WINO – Create Or Die

vote
7.5

• Bands:
  WINO
• Duration: 00:44:55
• Available from: 10/24/2025
• Label:

• Ripple Music

Scott 'Wino' Weinrich is a multifaceted artist who certainly doesn't need to be introduced to the readers of this portal, yet his fame is mainly confined to a glorious past in Saint Vitus, with whom he recorded four studio albums, and to his past in The Obsessed (still his main group), a band active since 1980 which to define as seminal is an understatement.
It is good to remember, however, that Wino is also one of the most authoritative and considered songwriters not only in the international doom metal scene, but also in other similar environments, due to his numerous excursions into other musical styles. His harsh voice and his unique way of composing on the guitar, both electric and acoustic, have revealed to more than one generation the psych and acid origins of stars and stripes doom, as well as its link with the authentic songwriting introspection of an artist like Townes Van Zandt (of whom he recorded an album of covers together with Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till).
Among the numerous projects in which he took part, the most famous are Shrinebuilder, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand and Place Of Skulls and in each of these he recorded not only as a singer and guitarist, but also as an author of music and lyrics. It can therefore be said that his solo flair can be found in each of the works created with these groups. There is, however, a solo discography under the name Wino, of which “Create Or Die” constitutes the fourth chapter, if we exclude the three albums made in collaboration with the German musician Conny Ochs.

With “Create Or Die”, therefore, Wino resumes the thread traced with 2020's “Forever Gone”, demonstrating a freer and more profoundly human approach to his narrative universe compared to the works for which he is best known, without ever neglecting his doom metal attitude. The latter recurs in his guitar structures with a unique and recognizable style, the lack of which was felt in his previous work which, for reasons related to pandemic isolation, was almost totally acoustic. The new ten songs, in just under forty-five minutes, describe a microcosm that oscillates between acoustic introspection and overflowing electricity, between folk, blues and deep roots that do not bend, not even this time, to genre labels, with the contribution of Jason Taylor, Brian White and Brian Costantino, bandmates in The Obsessed, as well as their daughter Alexandra Weinrich on backing vocals.
The album's name came from a letter from a friend urging Wino to “create or die”and this vital and instinctive tension is perceived in every groove, also because anyone who knows Wino's past can affirm that this phrase could very well stand out on the title of a film dedicated to his life.
The opening with “Anhedonia” immediately introduces the listener into a dark atmosphere, destined to change with the Beatles-esque “Never Said Goodbye”, an episode that deals with the pain of loss in a raw way, without sentimentality. Wino, however, does not remain trapped in desperation: songs such as the very powerful “Hopeful Defiance” and “Noble Man” embody an almost painful insistence in reacting to the dramas of life, with a resilience that does not seek triumphs but is simply a form of dignity, human and artistic, which has punctuated Wino's career since the beginning.

Franck Marchand's production, aided by Wino himself and Alan Douches' mastering, is a true masterpiece of authenticity. The sound spaces are filled and emptied to perfection, the joints are perfect, and the balance between the intimacy of the rehearsal room and the bombastic essence of the live show is constantly held on a tightrope.
Clean and open guitars alternate with denser riffs, which are very reminiscent of the structural simplicity of The Obsessed's first songs (listening to “Anhedonia” and “Carolina Fox”, just to name a couple, the classics “Forever Midnight” and “Tombstone Highway” come to mind), while the analogue warmth of the recording permeates every passage, giving the album a lively and authentic tone, a reflection of a performance, as always, precise, spontaneous and 'live'.
Among the other tracks, “New Terms” stands out, with its rhythm bodhrán Irish and the participation of the members of the group We Banjo Three and “Bury Me in Texas” with country embroideries. Remarkable is “Us or Them”, which roars with the galloping ferocity of a jam by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, while “Cold Or Wrong” and the atmospheric reverberations of “Lost Souls Fly” – perhaps excessively long and repetitive – close everything with prophetic and visionary tones, crowning the work with Wino's lived voice which appears, at the same time, solemn and comforting, almost gathering, in its timbre and attitude, the legacy of Lemmy Kilmister.

“Create Or Die” is a collection of heterogeneous and unrelated songs that mocks the boundaries between genres like a record from the seventies, effortlessly balancing the energy of rock and doom with the soul of American folk and blues. The quality of each song is high, but no song is unforgettable, the true masterpiece of the album is that hovering sensation of authentic anarchy and sense of absolute creative freedom, perfectly summarized by the title.
“Create Or Die” is an album dripping with stories of life on the road, more intimate, almost nocturnal moments, and devastating riffs that Wino has accustomed us to in the past, full of authenticity and artistic strength without any compromise, as always. In short, Wino is keen to demonstrate once again that, for a true artist like him, creating is the only alternative.