the influences can easily be picked out, that's not saying that Casket Salesmen are retreading music from the past. To be honest, the album isn't loaded with innovation and new musical ideas, but the band (Phil Pirrone, bass and vocals, and Nate Lindeman, guitars) shows incredible talent and songwriting ability at their young ages. They are set to push the envelope of music with future releases, and even if they don't, the music they make will still be entertaining at the least.



The band is essentially two members, both ex-members of the screamo band A Static Lullaby. I haven't listened their previous band, but if you liked them and are thinking about checking out Casket Salesmen, don't expect any similarities. The reason Phil and Nate left their old band was because Phil believes that screamo is "one of the worst styles of music to come out since Rap-Rock." This band is obviously out to separate itself from the Static Lullaby name, which was also left with a core of two main members. Phil also implies that this music is fairly mellow by saying, "I will make heavy music again, but it will be nothing like ASL." So going into this album without any knowledge of A Static Lullaby is no different than knowing about them, although ASL fans may have a distaste for the less energetic sounds featured on "Sleeping Giants".



The album starts off with the same three songs as their Dr. Jesus EP released earlier in the year, with an ambient segue thrown in between the second and third song. The three songs have been re-recorded, and are among the best of the 10 on the album. Starting with "I'll Buy That For a Dollar", the band shows the direction of the album right away; driving riffs with a progressive edge, and a chorus catchy enough to sing along to by the end of your first listen. As the song fades into "Dr. Jesus", the melodies are less catchy, but the focus of the song is the guitar breakdown in the middle, which erupts into a wall of noise before pulling back into the song. "Dr. Jesus" leads into the tuneless "Shanghai Sally", a short break before the unexpected acoustic intro of "The Anaheimlich Maneuver". This song is my favorite song on the album, due to its catchy melody and the sheer volume of song styles that are crammed into its five minutes. As I said before, a line of the song evokes the melodies of The Beatles, and soon turns into a jazz break, complete with saxophone. Phil brings the song back to where it was with his powerful line, "Move on, there's no way of knowing, so move one", before Nate solos his way out of the rest of the song.



Another segue, "Forked Tongues" melds seamlessly with "Peace Monger", which is driven by its strong drum beat. The whole song pulses with a constant energy, which is carried through the ever-important chorus. At this point, however, you may start to feel like you've heard this before, since it sounds similar to the main three songs before it. The song itself is very good on its own, but it is probably the least compelling on the album. "Peace Monger" is followed by "Art Sandwich", which seems to be the most praised by critics. At seven minutes, it's the longest song on the CD, although it doesn't drag at all. The guitars are constantly shifting, the unusual chord shape moves up and down the neck almost serpentine in nature, leading to a very hypnotic introduction. The chorus is, as is expected, once again very powerful, with Phil singing, "It's soulless, we all crave blood sometimes, and we won't last without it." The song stops progressing at about five minutes in, and then just revels in itself for the last two, with punchy guitar fills and wordless vocals.



"Feeling Ten Feet Tall, Pt. 1" is a three minute instrumental, the guitars are more relaxing than on the rest of the album, the driving force behind the other songs doesn't seem to be behind this one. Although the other songs have the segues between them, they are still fairly haunting, and this song is really the only place to relax from the otherwise urgent mood of the CD. However, by the end of the song, the uncomfortable urgency creeps back in, and leads into the almost punky riffs in "Feeling Ten Feet Tall, Pt. 2". This is probably the most straight-up rock that the album ventures into, although the chorus steps back into Queens of the Stone Age territory. A very solid track.



The album ends with "Goodnight Jugdish", a slow, acoustic based burnout with almost middle-eastern musical touches. In a risky move, the song ends with a quote from the late comedian Bill Hicks, which will either enrage or impress the Tool fan who gives this a listen. I personally think it was an unnecessary decision, but it fits well with the mood of the song.



This is one album that I can listen to over and over, it's one of the few modern music releases that has really captured my attention. This is a band to look out for, but I'm afraid that their audience might be limited. I've seen just as many people scratch their heads at the sound as I've seen people embrace it, but to be safe, check their influences with your own tastes. If you don't like Queens of the Stone Age, then I doubt you'll like Casket Salesmen, and even fans of their influences may not enjoy it. But if you're one of the people who hears the first minute of "I'll Buy That For a Dollar" and knows that it's something you'd like, then you'll find a lot more to like within the rest of the album. At any rate, give them a chance, I'm glad I did."