Album Review: Buzzard – “Mean Bone” (Doom Metal/Folk)

Written by Kirk

It’s a tale as old as time (though perhaps not a song as old as rhyme): heavy metal steeped in fantastical, medieval lore. Castles and knights. Swords and sorcery. Demons and dragons. And just about anything else Dungeons & Dragons-adjacent you can shake a stick at (or directly related to D&D, as it is also a popular source of inspiration). And you know what? That shit is cool and will probably never get old. Hell, I just saw Castle Rat for the second time last month, and I had a blast. But what if I told you that not all heavy metal needs to be grounded in medieval fantasy?

Yeah, sure, it’s probably safe to say that we’re far from scraping the bottom of the inspiration barrel when it comes to medieval fantasy references for heavy metal band names, album titles, song titles, etc. I don’t know if there are any Tolkien-based references that haven’t already been employed, but there are also sources of inspiration that are much more…tangible. And by that I mean the seemingly endless nightmare that is the United States of America. No, not the overly commercialized hellscape we’re living in today (although that certainly does provide plenty of opportunities for inspiration) but instead its wild, bloody beginnings. Anyone with a passing knowledge of this country’s rich history and bloody upbringing will feel right at home with the music of Buzzard.

Close your eyes, and let’s take a trip back in time over a hundred years to the early 1900s. America is wild and untamed, as true to the spirit of the land that has—for centuries—refused to be tamed until the callous hands of man sought to drill it full of holes in order to suck its soul out for a few bucks. It’s a land full of mystique, beauty, and dangers both physical and spiritual, where a man can consider himself lucky if he only loses his life and not his immortal soul, too. Or, worse yet, to lose his soul and suffer through his remaining days as an empty husk, the plaything of some demonic entity, eldritch horror, or something much, much worse.

This is the world of Mean Bone, the sophomore album of Christopher Thomas Elliott, the Massachusetts-based mastermind behind Buzzard, a one-man amalgamation of Americana, folk music, and doom metal. Saddled somewhere between the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Tyler Sheridan, the thirteen songs before us drip with tales of malice, cruelty, and woe, using stories set in the troubled past as a warning for the troubled present. Because if there’s one legacy that has withstood the test of time, it’s man’s history of violence; whether it be in the name of religion, progress, or just plain mean-heartedness, it’s another tale as old as time (but this time as old as—if not older than—rhyme). And Elliott tells these tales with alarming skill, weaving timeless tales of death and despair with a charmingly barebones approach to doom metal, focusing less on volume and reverb to carry the message and instead employing a healthy dose of fuzz. Some songs are straight-up acoustic folk, others minimalist doom, and some a mix of both. But it’s Elliott’s lyrics that cut the deepest.

“Stare into the abyss / the abyss stares back and blows a kiss”

“‘Cause I deserve Heaven above / Power, wealth, and a woman’s love / I should not have to push and shove / Like a beggar”

“You shake my foundations / About what I am / And you make me wonder / If the human race ain’t worth a damn”

To quote Andy Samberg, “Chills!  Literal chills!” There are so many elements to Mean Bone that probably shouldn’t work together, but Elliott thumbs his nose at convention and creates something that is both unique and familiar. The tribute to Bob Dylan—“Dunwich Farm”—is both a nice touch and a boldly honest take on the classic “Maggie’s Farm”, painting a much more realistic portrait of the modern farm worker. I will, however, point out that the songs focusing on the environment—“Flies, Mosquitoes, Rats, and Sparrows”; “Conclusions”; “Plight of the Planet”; and “Ancient Ruins of the 21st Century”—might have been better served as part of LP 3.  While as brilliantly-written as the rest of the record, they don’t fit the vibe of the preceding songs and shoehorn themselves into the mix. They don’t detract from the album as a whole, which weighs in at a hefty 55 minutes and 7 seconds, but they do give the tail end of the record a real Debbie Downer feel.

THE BOTTOM LINE

I’ve been doing this music review thing for a little over two years now, and it’s still surreal that I get the opportunity not only to listen to music before it’s released but to share my opinions about it on a platform where people actually listen and care about what I have to say. It’s both incredibly cool and absolutely terrifying at the same time. Even wilder is that bands send their music specifically with the intention of me writing about it. Seeing a promo marked “ATTN Kirk” gives me anxiety, but I do my best to listen to the music and share my thoughts every time. This was one such album, and while I chuckled reading the words “leftist doom folk metal,” what I encountered was music that transported me to another time and place. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: Christopher Thomas Elliott has created something magical with Mean Bone. Whether you’re a fan of his debut album, Doom Folk, or have never even heard of Buzzard, do yourself a favor and listen to this record. It just might change your life.