Entry 1499 - Root - The Book

Style: epic heavy metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: The dark lord below - Satan and his host, all things unholy and blasphemous

Thoughts: There's something about going back to old records that I loved when I was younger. Sometimes they reveal that I had rose tinted glasses on... nostalgia is a bitch. Other times though an album or band does live up to the fond memories I have of them. Root's The Book is one of those albums that withstood the test of time.

I feel like every fan of metal needs to listen to The Mythical Words of the Wise. This song is an absolute masterpiece and it exemplifies why Root is so damn good.  Keyboards and acoustic guitars grace my ears as the song starts. Not long after the rest of the band comes in. Boss' vocals are low and have a deep sense of venerability to them. The acoustic guitar leads the song along with the vocals for the first minute or two before the song shifts into a decidedly heavier direction. 

It's when the song shifts that the band takes on it's true form. The mystery that oozes out of the first two minutes of the song are now revealed. Boss' vocals transition into his typical bombastic near operatic style. The distortion is full open chord riffs that encapsulate the wall of sound effect. It truly feels like the song has shown it's true colors and in doing so revealed the soul of the band. 

There is so much in just this one song that I could go on for ages about how intricate it is and how well crafted every single not is. The thing is that this is one of eleven songs. It is likely the best song on the album, however it is not a fluke. The band does this over and over again, every song has it's own identity yet they all emanate the same aura of mystery and discovery. 

Root didn't always play epic heavy metal, they started out as a primitive proto-black metal band. They evolved into this unique beast that their middle period albums would exemplify. There is nay a single bad song on the album. Everything here is worth your time and mine. There are so few albums that speak to me like The Book does. This and it's follow up are some of the finest heavy metal in my collection.