Wino - Create or Die

Angry Metal Guy 70

Everything is coming up Wino! We were blessed with a new album by The Obsessed last year, and in 2025 we get his fourth solo outing. I’ve filled reams of pages here at AMG about what an important figure Scott “Wino” Weinrich is to the metalverse, so I’ll resist the urge to make the entire review another summary of his career and legacy. Suffice it to say, his work founding The Obsessed and later fronting Saint Vitus helped shape the American doom scene and gave it an essential shot of street-level toughness and integrity. His solo output has been more about 70s rock with occasional Americana and country influences, but the doom ethos still oozes in through the cracks of his craggy psyche. Create or Die is no different, drawing inspiration from 1970s psych/acid rock, folk, and country, all boiled down and filtered through the perspective of a man who lived a hard-scrabble, tumultuous life, struggling to realize his artistic visions while knowing that the public will never embrace them. In a sense, he’s a feral version of Bruce Springsteen, writing paeans to those who toil in obscurity to eke out a sparse living. There’s a raw beauty to his writing, and on Create or Die, his ragged soul is worn on his tattoo sleeve for all to see.

Things open with the very 70s rock-centric “Anhedonia,” which pulses with Wino’s gritty retro guitar work and soulful vocals. The sound isn’t far from The Obsessed circa The Church Within, though Wino’s riffs have more than a little Spirit Caravan spice too. It’s a burly dose of 70s rock with Wino’s rough charms selling it like a gently used Buick Skylark. “New Terms” places banjo and bodhran center stage for something you’d hear outside some backwoods distillery in Appalachia, and it works like a charm. One of the early highlights is the poignant and earnest “Never Say Goodbye.” It’s the kind of soulful song Wino excels at, and there’s a simple, comforting humanity to it. The sound isn’t far from what Bruce Springsteen was doing during his Nebraska era, and it touches some of the same heartstrings. “Hopeful Defiance” brings a metal edge back to the workshop, sounding like an urgent variant of The Obsessed, and Wino rants against the establishment like a dirty 60s hippie.

The back half of Create or Die is where Wino really comes into his own. “Us or Them” is another standout, bringing emotion but keeping things lean and mean. Wino’s stripped-down riffing echoes his Saint Vitus days, and his vocals perfectly suit his defiant lyrics. There’s a coolness factor here that few other than Wino can impart to a song, and it radiates gravitas. “Lost Souls Fly” is a melancholic, pensive piece that rambles over 7 minutes, but the journey never feels challenging. You just drift along as Wino narrates tales of life and death, lessons learned, and losses accepted. It’s oddly beautiful and compelling, though things are kept very minimalist. Penultimate track “Bury Me in Texas” almost sounds like something Clutch might come up with it, with steel guitars meshing with Wino’s lived-in vocals. It’s like Americana with a metal edge and it has an authenticity that puts it over. There are no tracks here I dislike, and you get a sharp, diverse collection of moods and ideas from across Wino’s career.

Wino is an old soul, and the same kind of songwriter as Towns Van Zandt, Johnny Cash, and the aforementioned Springsteen. He writes from the perspective of his own life, but in the process speaks to some universal truths about life. Apparently, he’s been working on some of these songs for years, trying to get them into just the right shape, and that kind of dedication to songcraft is rare these days. His lyrics are rarely upbeat, but there’s always an appeal to love and beauty in his lines. He’s blessed with a very distinctive voice, and it’s just as well-suited to acoustic folk as it is heavy doom. He brings a shabby elegance and weary eloquence to it all that few can match, and that’s why he’s such a pleasure to listen to. His guitar work across Create or Die is smart and satisfying, sometimes heavy, other times soft and calming, always recognizably Wino.

Whether it’s one of Wino’s numerous projects or his solo material, you know you’ll get good music full of passion and emotion, and that’s what Create or Die delivers. As the man ages and meditates on life, he sounds more and more like the voice of a lost time, with sage wisdom he needs to pass to the young. Though I’m far from young myself, I will always listen and absorb what Wino has to say. You should too. Treasure the greats while we have ’em, folks.



Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: Lossless
Label: Ripple Music
Website: facebook.com/scottweinrich
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025

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