InterStatic - InterStatic (2012)

Band: InterStatic
Country: Oslo, Norway
Style: Contemporary Jazz
Label: RareNoise

Fusion is a genre that, for me, was at it's best in the 70s (though that's when many genre's were at their peek). Sure, there have been plenty of great players who've done great things for the genre since then, but very few of those do I have any interest in. Seeing as this is InterStatic's debut album, I wasn't sure what brand of fusion this was going to be coming in.
Let me just say that coming into this album, I was a little nervous because modern fusion is very similar to modern jazz in the sense that you'll hear both in the background when you're in the mall. Not necessarily a bad thing mind you, sometimes those tracks are quite enjoyable, but it really tends to be more background music than anything else. While this album does have that sort of modern shine to it that does make it perfectly fit to that market, it is too adventurous to really sit in the background. I don't know if the trio here takes much from the groups and artists that I enjoy (Weather Report, Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock to name a few) but unlike a lot of that very bland modern jazz fusion, these guys delve into moments of psychedelia that never veers too far into the realms of simply improvisational wankery. There are some really expansive moments on here where each player is actually restraining themselves and doing very little, but it just creates this trippy vibe that is pure psychedelia, hear Flatland 1. I'm not sure how much of this was improvised, but these guys certainly know how to hone in on some really spectacular energies and channel them into really melodic and catchy melodies, which is something I don't take lightly in this style of music.
Despite my aversion towards the production sound on here, I can't deny the atmosphere that's on display in nearly every one of these songs. Sure, there are a couple of tracks on here where it's just sort of there and I don't think it's really anything special, opener Stills for example, but as the album progresses, that becomes less and less of the case. Tracks begin to feel less restrained and more jam-like in structure while falling into and out of his trippy haze. Water Music is possibly one of the most grabbing tracks on here, sounding like classic psychedelic folk in the time between the 70s (when it was still great) and the 80s (when it got really cheesy). It's a very mellow track, it made me think of a lullaby actually, which is possibly why I was drawn to it over almost any other track on the entire disc. The room ambiance is just fantastic, in my opinion anyway, because I like this spacious sort of sound in recordings. The drums just sound huge, but are never overwhelming the organ or guitar, but seem to almost always be on the verge of chaos, once again, adding to that psychedelic atmosphere. It's hard for me to think of anything that would enhance the band's style, because there isn't actually anything wrong about this album (except for the sterile production - which is probably just me), but I think if the band ever wanted to just extend their material into even longer jams, they could pull it off based on I've heard on here.
While the production on here is fine, I think that it does sort of hinder the band in that it doesn't really stand out too much from other records in their "genre". Musically, it's really engaging and interesting, something that I can't say for a lot of modern jazz fusion. If you're a fan of the style, definitely check it out, you're not going to be disappointed.
Overall Score: 8.5
Highlights: Washed Up, InterStatic, Water Music

2012 - Splits VIII

That's right, an entire split collection devoted to new releases from Illinois' darling experimentalist darlings. As always, reviewed from 1-8.

2012 - Post-Metal II

Here comes part two, more post-metal. I can only hope that you find something interesting in these articles. All of these albums are reviewed from 1-10.

2012 - Post-Metal I

No, I'm not starting a series specifically devoted to each genre now, relax. These are just the same as my usual round-ups for releases, whether it happens to be from a label or a certain style or grouping, I just happen to have quite a lot of these sort of records so I decided to just give you a whole bunch of them together. With the exception of the very first album in this list, which is rated from 1-8, all of the rest are rated from 1-10.

Double Review: [ówt krì] & JTrux

Here are two pretty underground drone releases I was sent personally by the artists. I was unaware of either project so I was coming in fresh to both of them, hopefully that was a positive thing for the end result, IE. opinion. Both reviewed from 1-10.

LINEKRAFT - Bouryoku Kikai (2012)

Band: LINEKRAFT
Country: Japan
Style: Harsh Noise/Drone
Label: Black Plagve/Malignant

