CONSUME RED

Having trawled this site for a few years now, I can safely say that I believe that prog has well and truly shown the ability to argument itself with just about any genre, style and concept piece. Ground Zero's Consume Red illustrates one such extreme of genre mixing, being avant prog with noise music. Ultimately, what makes this piece so seminal to noise affectionados, I can only assume, is the consistent building soundscape and atomsphere, driven on by a continuous Korean hojok, which ultimately never changes throughout the epic, 57 minute piece, more develops as the sounds around it take hold, until the ultimate result is that the hojok becomes indistingushable amidst the onslaught of saxophone, guitars, feedback and drums. I will admit, I am not yet a noise fan, but this album has grown on me in ways I hadn't expected. I mean, it's been a good year and a half since I discovered this - and I outright despised it, couldn't get past the length, repetitions of the hojok, and feedback elements.

Now, my opinion couldn't have changed more. I think prog music has opened the door to new and more complex/challenging musical experiences. And Consume Red most definitely fits the bill in both respects. Recommended for fans of noise and all adventurous participants in prog music. Quite possibly not the easiest album to listen to, or the best introduction to the genre, but it has made a deep impression on me, and inspires me to look further into an often ignored, but legitimate genre of music.

For now, it's a four star effort. May rise or fall, but most likely the former, seeing as it's a grower.