Arguably one of the more respected and promising doom acts around, The Hidden Hand return with their highly anticipated release, Mother Teacher Destroyer. After 2003's Divine Propaganda, a strong yet slightly flawed debut, people took a special interest in this doomy three-piece, yet the band never really took off in terms of popularity.

With crushing slow and heavy riffs akin to High On Fire at times, the band trudges through swampy basslines and tight rhythms to show exactly why they're respected as much as they are. Every so often, The Hidden Hand takes a break from their thundering songwriting and picks up the pace with some up-tempo grooves. Memorable melodies and the inclusion of echoing Sabbath-esque effects on the vocals of Wino Weinrich (Place of Skulls, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan) only add to the already doomy atmosphere on songs like "Half Mast". And oh man, "Black Ribbon", which sounds somewhat reminiscent of "Planet Caravan", is possibly one of the better songs I've ever heard. I honestly wish the songs were a little longer and more droning, as they do delve into things on "Draco Vibration", which is practically a three minute mushroom-trip committed to music - but don't ever fully develop or explore it in depth, except maybe on the final track, "The Deprogramming Of Tom Delay". It's great the way it is, but I'd like to hear it fully-realized and pushed even further. There isn't too much of a change from Divine Propaganda - they're still playing doom. However, this time around, on Mother Teacher Destroyer, the songs are more developed and spacey, with less aggression.

I could go on and on and analyze the album track by track, but it isn't necessary. In all sincerity, Mother Teacher Destroyer is an awesome piece of work that I'm proud to review. It almost makes me want to start smoking pot again. Fans of any of Wino's former bands will be more than impressed, while more casual listeners of doom and stoner rock may find themselves unable to take Mother Teacher Destroyer out of their CD players. Lets hope the release of this album brings them even further success.