Do we need to invent (yet another) metal subgenre? "Blessed Black Wings" is what you get when you take two of the grand old men of stoner/doom (Sleep's Matt Pike and Joe Preston from Earth, Melvins, Thrones etc.) and add an outstanding tribal metal drummer (Des Kensel). Pike sings like Lemmy with a sore throat and plays guitar like a cross between Tony Iommi and 'Strait' James Williamson — metal chops with a punk attack. People have complained that you can't hear Preston's bass through the ultra-distorted guitars, but he's doing what any good bass player should, especially in a trio: beefing up the lead and grounding the drums (Kensel is pretty free for a metal drummer, likes his cymbals and uses just one bass drum, so Preston's role is pivotal). Albini's production is as crisp as ever but reverbs more than usual. Most importantly, the songs and riffs are well-constructed and monstrously heavy. Forget that new subgenre, this is metal pure and simple.