The Stranglers – Dark Matters (2021)

The Stranglers - Dark Matters - 2021

It was the second half of the eighties when somebody wanted to sell me two The Stranglers records. It was a friend but also a vinyl collector and black market dealer. The two albums were “The Raven” (1979) and “The Gospel According to the Meninblack” (1981).
When I heard the opening Read more The Stranglers – Dark Matters (2021)

Gong – I See You (2014)

Gong – I See You (2014)

Gong – I See You (2014) How old you are? “I See You” will be probably the swan song of this legendary band which spinning around for the last 47 years. Brain-child of Daevid Allen, other notable band members include Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett and Pierre Moerlen. Others who have briefly played in Gong include Bill Bruford, Brian Davison, Don Cherry and Chris Cutler.
This is an effervescent mixture of progressive, psychedelic and space rock reaching out the border of jazz fusion and other vivid experiments. With a tasteful addition of mythology.
Gong was formed in 1967, after Daevid Allen — at that time a member of Soft Machine — was denied re-entry to the United Kingdom because of a visa complication. Allen remained in France where he and a London-born Sorbonne professor, Gilli Smyth, established the first incarnation of the band. Read more Gong – I See You (2014)

Acid Mothers Temple and The Melting Paraiso UFO – Son Of A Bitches Brew (2012)

Acid Mothers Temple and The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. – Son Of A Bitches Brew (2012) Heavy Psychedelia this time merged with Electric Jazz with consistent Miles Davis aroma. References to key recordings or artists/bands of Rock/Metal/Psychedelic or Jazz were always incorporated in their works, but never so directly referential as this time. You need balls, or talent, or both to enter the musical world previously build by Davis, John McLaughlin, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Wayne Shorter, Bennie Maupin, and the list is extremely long and filled only with valuable artist. But these Japanese sonic samurais, got balls, got talent, but also the healthy craziness necessary for genuine creation.
“Son Of Bitches A Brew” – with it’s a clear reference to Frank Zappa as well – will not be an easy walk through some sunny sound fields, AMT are delivering extremely dense and vivid incursions into the outer limits of the known musical universe, they not only merging genres, but radically different layers and sounds mostly in the same song their building.
With Kawabata Makoto raging on his guitar, Shimura Koki smashing to pieces his drum kit, Tsuyama Atsushi grinding the bass, Higashi Hiroshi turning his synthesizers inside-out, while Tsuyama Atsushi replacing Wayne Shorter on saxophone, this trip can’t be nothing but dangerously wonderful. Read more Acid Mothers Temple and The Melting Paraiso UFO – Son Of A Bitches Brew (2012)

Cosmonauts Day – Paths of The Restless (2011)

I closed my review about their debut live-demo EP saying that I’m looking forward to listen to their whole album and it seems this is one of the very few wishes that actually comes true.
Cosmonaut Day delivering a quite unique mixture of post-rock, stoner/sludge metal and space/progressive rock with some exotic aromas, original structures and harmonies and exciting rhythmic and grooves. “Name your price” means that you can download their album even for free from Bandcamp page, but I believe all these underground bands from all over the world who delivering quite exciting alternatives for the boring and predictable mainstream products deserves our full support and eventually every penny counts. Read more Cosmonauts Day – Paths of The Restless (2011)

Combat Astronomy – Earth Divided By Zero (2010)

Un alt suflet contorsionat este şi acest James Huggett pitit sub titulatura Combat Astronomy. Avem de a face cu un Doom Industrial bine condimentat cu elemente Psihedelice şi infuzii de Jazz, fapt deloc surprinzător dacă ne uităm la lista artiştilor numiţi ca influenţe de James: Magma, Meshuggah, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, Hawkwind, Godflesh, Sunn O))), Soft Machine. Kate Bush, God, Black Sabbath, Can, Amon Duul, etc.
Pe lângă Huggett în studio în funcţie de album au lucrat Martin Archer, Elaine di Falco, Mick Beck, Charlie Collins, Mike Ward, iar live a beneficiat de suportul unor nume ca Anthony Poretti, John Davis, Myrriah Resneck, Nick Griffin, Dave Willey, Raoul Rossiter şi Grant Jackson.
Dacă primele trei materiale (1999-2002) sunt incursiuni Noise destul de abstracte şi neprietenoase, Huggett experimentează şi progresează de la material la material şi odată cu lansarea albumului „Dematerialised Passenger” din 2005, Combat Astronomy se conturează ca un proiect incisiv care combină cu mult nerv elemente Doom cu zgomote şi abordări Industriale şi introduce construcţii Psihedelice ce invocă Pink Floyd-ul condimentate cu infuzii incitante de Jazz. Chitara bariton – un instrument ce adaugă chitarei tradiţionale greutatea unui bas şi are un sunet mult mai consistent datorită acordajului diferit – folosită de Huggett bâzâie zgomotos, riff-urile au apăsare şi adaugă sonorităţi sănătoase de Heavy muzicii.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJdQuF2hBiQ]

În 1999 Read more Combat Astronomy – Earth Divided By Zero (2010)