It's a bass guitar, Bryan! Love this song but there's a tighter, cleaner version with a live video available th-cam.com/video/kKqoNrZ00Bg/w-d-xo.html Om is a band or project formed by the bassist of the band Sleep who are well known in the doom and stoner metal community at legendary status, I would say (proobably because of their hour long track, Dopesmoker but also for being very good and influential in general) The drums are more on point in the other video. As you'd expect from a doom/stoner artist, the music is not meant to be flashy but rather dragging and pounding. What Al Cisneros (the bassist) did with Om is basically a more meditative, softer form of doom metal which would normally have bass-heavy, ridiculously fuzzed out distorted instruments ringing out. It's an interesting direction that has a lot of potential but I underatand why one might see this as a forgetable piece. I think it speaks to people of a certain mindset or personal experiences. There's an overall bitter sweetness to the song and that fact that it drags out a bit suggests that the artist's intention is to allow the listener to be immerssed in the soundscape. It's a more pleasant listen than more traditional doom metal
Yup, I checked it out and I wish I had used that one for the reaction. I also got quite a bit of info from the visuals, specifically some of the bass technique being used which increased my appreciation for what was going on there outside of the effects.
If you had checked out OM Live in Amoeba, you would see that Al Cisneros, the bassist of OM, has literal WALLS of amps behind him. For one measly bass he puts like 6 stacks to create the massive soundscape. And the drums have to be pounded hella heavy too. All together, with two instruments they create such a monolithic sound, you can't not be in awe. And ye, in the Live in Amoeba you can definitely see Al tripping balls and spacing out on stage, yet nailing everything, barely glancing at his bass.
The drummer in this incarnation of OM is Emil Amos, most notably known for playing in Grails (psychedelic, post rock band), Holy Sons (solo project), Liliacs and Champagne ( more sample driven easy listening, instrumental hip hop type project). He is a multi-instrumentalist and an amazing guitarist.
Awesome! Did not expect this. Om is one of my favorite bands. Absolute hidden gem. It's tough to get people on board for a band that has no guitarist. Om was originally formed by the two remaining members of the stoner metal titans Sleep, Al Cisneros on bass and Chris Hakius on drums, following the band's split in 1999. The other member of Sleep was guitarist Matt Pike, who went on to form High On Fire. I feel like Om in a lot of ways continued the progression of Sleep on the heels of their album "Dopesmoker", which was essentially an hour long track of crushingly hypnotic riffs and weed-laced lyrics that tell the story of the Stoner Caravan's pilgrimage across the desert to Jerusalem. Their label at the time refused to release it, and the band split shortly after. Cisneros and Hakius went ahead on their own without bothering to bring in a guitarist, and Om rose from Sleep's ashes. Their first album "Variations On A Theme" has three songs and is over 40 minutes long. Their second album, "Conference Of The Birds" has two songs and is over 30 minutes long. Third album "Pilgrimage" kinda scales it back a bit, with two of the four tracks coming in under 6 minutes, the other two over 10. Three really great albums. Super hypnotic riffing with very esoteric lyrics that delve heavily into metaphysics and eastern philosophy (as the majority of Om's lyrical content does). I would describe their vibe as very "stream of consciousness" in the way the music flows from their instruments. Original drummer Chris Hakius has a very dynamic, organic, and active style. The interplay between Al's basslines Chris's drumwork makes for some truly hypnotic rhythms and riffs. It's music that feels like it just "happens". Nothing about it feels forced. Tracks seem to start with the seed of an idea, and organically grow and develop into something so monumental that as a listener, it's easy to forget where it started. I would love to see you react to some of their older stuff. If I may make a couple suggestions that I'm sure you'll never get around to, it would be cool to see you react to "Bhima's Theme" ( clocks in at 11:41) or "Unitive Knowledge Of The Godhead" (clocks in at 5:51) from the album "Pilgrimage". If you're feeling REALLY adventurous, my ultimate Om suggestion (request lol) would be a reaction to "At Giza" (clocks in at 15:57) from "Conference Of The Birds". It's a slow build-up with an incredible payoff. Love your videos Brian, would love to be a patron but it just isn't in my budget right now. Great content though, as always! Keep it up! 👍👊🤘
I've heard of Om but never heard of them. This was definitely interesting. Not sure if I've ever quite heard this combination of stoner/doom metal with psychedelia. Though stoner and psychedelia do go well together it's usually not combined in this way where the former element carries most of the track until it largely falls away into a psychedelic section that just drifts along, with really the only element tying them together being the rhythm. As others have pointed out I'm pretty sure that distorted tone is a bass, but the mistake is understandable given that many stoner/doom bands often tune their guitars WAY down, play with extended-range guitars, and/or play through bass cabinets or amps cranked way up. There are definitely bands that use their guitars in such a way that it's not easy to distinguish between them and a bass. Personally I think it's a bit too rough-around-the-edges. I can appreciate that roughness in pure stoner/doom--in fact, it's almost necessary for the genre's aesthetics to work--but I don't think it works as well for the psychedelic section, and the two elements combined don't strike me as really coherent. I do enjoy this "sound" in general, but there's a lot of bands out there that are going after something similar and if I just wanted the stoner/doom thing I'd probably rather put on Electric Wizard, or even a relatively unknown band like Warhorse.
