REVIEW: HAN BENNINK / EVAN PARKER - THE GRASS IS GREENER

 

HAN BENNINK / EVAN PARKER - THE GRASS IS GREENER (Psi Records , 2002)

Produced by Evan Parker

Recorded at Gateway Studios

Artwork by Han Bennink

Tracks: 1- Traps of Appetite; 2- Traps of Instinct; 3- Outside the Usual Rules of the Eating Game; 4- Smoke of Sacrifice; 5- The Empty Hook; 6- Coyotes Are EatingPure Bred Poodles in Beverly Hills; 7- Pluto has a Moon; 8- To Tangle Lure and Snare

Here we have a duet CD from this two experimented improvisational musicians: Evan parker on saxophone and Han Bennink on percussion. The music here is really sponteneous and they call it in the booklet "instantcompositions". Everytime that I listen to Evan Parker I get really amazed by his flowing sax lines. He can start a solo line and don´t stop it till minutes later. The combination of this improvised runs and phrases with Bennink anarchic yet controlled percussion beats gives us the formula that makes this recording a unique experience. The two musicians know really well how to work together and this is evident on this CD. This CD is a must for people fan of experimental music in all its forms.

Favorite tracks: "Traps of Appetite"; "Smoke of Sacrifice" and "Pluto Has a Moon".

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: GERD DUDEK - SMATTER

 

GERD DUDEK - SMATTER (Psi Records, 2002)

Produced by Evan Parker

Recorded at Gateway Studios

Photographs by Caroline Forbes

Tracks: 1- Phrase Three; 2- Ma Bel; 3- Smatter; 4- Body and Soul; 5- By George; 6- The Peacocks

How beautiful are the sax phrases that Gerd Dudek plays through all this album. And how great a musician Gerd is. On this recording he plays with John Parricelli on guitar, Tony Levin on drums and Chris Laurence on bass, playing classic jazz with a lot of improvised solos. The main thing here is how to play with extremely melody and not loose spontaneity. And this is what Dudek achieves here: he plays the greatest solo lines (in fact all the musicians have their solo parts on each composition) with extreme melody and original phrases. The standards played here include the always amazing "Body and Soul" where a great musician like Dudek can develope many new ideas within a really melodic realm. For people who likes really good music played by a master musician.

Favorite tracks: "Phrase Three"; "Body and Soul" and "By George".

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: FREEDOM OF THE CITY 2001 - SMALL GROUPS

 

FREEDOM OF THE CITY 2001 - SMALL GROUPS (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded at the Freeedom of the City Festival

Tracks: CD 1: 1- Smibramar A; 2- Smibramar B; 3- Smibramar C; 4- WesedsanA; 5- Wesedsan B; 6- Wesedsan C; 7- Nickrahug A; 8- Nickrahug B; 9- Nickrahug C

CD 2: 1- Tho 1; 2- Tho 2; 3- Wrewashugdur 1; 4- Wrewashugdur 2; 5- Butber A; 6- Butber B; 7- Butber C; 8- Minrustur; 9- CoxRut; 10- CoxMinRusRutRur

This is a recording also done in the Freedom of the City 2001 Festival. But this 2 CD set consists in recording of small ensembles (and two solo pieces by the great Pat Thomas on piano). As always there are great musicians envolved in thsi projecys like Lol Coxhill, Phil Durrant, Veryan Weston and many others. There are excellent improvisations through all the CDs and I liked specially the Maggie Nicols (voice, tap dancing), Caroline Kraabel (alto sax, voice)and Charlotte Hug (viola) which experiments a lot with voices, uncommon instrument combinations and tap dancing. An excellent recording of this great Festival that I hope some day will come to Buenos Aires.

Favorite tracks: "Wesedsan B"; "Butber C" and " Nickrahug A".

