GALACTUS INTERRUPTUM

The newest Architectural Metaphor album is purely instrumental, and some other reviews of this say it is sort of a 'back to roots' album. I'm not sure what that is intended to mean, but perhaps it references a lack of a female vocalist, something the band has had since their debut album. In any event, Galactus Interruptum is a 77 minute blast of instrumental space rock that shows the band outgrowing the need for a vocalist so the listener can concentrate on the SOUND. Murph has never sounded this deft on any recording, like Terry Bozzio and Bill Bruford having a gentle conversation. One minute it's hypnotic motorik rhythms, one minute it's eye popping runs played with a hyper sensitivity and aggression-a punk rock Mahavishnu Orchestra percussion style? Eggleston brings his widest variety of synthesizer sounds to the table he has ever brought. Although there are no cover songs on this album, you will hear echoes of Tangerine Dream, Hawkwind and Heldon in here. Hypnogogia 0.5mg (a Spiritualized reference?) is one of my favorites. Played at the slowest tempo this band has ever come close to, each pass through finishes with a large sub bass explosion that signals either the death of your new speakers or another pass through the melody. Kozlowski does his best David Gilmour impersonation, straining for every last drop of colour and emotion out of each single note before it disappears back into its feedback cocoon. Other songs are sequencer based, and mellotrons, VCS3, Moogs and other vintage gear give this album a more unique feel. A bit of Tangerine Dream, a bit of Hawkwind-but overall it just has its own sound. Powerful space rock from synths, drums and guitar are the order of the day here. The final track Exegesis is a duet between Eggleston and Kozlowski, an upbeat Klaus Schulze style piece peppered with barely audible audio tapes of NASA talking to astronauts about UFOs just spotted in flight. Maybe that is the hidden theme of this album-listen closely, and you will discover unidentified sonic madness. Dig deep!