What I enjoy about this song: the meditative state from the resonant drone instrument (the thing you remarked sounds like bagpipes but to me sounds like a hurdy-gurdy), the insane ferocious fuzz distortion on the bass, the fat bass riffs, and the always powerful (and sometimes imprecise, again as you mentioned) drum fills of Emil Amos.
It’s a bass guitar that’s why! Using a big muff or fuzz pedal of some sort. Most of their stuff has a middle eastern music vibe and themes. Actually the drums are very precise but just playing in a time signature westerners are not use to hearing making it sounds slightly off. It’s so easy to tell that’s a fuzzed out bass I can’t believe you haven’t picked up on it yet half way through the songs.
You mean you like this Al Cisneros/Sleep bass tone that big business rips off and does a watered down version of. Al invented that modern era stoner bass sound when big business were still in diapers! You have Geezer Butler and Al Cisneros every other doom/stoner bass sound is a copy of one of those two!
With the way production is these days it's really impossible to tell anything based on sound alone. And I did waffle back and forth on what to call the instrument before deciding to stick with guitar because....well, both an electric guitar and a bass guitar are guitars 😅
There is nothing about that bass that is “modern production”. It’s a 70’s Rickenbacker 4001 through multiple Green Matamp amp stacks onto 2 inch tape! So clearly it’s a bass and you can tell by the fuzz response when he hits a note and yeah it’s fuzz not overdrive, gain, or distortion. Much clippier sound waves that spike and can almost be described as Velcro whereas distortion is more rounded white noise!
It's a bass guitar, Bryan!
Love this song but there's a tighter, cleaner version with a live video available th-cam.com/video/kKqoNrZ00Bg/w-d-xo.html
Om is a band or project formed by the bassist of the band Sleep who are well known in the doom and stoner metal community at legendary status, I would say (proobably because of their hour long track, Dopesmoker but also for being very good and influential in general)
The drums are more on point in the other video.
As you'd expect from a doom/stoner artist, the music is not meant to be flashy but rather dragging and pounding. What Al Cisneros (the bassist) did with Om is basically a more meditative, softer form of doom metal which would normally have bass-heavy, ridiculously fuzzed out distorted instruments ringing out. It's an interesting direction that has a lot of potential but I underatand why one might see this as a forgetable piece. I think it speaks to people of a certain mindset or personal experiences. There's an overall bitter sweetness to the song and that fact that it drags out a bit suggests that the artist's intention is to allow the listener to be immerssed in the soundscape. It's a more pleasant listen than more traditional doom metal
Yup, I checked it out and I wish I had used that one for the reaction. I also got quite a bit of info from the visuals, specifically some of the bass technique being used which increased my appreciation for what was going on there outside of the effects.
Thanks for the explanation. Perfectly explains the absolutely doom-y feel to this track.
It's a bass, not a guitar. I love the drums too. The studio version is much better though, specially with the cello.
If you had checked out OM Live in Amoeba, you would see that Al Cisneros, the bassist of OM, has literal WALLS of amps behind him. For one measly bass he puts like 6 stacks to create the massive soundscape. And the drums have to be pounded hella heavy too. All together, with two instruments they create such a monolithic sound, you can't not be in awe. And ye, in the Live in Amoeba you can definitely see Al tripping balls and spacing out on stage, yet nailing everything, barely glancing at his bass.
Wow, that's insane. I gotta check out some live stuff now just to see this.
The drummer in this incarnation of OM is Emil Amos, most notably known for playing in Grails (psychedelic, post rock band), Holy Sons (solo project), Liliacs and Champagne ( more sample driven easy listening, instrumental hip hop type project). He is a multi-instrumentalist and an amazing guitarist.
Awesome! Did not expect this. Om is one of my favorite bands. Absolute hidden gem. It's tough to get people on board for a band that has no guitarist. Om was originally formed by the two remaining members of the stoner metal titans Sleep, Al Cisneros on bass and Chris Hakius on drums, following the band's split in 1999. The other member of Sleep was guitarist Matt Pike, who went on to form High On Fire.
