Southern Lord
2004
Mother Teacher Destroyer
About This Album
Of the two band projects embarked upon by vocalist and guitarist Scott "Wino" Weinrich following the demise of Spirit Caravan in May 2002, his union with ex-Pentagram guitarist Victor Griffin's Place of Skulls certainly had the greater star power to begin with; but, in terms of actual longevity, smart money was always on the brand-new the Hidden Hand's survival -- for obvious geographical (Griffin living in Tennessee, Wino in Virginia) and ego-related reasons. That indeed turned out to be the case and, following a debut album that, save for the unexpectedly political bent of its lyrics, pretty much picked up right where Spirit Caravan had left off, the Hidden Hand began to establish a fresher, more distinct sonic imprint with their second effort, 2004's Mother Teacher Destroyer. Not that there's been a radical stylistic shift here from Wino's career-long doom-based songwriting tendencies, either. New songs like "Desensitized," "Travesty as Usual," and "Sons of Kings" are still dominated by down-tuned, lumbering riffs, and the dreamy "Black Ribbon" features acoustic guitar progressions and soft, nebulous vocals descended straight from Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,5,9 and 10)

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