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: FREEDOM OF THE CITY 2001 - LARGE GROUPS

 

FREEDOM OF THE CITY 2001 - LARGE GROUPS (Emanem Disc, 2002)

Produced by Martin Davidson

Recorded at the Freedom of the City Festival

Tracks: CD 1: 1- Trick on the Speed of Making It, 2- Daylight Receptacle

CD 2: 1- Flower of Flesh and Blood, 2- Morton´s Mobile; 3- Group Dynamics Around the Slide; 4- Concerto for Sylvia Hallett; 5- Double Rainbow; 6- Birthday Piece; 7- An If But To and When; 8- Proceeding 5

This is a 2-CD set in which the first one consists on two tracks (the first one is over 31 minutes) from a String improviser ensemble with great musicians like Phil Durrant, Chris Burn, Sylvia Hallett and John Russell to name just a few (the great Evan Parker appears in the second track and the second one is a big orchestra called the London Improvisers Orchestra. The London Improvisers Orchestra has many other instruments apart from the strings and here you can listen the talent of Lol Coxhill, Steve Beresford and many others. This recording was made in the Freedom of the City Festival 2001 and showcases the improvising and spontaneous skills of this group of talented musicians. The music contained here is highly experimental and spontaneous. It is great to see the communication between the musicians that is evident through all this recording. A great album from this extremely open minded musicians.

Favorite tracks: "Trick on the speed of making it"; "Concerto for Sylvia Hallett" and "Proceeding " .

Contact: www.emanemdisc.com

REVIEW: FORLORN - OPUS III AD CAELESTIS AES

 

FORLORN - OPUS III AD CAELESTIS AES (Napalm Recs., 2000)

Produced by Øyvind Grøden and Forlorn

Recorded at Mansion Studios

Artwork by Tor Søreide Design

Tracks: 1- Distant Worlds and Distant Moons; 2- Legions of the Empire; 3- Spiritshade; 4- Shadow Cult; 5- Phantoms, 6- Necto Spiritus; 7- Midnight´s Overture; 8- Legends of Creation

A thought was spinning in my mind while listening to this band. How can I describe their music? After a lot of thinking I decided that the best way would hev been with some label like "melodic black metal with some operistic vocals". In fact this description is real but not completely accurate because it fails to describe Forlorn´s music in all its magnitude. In fact, there are black metal elements (specially some vocals and guitar riffs), there are a lot of keyboards that embellish the tracks, then there is a hyper double bass drumming and a lot of rhythm changes. Finally there are different type of vocals: some are more guttural, some are like operistic male vocals (in the more melodic parts). I liked a lot the way in which the songs are composed because it makes each track completely different from the other and that adds a lot of interest to the whole CD. A great album.

Favorite tracks: "Shadow Cult", "Legions of the Empire" and "Legends of Creation".

Contact: www.napalmrecords.com

REVIEW: FONY - ROUTINE IRREGULAR

 

FONY - ROUTINE IRREGULAR (Casket Music, 2002)

Produced by Martin Barbour

Tracks: 1- Sleep the Dollar, 2- Nervegas Breakdown, 3- Routine Irregular, 4- Off Line; 5- Chore Again; 6- R.I.U.P; 7- Centrepaed; 8- Tri; 9- Fait Accompli; 10- Impurity; 11- Make Shift (Pt. 1); 12- Make Shift (Pt.2)

Fony is a band that I have never heard before and their music is usually described as a mix between new metal (the sound of some of the guitars is definitely from this style) and alternative music (there are some Soundgarden and Tool influences here and there that make an interesting mix with the heavier guitar sound). Some tracks like "Nervegas Breakdown are fully modern metal (with some distorted vocals that add a cool vibe. The production is really good and every instrument is clearly mixed giving more impact to the tracks. One thing that I liked of this band are their catchy and melodic choruses which are in fact sang in a deppressive way. A good alternative for people that looks for soemthing different.

Favorite tracks: "Routine Irregular"; "Chore Again" and "Impurity".

Contact: www.coprorecords.co.uk

REVIEW: ENCRYPTOR - SERMON DECAY

 

ENCRYPTOR - SERMON DECAY (Dysmorphic Recs., 2002)

Produced by Encryptor

Tracks: 1- Cast Into Darkness, 2- Rebrutalization, 3- Sermon Decay, 4- Horrific Endangerment, 5- Vomit Congregation, 6- Images of tragedy, 7- Everything must Decay, 8- Bloodflow towards Salvation

Encryptor is a brutal death metal band with a really good sound (I like the way in which the drums sound, specially the double bass drums...almost electronic in some places). The guitar riffs are crushing and in some places they reminded me of german act Harmony Dies. There are interesting rhythmic parts where the band show what they are capable of doing. The vocals are extremely guttural and they fit the music perfectly. The band delivewrs burst of energy after burst of energy with no mercy for the listeners. I think that Encryptor is a great option for those who love extremely brutal death metal and like it to be with a good sound.