I feel like Om in a lot of ways continued the progression of Sleep on the heels of their album "Dopesmoker", which was essentially an hour long track of crushingly hypnotic riffs and weed-laced lyrics that tell the story of the Stoner Caravan's pilgrimage across the desert to Jerusalem. Their label at the time refused to release it, and the band split shortly after. Cisneros and Hakius went ahead on their own without bothering to bring in a guitarist, and Om rose from Sleep's ashes. Their first album "Variations On A Theme" has three songs and is over 40 minutes long. Their second album, "Conference Of The Birds" has two songs and is over 30 minutes long. Third album "Pilgrimage" kinda scales it back a bit, with two of the four tracks coming in under 6 minutes, the other two over 10. Three really great albums. Super hypnotic riffing with very esoteric lyrics that delve heavily into metaphysics and eastern philosophy (as the majority of Om's lyrical content does). I would describe their vibe as very "stream of consciousness" in the way the music flows from their instruments. Original drummer Chris Hakius has a very dynamic, organic, and active style. The interplay between Al's basslines Chris's drumwork makes for some truly hypnotic rhythms and riffs. It's music that feels like it just "happens". Nothing about it feels forced. Tracks seem to start with the seed of an idea, and organically grow and develop into something so monumental that as a listener, it's easy to forget where it started. I would love to see you react to some of their older stuff. If I may make a couple suggestions that I'm sure you'll never get around to, it would be cool to see you react to "Bhima's Theme" ( clocks in at 11:41) or "Unitive Knowledge Of The Godhead" (clocks in at 5:51) from the album "Pilgrimage". If you're feeling REALLY adventurous, my ultimate Om suggestion (request lol) would be a reaction to "At Giza" (clocks in at 15:57) from "Conference Of The Birds". It's a slow build-up with an incredible payoff. Love your videos Brian, would love to be a patron but it just isn't in my budget right now. Great content though, as always! Keep it up! 👍👊🤘
I'm a HUGE OM fan. I have several albums of theirs. This is a band I play for friends that ask what kind of music do I listen to.
For me, the main thing that hit was the drums. I was just vibing with the gills and variations, with everything else mostly being background.
The droning note is played on a harmonium you can see it in other footage.
I've heard of Om but never heard of them. This was definitely interesting. Not sure if I've ever quite heard this combination of stoner/doom metal with psychedelia. Though stoner and psychedelia do go well together it's usually not combined in this way where the former element carries most of the track until it largely falls away into a psychedelic section that just drifts along, with really the only element tying them together being the rhythm. As others have pointed out I'm pretty sure that distorted tone is a bass, but the mistake is understandable given that many stoner/doom bands often tune their guitars WAY down, play with extended-range guitars, and/or play through bass cabinets or amps cranked way up. There are definitely bands that use their guitars in such a way that it's not easy to distinguish between them and a bass. Personally I think it's a bit too rough-around-the-edges. I can appreciate that roughness in pure stoner/doom--in fact, it's almost necessary for the genre's aesthetics to work--but I don't think it works as well for the psychedelic section, and the two elements combined don't strike me as really coherent. I do enjoy this "sound" in general, but there's a lot of bands out there that are going after something similar and if I just wanted the stoner/doom thing I'd probably rather put on Electric Wizard, or even a relatively unknown band like Warhorse.
What I enjoy about this song: the meditative state from the resonant drone instrument (the thing you remarked sounds like bagpipes but to me sounds like a hurdy-gurdy), the insane ferocious fuzz distortion on the bass, the fat bass riffs, and the always powerful (and sometimes imprecise, again as you mentioned) drum fills of Emil Amos.
Ah, a hurdy-gurdy. I've only heard it once or twice before so I forget what it sounds like. Might need to find a playlist for the instrument.
@@CriticalReactions May I suggest "Magic Hours" by Portishead for the hurdy gurdy playlist? :)
Sure! The only band I know that uses one is Eluveitie so I'll take any directions on this journey.
i wish OM would stand for Operation Mindfuck :D
It’s a bass guitar that’s why! Using a big muff or fuzz pedal of some sort. Most of their stuff has a middle eastern music vibe and themes. Actually the drums are very precise but just playing in a time signature westerners are not use to hearing making it sounds slightly off. It’s so easy to tell that’s a fuzzed out bass I can’t believe you haven’t picked up on it yet half way through the songs.
It’s hindu/ Old Testament stuff most of the time lol
great choice
but where's your joint
Love the Big Business bass tone 👌 Definitely has a similar distorted sound
"Big Business Bass Tone." Might have to steal that phrase
You mean you like this Al Cisneros/Sleep bass tone that big business rips off and does a watered down version of. Al invented that modern era stoner bass sound when big business were still in diapers! You have Geezer Butler and Al Cisneros every other doom/stoner bass sound is a copy of one of those two!
this and jonathan hulten... best content of all reactors..
I didn't find this boring at all
A guitar??? Even someone like me that do not know anything about music composition or theory knew that it is a bass 😂😂
With the way production is these days it's really impossible to tell anything based on sound alone. And I did waffle back and forth on what to call the instrument before deciding to stick with guitar because....well, both an electric guitar and a bass guitar are guitars 😅
There is nothing about that bass that is “modern production”. It’s a 70’s Rickenbacker 4001 through multiple Green Matamp amp stacks onto 2 inch tape! So clearly it’s a bass and you can tell by the fuzz response when he hits a note and yeah it’s fuzz not overdrive, gain, or distortion. Much clippier sound waves that spike and can almost be described as Velcro whereas distortion is more rounded white noise!
y u no studio version REEEEEEEE
Yup, I commented to the pinned reaction about this. I checked out a different version of this track and wish I hadn't reacted to this one.