The Obsessed – Gilded Sorrow

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · Published September 12, 2024 · Updated September 12, 2024

Scott “Wino” Weinrich could be considered the godfather of doom and stoner rock. His contributions to those genres date back to the late seventies in which, since that time, he created a huge musical body of work. Some of the bands that he was in includes: Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, Shrinebuilder, Place Of Skulls, Premonition 13, Wino (solo stuff), and of course, The Obsessed. He has also played on many various releases from other bands and artists. The Obsessed has been Winos longest off and on bands to date. Their releases include: 1990’s Self Titled, 1991’s Lunar Womb, 1994’s The Church Within, and 2017’s Sacred. Gilded Sorrow is the band’s first release on Ripple Music and came out on February 16th, 2024. The album contains 9 songs at 37 minutes long.

The Obsessed play stoner/doom metal with a heavy rock foundation. The current lineup is: Scott “Wino” Weinrich on guitars and vocals, Jason Taylor on guitars, Chris Angleberger on bass, and Brian Costantino on drums and vocals.

“Daughter Of An Echo” starts the record off with a nice traditional Wino doom riff. The song has a great flow about it with each riff blending into another. The singing has a nice melody about it with Wino’s gruff delivery. The guitar leads are fantastic too. “It’s Not Ok” is another great tune and the first single on Gilded Sorrow. Good chugging doom riffs with a catchy chorus. The song has a nice groove about it and excellent guitar solos. The third track “Realize A Dream” is a bit slower to start but picks up the rhythm on the chorus. It’s a straight forward rocking song with some heavy metal charm about it. The title track “Gilded Sorrow” is next on the record. It forges some good guitar work with Wino’s more laid back vocals with some sort of effects on them. The end point of the song shifts into doomy wind sounds with bass and drums and psychedelic guitars that fade things out. The song sets things up for the next track “Stoned Back To The Bomb Age.” It’s a gloomy doom passage that meanders ahead with heavy Sabbath guitar like riffing and haunting leads. The next song “Wellspring” has a heavy guitar crunch that unfolds in the middle of the song that is drenched in doom. The down tuned riff encapsulates the song under a wall of fuzz. Wino’s distinctive riffs bleed through these songs with pure delight. The man has been an influence on everything heavy and doomy in today’s music. The best part is, he is not a one trick pony. He can transform his style of playing from an all out doom machine into a raunchy rocking rhythm as expressed on “Jailine.” The second to last song “Yen Sleep” is more simplistic in execution with an aura of darkness overlapping the riffs. His monotone style vocals and eerie guitar leads drift the song out into obscurity. “Lucky Free Nice Machine” is essentially an instrumental outro that only lasts a minute long. I’m not really clear on the point of this one but I’m sure Wino has his reasons.

Overall, Gilded Sorrow is a solid recording. It’s not my favorite album from The Obsessed but still worthy of many listens. Wino is a riff wizard and has secured his place in the doom metal hall of fame, as far as I’m concerned. The fact is that after hundreds and hundreds of riffs at his disposal he continues to produce and churn out such devastating works of musical madness. The man is a genius and an icon in the stoner rock community.