USES WRIST GRAB

This is an album that emerged from a highly unusual creative process, in which the three musicians recorded their contributions in different studios at different times - Hugh Hopper wasn't even on the same continent as his bandmates when the album was made. While this is not entirely unprecedented in some of the more abstract realms of electronic music, it's hardly standard practice for a power trio where interplay between the musicians is a crucial factor. What makes this album truly remarkable is that it sounds like most of the tracks were recorded live in the studio, the three players striking sparks off each other in a tiny room with sweat dripping off the ceiling.

First and foremost, this album is as hard as titanium and it rocks like an earthquake. There's a lot of depth to the compositions, and there's enough musical complexity to satisfy most RIO/Avant prog fans, but it's also a joyous celebration of the raw power that is contained in electric guitar, bass and drums. All 3 musicians play with a combination of extreme skill and skull shattering heaviness, with the emphasis on ensemble performance; there are no passages where one of the players takes an extended solo while the others hold down the beat (although Hotel Romeo is entirely performed on drums, while bizarrely not really sounding like a drum solo). The drumming at times recalls the primal beats that have underpinned OOIOO's recent albums, while Hugh Hopper's bass stalks through the arrangements like a hungry predator and Nick Didkovsky's guitar work sounds like Robert Fripp would after a month of living on nothing but Jack Daniels and raw steak. There are occasional quieter moments - the picture needs both light and shade in order to succeed - but even here the impression is of a tightly coiled spring; the phrase 'laid back' clearly meant nothing during these sessions. There's also a directness and urgency in evidence that is sometimes lacking in the dry intellectualism of bands like Forever Einstein.

Anyone who likes Massacre, Ruins or Thrakkattak style King Crimson will find much to enjoy on this album, and it can be recommended to any metal heads who may fancy dipping a toe into RIO/Avant prog. This is one to PLAY LOUD and let the sound reverberate inside your chest - you know it makes sense. Recommended.