Favorite tracks: "Sermon Decay"; "Vomit Congregation" and "Bloodflow Towards Salvation".

Contact: www.encryptoronline.com

REVIEW: EDGE OF SANITY - EVOLUTION

 

EDGE OF SANITY - EVOLUTION (Black Mark Recs., 1999)

Produced by Dan Swanö

Recorded by Dan Swanö

Artwork by Dan Swanö

Tracks: CD 1: 1- Pernicious Anguish, 2- Immortal Souls, 3- Maze of Existence, 4- the Dead, 5- Angel Of Distress, 6-Everlasting; 7- After Afterlife, 8- Human Aberration, 9-Kill the Police, 10- When All Is Said, 11- Blood of My enemies, 12- Elegy

CD 2: 1- the Masque, 2- Pernicious Anguish; 3- Until Eternity Ends; 4- Song of Sirens; 5- Criminally insane; 6- Murder Dividead; 7- I Wanna Go Home; 8- Damned By the Damned; 9- Moonshine; 10- Bleed You Dry; 11- Mother; 12- Epidemic Reign

Edge of Sanity is an essential band from the swedish death metal movement. They started their career in the late eighties and made some of the most original albums, adding their particular sound to the tracks. Here we have a 2 CD compilation with all rarities: here you have demos, remixes, remastered versions and covers. All in one package. And the tracks go from their first recordings ("Pernicious Anguish" from their 1989 "Euthanasi" ) to their latest. The sound is obviously better in the newest track, but here you can listen all the talent that this guys (and specailly Dan Swanö) have. A must for any person that is into metal. This is a piece of heavy music history.

Favorite tracks: The whole 2 CD set is essential for any lover of metal music.

REVIEW: EARTH CRISIS - BREED THE KILLERS

 

EARTH CRISIS - BREED THE KILLERS (Roadrunner Recs., 2001)

Produced by Andy Sneap

Recorded at Pyramid Studios

Artwork by Mike Ski

Tracks: 1- End Begins; 2- Filthy Hands to famished Mouths; 3- Breed the Killers; 4- Wither; 5- Ultra Militance; 6- Into the Fray; 7- One Against All; 8- Drug Related Homicide; 9- Overseers; 10- Death Rate Solution; 11- Unvanquished; 12- Ecocide

As you may know this band plays modern metal with a heavier than hell sound and vocals that are completely distorted. The first track "End Begins" is reallys imple and efective. And this is where lies the main elements of this band. They are simple but at the same time really powerful. There are some hardcore and punk influences too (a couple of riffs reminded me to the great D.R.I.). The great production by Andy Sneap makes the instruments shine (this guys is producing a lot lately and he always achieve a great sound on the guitars and the drums).

Favorite tracks: "Wither"; "Death Rate Solution" and "Into the Fray".

Contact: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

REVIEW: DIMENTIANON - SEVEN SUICIDES (ADVANCE)

 

DIMENTIANON - SEVEN SUICIDES (ADVANCE) (Paragon International, 2002)

Tracks: 1- Self Inflicted Abuse; 2- Soulless Extinction; 3- Dead and Forgotten

This is a three track advance CD of the "Seven Suicides" album by this powerful death metal band which was called The Forgotten before and released some succesful albums. First of all, the music is really powerful with interesting rhythms and extremely guttural vocals. Second, the release has a muddy sound, I don´t know if that is because this is an advance CD....maybe they should mix everything a little bit louder and clearer to achieve a better result (specially the drums that are really opaque and that is a pity because the drummer is great and I distinguish some bass drum patterns that are great but difficult to hear). There are a lot of riffs that are not so common on the style and that gives a lot of originality to this band. Also the guitarist makes a lot of interesting melodies in the tracks like in "Self Inflicted Abuse" (3:50) I hope they send me the complete versionbecause this is a killer CD and I hope they do another mix to give this band the sound that they deserve

Favorite tracks: "Soulless Extinction".

Contact: www.paragonrekords.cjb.com