Reviews
In pictures: The music and madness of Desertfest 2023
Desertfest ā a three-day celebration of heaviness, fuzz, volume and weirdness ā hit Camden once again last weekend. Hereās what we rememberā¦
Crowbar's mainman Kirk Windstein looks back the creation of the ultimate riffgasm Planets Collide
Like an avuncular sludge metal Sauron, Kirk Windstein is the Lord Of The Riffs. As the godfather of the NOLA scene with Crowbar and Down, heās cranked out more head-crushing, riff-packed metal monsters than pretty much anyone else you could think of.
Planets Collide was something different. The opening track proper to Crowbarās 1998 masterpiece Odd Fellows Rest, it still bleeds heaviness but in a far more subtle way. Packed with melancholic melodies and one of the most emotive vocal performances Kirk has yet come up with, it saw the band spreading their wings to try something new. The experiment worked, as it remains a fan favourite and signature song more than two decades on.
Here Kirk tells us how Planets Collide took shape and how it was inspired by talk radio and substance abuse issues in his familyā¦
āI came up with the riff and I kinda had the whole idea for the song; I was actually afraid to show it to the rest of the band because I thought it might have been too melodic. But when we started rehearsing, I was showing them the different parts and it really came alive in the studio. On that record, Sammy Duet from Goatwhore had joined Crowbar right before we went into the studio. He wasnāt really able to be much of a part of the songwriting ā that was mainly Jimmy (Bower, drums) and I.
āMe and Jimmy actually went to one studio (Ultrasonic Studios, New Orleans), I did the scratch guitar and he laid down the drums, then we went to Festival Studios. That was much less expensive but weād wanted to get a good drum sound at the expensive studio. And Planets Collide really took on a whole new life there. Musically it was the first song with the melodies and everything where ā I hate to use the word āpopā ā but you can probably hear my old '70s classic rock-type influences with the chords and notes and the whole way that itās structured. Itās pretty simple, the song barely even deviates from the main riff. It goes on the bridge and then it goes back. Itās basically a two-riff song.
āI like to work early, for a musician anyway. Like, I could be at the studio by noon; Iām not one of those guys that goes in at 10pm and works until the sun comes up. I remember driving to the studio and listening to talk radio. I wasnāt even paying much attention but I heard the guy say something and finish with, āā¦and the planets collide.ā I was five minutes from the studio and Iām going, āThatās great, I canāt forget that, itās a great title.ā At the time the music had already been laid down but I was still working on the lyrics.
āItās actually written about my sister, because she was going through so many substance abuse problems. Iām happy and thankful to say sheās over 13 years sober now, which is great, but she had her demons and itās really about her through my eyes. Itās one of those songs that a lot of people have told me they related to when they were working through their own problems, whether thatās to do with addiction or anything else. I make a conscious effort to think about our fans now when Iām writing songs and lyrics; hopefully they can help someone out when theyāre in a dark place.
āWhen we brought the singing in with those melodies, everybody looked at each other in the studio and weāre like, āMan, this is fucking bad-ass, this is really going to be something special.ā We talked about it and said, āLook, even though this is a bit different for Crowbar, this should be the album opener because itās going to really open peopleās eyes.ā That was the first record where I went, āFuck it, Iām going to throw the Crowbar rulebook out of the window.ā I was going to do what I wanted, we were going to bring in some new elements and we did on that album and that song in particular.
āItās still a crowd favourite of course, itās one we do every night and itās still a blast to play live. Itās still the most requested song as well. If Iām out in the crowd having a beer or doing merch with my wife Robin, someone will always ask, āHey, are you going to play Planets Collide tonight?ā And the answer is always, āAbsolutely we will.āā
Kirk Windstein will release his debut album Dream In Motion on January 24, 2020, via eOne.