Japanoise is really something that has become something of a rite of passage for me (maybe it is for others as well). My first introduction into the whole noise genre was through the likes of Merzbow, Masonna, and C.C.C.C. back in something like 2008 or 2009 and since then my occasional exploration of the genre has obviously broadened outside of Japan. I had never heard of LINEKRAFT before now, but seeing as I have never covered any Japanoise projects, I thought now would be a good time (even if it's not Merzbow).
I found this album somewhat hard to penetrate due to the mechanical nature with which most of the sounds are derived from. Industrial and abrasive is one way of putting it, disturbing and torturous is another, depending on your perspective. There are points where this is pure and unrelenting noise assaults, nothing but walls of sonic destruction if you will, but then there are more calm moments where it's somewhat ambient and chilling. Those moments carry with them a sense of unease, more than likely with the industrial clanging and bashing that happens to be all over the record. I honestly can't say that a whole lot of this was as mind-bending as any of the artists I mentioned above, but it did feature this sort of menace that I haven't heard from noise music in a while, most of the artists above have long since past their point of being outwardly destructive and violent. When it's aggressive, it's really in your face, though certainly not without texture and atmosphere. God, do those industrial bits add something eerie when they're used properly.
As one might expect, the epic Jinkaku Shougai/人格障害 is the standout on the record. In it's nineteen minutes, it pretty much shows you a little bit of everything that you'll hear in the smaller and condensed pieces, though at a slower and less spastic pace. There's a little bit of that subtle, dark ambient soundscape sort of stuff, there's the industrial beats, walls of feedback and drones, pretty much what every noise fan would want, except for the intensity. For all the variety and progression that is made in this epic track, the brutality, the emotional violence, all that rage and anger, or sadness, is lost. Sure, there's more than your fare share of aggressive bursts, but if you think that's maintained for the entire nineteen minutes, you're dead wrong. I think doing that, something in the vein of a project like Vomir, might have been interesting, but the shorter tracks, while certainly more intense are way too messy, in a good sense, to maintain that wall of intensity for that long. Frankly, I still think it's a pretty interesting piece, but I know that some might disagree that the loss of brutality and constant aggression might not be worth the extra length and experimentation, or progression.
As a whole, it's decent, not great, but not bad either. In terms of the noise genre I do think that it's certainly interesting enough to warrant at least checking it out. Whether or not you wind up digging this I guess depends on how much noise you've listened to as of late, but it's worth a listen.
Overall Score: 6.5
Highlights: Jinkaku Shougai/人格障害, Kenjyu Jisatsu/拳銃自殺

Agruss - Morok (2012)

Band: Agruss
Country: Rivne, Ukraine
Style: Atmospheric Black/Brutal Death Metal
Label: Code666

As I've said in the past, I have a rather strained relationship with metal from Eastern Europe, so I came into this record kind of nervous. Very rarely have I heard a mixture of black metal and brutal death metal so this did interest me. There's been some pretty decent press for this album and by now, I think I've gotten a good feel for it.
While the fusion of brutal death metal and black metal isn't one that has been done all that often, sure there are blackened death metal bands, but from what I've heard and listened to, the only band who really fused the more brutal, guttural and punishing side of death metal with the atmosphere, tremolo riffs, and diversity of black metal was a rather interesting group by the name of Demoniacal Genuflection. I have so say that in comparing the two bands, I do think Agruss are far more successful at their fusion of the two genres. Agruss manages to keep their black metal side pretty varied, with ideas seeming to come from everything from Enslaved to Deathspell Omega to Mayhem, while their death metal inflections were compared to, in the press notes for the album, to a group like Defeated Sanity, but reminded me a little bit more of Cephalic Carnage, but less weird. The fusion doesn't always work, I think that opener Damnation is a bit messy in its transitions from the chug-heavy brutal sections and the more interesting black metal ones, but the ideas are certainly there. I also think that the vocals do have a tendency to kind of overwhelm the instrumentation. For the most part the vocals are pretty solid and consistent, but when they try and make a screaming part occur at the same time of a guttural growl, they tend to just envelop the majority of the sound.
For a debut album, I have to say that the band certainly have a solid foundation on which to build upon in future recordings. The production is pretty clean and crisp for the area these guys come from, and with the exception of the vocals engulfing things at times, I think the sound is pretty damn good. It's not going to win any awards, but it allows atmosphere to be built pretty naturally from the instrumentation while still giving the band that heavy crunch for the low-end breakdowns. What surprised me even more than the production job however was the inconsistency in the tracks. While songs like the title-track or even the Under The Snow trilogy of tracks where long and adventurous, at times quite winding in their structure, the shorter tracks like Punishment For All or Fire The Savior From Plague, the two shortest tracks on the album, where just all brutality, there was still black metal in their mind you, but it just felt so uninspired and frivolous. I understand shorter tracks aren't supposed to be, and usually aren't, the most interesting tracks on an album, but I just couldn't help feeling a bit let down by how mindless these tracks seemed. Those longer tracks are just so much better at accomplishing various ideas, whether it happens to be building an atmosphere and then breaking it down with the stomach-churning breakdown or the other way around.
It's a pretty solid album and one that I don't think I really expected, even based on reading a couple of other reviews for this album. I think the band are certainly talented and I look forward to hearing what they do next to build on this sound. Fans of both black metal and death metal will find something in this record they like, it's one of those records that could actually appeal to both sides.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: Morok, Under The Snow I, Under The Snow III