The Body – All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood (2010) [At a Loss] // Grade: A

It is my opinion that it takes unique individuals to create engaging music, regardless of the genre. While genres will influence the individuals, there is something within them that drives and motivates them to create something new and fresh. Countless examples exist and yet only few truly succeed at producing quality and original sounds. Lee Buford and Chip King make up the Body and no, that’s not an homage to the Judea-Christian belief of the body of Christ, more of an allusion. In fact, Buford and King are about as far from religious as you could get, citing influences ranging from Manson to Body Count.

In their first full-length, All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood, they evoke some of that religious imagery in an epic and yet hard to classify doom metal album. It’s not as straight forward as Candlemass and not nearly as quintessential as Jucifer, although the two’s lifestyle does resemble some sort of hermithood. Bearing beards, toting rifles and being tough guys in general. If I had to put a nail on the head of All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood, I’d push it more towards something Edgy would have listened to while recording Burning Witch’s catalog. Depressing and emotional is an understatement.

All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood begins with “A Body”, a kaleidoscope of female vocals swooning in an empty room that is instantly disintegrated with a collision spearheaded by Buford’s chaotic drums and King’s spine-tingling vocals. It’s a dichotomy that is best experienced and is nearly impossible to convey in words. Here’s where you realize something. Two men are to credit for All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood but dozens of musicians contributed to cultivating their environments.

Choirs, keyboards and other layers add to the murky waters which The Body paddles through. Without the contributions of the “extras”, All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood wouldn’t be as successful as it is. It’s not as overwhelming, or underwhelming as bands like Sigh, rather The Body creates an experience that self-replicates each listen. You’ll hear new moments and abrasions each time you put it on.

From “A Body” arises “A Curse” and from there an “Empty Hearth”. I don’t think they could have done a better job at curating this album. Right down to the lyrics, All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood paint a grim picture about the failures of man and the shear insignificance of our race. But they depict this in a very beautiful way. Take for example “Even the Saints Knew Their Hour of Failure and Loss”, again the ambiance created by the choir singers and the collapsing cymbals and King’s vocals give this album the ability to engage your emotions.

While albums like All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood are few and far between, when they do come descend, they’re not to be taken lightly. The Body does a superb job at really defining, or redefining doom metal. Through creating a facade of madness and mystique, right down to the composition of their music, the Body paints an experience, not just an album. With dozens of people behind their efforts, All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood is one for the vinyl stacks.

- Prolly