The Obsessed

Upon leaving Saint Vitus -- whose unabashed worship of Black Sabbath helped lay the groundwork for the sludge, stoner, and doom metal mini-movements of the '90s -- vocalist/guitarist Scott "Wino" Weinrich re-formed the Obsessed, a band he'd founded in Washington, D.C. in the early '80s prior to joining Saint Vitus. Initially including a rhythm section of bassist Mark Laue and drummer Ed Gulli, the Obsessed had recorded a live EP back in 1984, but didn't make their full-length debut until 1990's The Obsessed, recorded for the small Hellhound label. Personnel shifts ensued (Melvins drummer Dale Crover passed through the ranks at one time or another), and bassist Scott Reeder and drummer Greg Rogers joined for the 1991 follow-up, Lunar Womb. Reeder subsequently left the band to join Kyuss, and was replaced by Guy Pinhas, just as the Obsessed were landing a major-label deal with Columbia. Although many described it as the group's most focused album, 1994's The Church Within also proved to be their last. Following the breakup, Pinhas and Rogers formed Goatsnake, while Weinrich started up a new outfit first called Shine then quickly renamed Spirit Caravan. In 1999, Southern Lord issued a collection of outtakes and rarities titled Incarnate, and the following year repackaged The Obsessed together with the original lineup's 1984 EP. After pursuing a number of projects in the new millennium -- including reuniting with Saint Vitus and appearing on Dave Grohl's all-star metal project Probot -- Scott "Wino" Weinrich announced in 2012 that he was reuniting the Church Within lineup of the Obsessed to play a handful of festival dates. In 2016, Weinrich declared he was re-forming the Obsessed as a going concern, although with a new lineup that featured Wino on vocals and guitar, Dave Sherman on bass, and Brian Costantino on drums. The new edition of the Obsessed signed a deal with independent metal label Relapse Records, and the label released Sacred -- their first full-length studio effort in 23 years -- in April 2017. Latter-day bassist Dave Sherman died on September 7, 2022 at the age of 55. ~ Steve Huey