What a long strange trip it's been indeed. When Earth -- basically Dylan Carlson -- disappeared from the music scene after Pentastar: In the Style of Demons, he'd become a black sheep to virtually everyone. Lost in the swirl of drug addiction, and having bought the gun that Kurt Cobain used in his suicide, it took years for Carlson to come to grips with his own evil spirits. While interest in the band never completely waned, it took the likes of Sunn 0))) and other big feedbacking drone worshipers to bring it to fruition. In 2005, Carlson's new Earth returned with Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method, a record that was less deafening, but strangely and hypnotically beautiful nonetheless, taking as a primary inspiration the spaghetti Western soundtracks of Ennio Morricone as a cue to create a new minimal soundscape that was sun-bleached, bone-dry, and more mysterious than anything they'd done before. Issued by Stephen O'Malley's Southern Lord label, 2008's The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull has a package that is something to behold, with a black textured slipcase, the band name and title embossed in gold, and a booklet featuring a perfect illustration of the title by Arik Roper in four-color glossy glorious art. The title of the album comes from the Old Testament of the Bible in the narrative of Samson and Delilah. Other than Carlson on guitars (and amplifiers), Earth also include drummer Adrienne Davies, Steve Moore on acoustic and Wurlitzer pianos and Hammond B-3, and bassist Don McGreevy (both electric and upright). Guitarist Bill Frisell helps out on four cuts as well, and Randall Dunn produced the set. Fans of the heavier, more ear-shattering version of the group will find themselves drawn to this more than Hex or the live Hibernaculum set; that said, The Bees Made Honey should also attract more recent listeners. Big guitars abound, but they're musical; they're as informed by a much more ringing brand of country sound that can be heard on records ranging from those of Lee Hazlewood to Thin White Rope's Tucson-drenched sonic six-string wind-downs. But in true Earth fashion, the long droning form is back, albeit tempered by minimal repetitive melodies that are simple in structure but hold great power.

1		Omens and Portents I: The Driver
2		Rise to Glory
3		Miami Morning Coming Down II (Shine)
4		Engine of Ruin
5		Omens and Portents II: Carrion Crow
6		Hung from the Moon
7		The Bee Made Honey in the Lion's Skull