Also available as a double Lp set.

One of the benefits of the recent Saint Vitus reunion tour with the Wino-fronted lineup of the band was SST finally repressing a big chunk of the legendary doom metal band's 1980s catalog on both vinyl and cd, much of which had been out of print or otherwise unavailable for ages. I know that I'm sotked to be able to finally get my hands on some of these releases, especially their 12"s which have been particularly rare. Saint Vitus were responsible for some of the finest doom metal to ever come out of the American underground, and along with The Obsessed, Trouble and Pentagram, pioneered the sound of Sabbath-influenced doom in the 1980s. The Vitus sound was also a gritty one, playing slower and heavier and bleaker than any of their peers, taking additional subtle influence from the hardcore scene and injecting a level of streetwise attitude, rebellion and ferocity to their gloomy, ponderous heaviness that most other post-Sab outfits during this time were lacking, which had much to do with them being signed to the legendary hardcore punk label SST label and touring with Black Flag. No self-respecting doom metal fan should be without Born Too Late in their collection, widely considered to be Vitus's best album, but their other full-lengths are just as crucial listening for anyone into doom metal and classic 80's metal. Along with Born Too Late and their previous album Hallow's Victim, we've also been able to get the 12" Eps Thirsty And Miserable and Walking Dead, the killer 1988 album Mournful Cries (on both cd and lp), and the career-spanning crash course in all thing Vitus, Heavier Than Thou (and how!).

Released after the band had left the label for the German doom imprint Hellhound, Heavier Than Thou was SST's attempt to put together a "best of" collection of Saint Vitus tracks that spanned their entire career and covered the output from both the Reagers and Wino eras of the band. It works well as a primer for metal fans who are new to the classic, genre-defining doom metal of Saint Vitus, featuring all of the songs off of the 1986 album Born To Late except for "The War Starter", the song "Look Behind You" from the Thirsty And Miserable 12", three of the songs from 1987's Mournful Cries Lp ("Dragon Time", "Shooting Gallery" and "Bitter Truth"), two songs from the Reagers-era album Hallow's Victim ("War Is Our Destiny" and "White Stallions"), and two songs from the self-titled Saint Vitus debut album ("Saint Vitus" and "White Magic / Black Magic"). There isn't anything new here for longitme fans that already have all of the Vitus output on SST, but if you are just looking for the band's best songs from the 1980s, this collects them all in one convenient place.

Saint Vitus's 1986 album Born Too Late (included here almost in it's entirity, save for the song "The War Starter") heralded the arrival of new vocalist Scott "Wino" Weinrich, formerly of Maryland doom rockers The Obsessed, and it's widely considered to be their best album. It's one of the defining doom metal Lps along with Psalm 9 and Pentagram, immensely powerful doom with a newfound grittiness and urgency thanks to Wino's gravelly, soulful voice. The songs are all seriously slow and low, very rarely pick up speed into anything more than a saurian stomp, but it's hardly monotonous; the Lp opens with one of Vitus's all time classic songs, the crushing retro anthem "Born Too Late", followed by the frenzied psychedelic white-out of "Clear Windowpane", served up with a heavy dose of lysergic wah overload from guitarist Dave Chandler. The Sabbathian dread of "Dying Inside" is one of the band's many odes to addiction, a recurring theme in their music, and the slow galloping dirge of "H.A.A.G." is one of the few moments on the album when the band isn't slogging through total sludge, and the brooding "The Lost Feeling" closes the recording out.

Crucial, essential listening for doom metallers.