After four album releases and 10 years of touring around the country blitzing audiences with their famously
dynamic live shows, Philadelphia’s instrumental power trio Stinking Lizaveta (named for a Dostoevsky character)
has become an institution of sorts in the US underground music scene. Their eclectic style of music incorporates
post-rock, metal, sludge, prog, stoner and doom with jazz stylings and eastern influences. RockDetector's book,
'History of Stoner, Goth, and Doom', categorizes their music as 'doom-jazz', a label that the band have taken to
citing when asked to describe their music. Stinking Lizaveta's numerous fans include Steve Albini, who recorded and mixed their debut album, ‘…hopelessness and Shame’, in his basement back in 1996. Their first three albums were released on the now-defunct Tolotta label (Spirit Caravan, The Obsessed, Dead Meadow, Othrelm) run by Fugazi bass player Joe Lally. An invitation from Steve Albini brought the band their European debut performance at the UK All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in March 2004, where they played a storming set that created a sizeable stampede to their merch table.
THE HIDDEN HAND
Wino not only formed The Obsessed, one of the best and most
important doom metal bands in the wake of Black Sabbath, but was a key member of Saint
Vitus as well. On top of that, the guy founded cult favorite Spirit Caravan
(which he disbanded a few years later), played with ex-Pentagram Vic Griffin in Place of
Skulls and now leads The Hidden Hand. You could say he’s about the most important musician
in the doom-scene of the past 25 years, while several people even credit him with inventing
stoner rock. Whatever his contribution may be, it’s Wino the musician that we’re talking
about here and as a guitar player he’s worshipped by tons of colleagues, ranging from
Dave Grohl (who invited him to play on the Probot-album), Pantera’s Phil Anselmo ,
Fugazi’s Joe Lally (whom he taught bass) and Henry Rollins , who once gave an accurate
description of his style: “[Wino’s] guitar playing sounds like TROUBLE – not the band,
the situation.”
Wino has been the author of loads and loads of skull-breaking riffs and ripping guitar solos
that incorporate several decades of music history, from Blue Cheer’s muddy fuzziness to Black
Sabbath’s titanic bludgeoning.
His immense guitar sound is already quite impressive in itself,
but his stage presence really tops it off, as he has more charisma than yesterday’s bands combined. Being in The Hidden Hand is not just entertainment, it’s hard work, but you’ll rarely see musicians this dedicated and determined to rip things up.
Wino – often in his usual pose, bended backwards – churned out chord sequences that were at once sludgy and complex, Falkinburg assaulted his 4-stringed weapon as if there was no tomorrow and Hennessy topped it off by combining intricate drum patterns with more straightforward hard-hitting
Power-trio led by Scott “Wino” Weinrich.
(Taken from live review @ Sojo, July 7th 2004)
BEEHOOVER
Bass and drums. Nothing else. A twisted shaker full of doomy and melancholic feelings, letting in influences from Krautrock, Avantgarde and Jazz.
