ZENDEN GREENPURP

I THINK I'M GOING SANE (Single)

The third release from ZENDEN GREENPURP isn't another EP and not a full album's worth of material but rather the mere single titled I THINK I"M GOING SANE which doesn't appear on either of the band's two EPs. Perhaps a teaser for a full album and perhaps a curve ball which this band seems to relish in throwing but once again the band dishes out another delectable morsel of psychedelic prog punk metal in its unusual crazed style that has made this band stand out amongst the hoards of musical acts out these days.

This single is rooted more in the world of heavy psychedelic rock although the guitar and compositional style are more of a frantic anarchic punk style but the precision and stamina involved also make it seem more like a metal band. Once again this mindfu.c.kers offer a psychotic display of frenetic musical mastery in cahoots with Jack Brissenden's insane asylum vocal style that's part Mr Doctor of Devil Doll, part Captain Beefheart and part narrator for Phantom Of The Opera. The band offers the perfect mix of elements and although this single is significantly different than anything on the EPs, this one seems to have a more "normal" flow. While still proggy it's not as incessantly bombastic in that department.

The title is brilliant actually as I THINK I'M GOING SANE casts some serious irony as the band comes off as utterly insane! This band has really come out of nowhere and i'm quite fascinated by its unique approach and stamina to pull it off in such heaviness and fast tempo fury. Sounding like no other act i've ever heard the ZENDEN GREENPURPS have really weaseled their way onto my fave band list rather quickly. Innovative and uncompromising, this is a band to watch out for in the future as two EPs and a single show the band has the chops and the creative fortitude to continue crafting interesting music without burning out. This single is no exception. Long live the PURPS!

DARKSPACE LTD. EP

ZENDEN GREENPURP hit the Reading, England scene in 2021 and has been dazzling their fellow Brits ever since with some of the most wild and kooky music that seems like the chimeric forging of Devil Doll, The Doors, Captain Beefheart and well?. The Rocky Horror Show! This theatrical heavy psychedelic prog act debuted with its three track debut "Quadrillionth" which featured a bizarre mix of proggy punk, proggy metal and proggy psychedelic rock completely brought to the insane asylum by the strange histrionic vocal eccentrics of lead singer Jack Brissenden who sound like he just may have escaped from the local looney bin and jumped on stage to sing with a band he just met!

The GREENPURPS return in 2024 with a brand spankin' new EP titled DARKSPACE LTD. of yet again only three tracks and while the band's overall stylistic approach hasn't shifted gears too much, there are a few differences which allow the two EPs to stand apart somewhat. This album features a lot more mellowed out moments with piano based melodies finding smooth synthesized atmospheres that offer some downtime from the frenetic discharge of adrenalized psych rock run amok. While still difficult to actually differentiate if this is punk based or more in the realms of metal as the heavy chord stomping and occasional solo take it out of the world of punk completely, the right answer seems to be simply a heavy psychedelic display of avant-proggy excess totally run amok.

The tempos are a bit slowed down on DARKSPACE LTD at least at key moments that offer more contrast than the balls to the wall frantic debut which didn't seem to let the foot off the gas for even the tiniest of moments. While the heavy prog psych punky metal is still fully implemented on this second EP offering, ZENDEN GREENPURP offers more contrast and in that regard this second coming reminds me of Mr Doctor and his Devil Doll act even more so than the first. While the opening "Back Album Cover" evokes a lot of the heavy romping that the debut offered, the second track "Beautiful Dread Eyes" is a lot different with a more gothic feel with creepy melodic scales and Brissendon belting out crazed dialogue like an insane clown trying to escape a psychotic circus scenario.

The closing "Void Observation Technician" turns up the distorted grungy guitar heft again allowing the bantering bass and bombastic percussion to enter the realms of metal madness. Once again crazed vocals hop, skip and jump over the steady rhythmic drive with crazy time signature psychedelic keyboard runs frenetically whiz up and down the scales. The album also finds small respites of just atmospheric backdrops with the vocals becoming more of a whispered craziness rather than bleated, bellowed or clownishly squealed. The track also offers some creepy interludes and a wider breadth of tempos, timbres and dynamics offered than the previous two tracks. This track sort of encompasses everything the band has dabbled in so far and crafts a feisty little smorgasbord of frantic freakiness unlike anything else you could ever possibly experience in the vast realms of the music universe.

Wow! Two EPs in and ZENDEN GREENPURP is one of my favorite bands of all time as these guys dish out everything i love about a band. They are unique, creative, excellent musicians, brilliant composers and have seamlessly melded various genres together as if they all melted together like butter in a heated up pan. The band also has the perfect strategy of keeping you hungry after the three songs so you actually want more! One of the coolest bands to hit the scene anywhere in the 2020s if you ask me. A bit unclassifiable but psychedelic prog punk metal would do the trick. Whether these guys are going to keep cranking out EPs or have a full album in the works is anybody's guess but i certainly will be waiting for whatever these guys have crafted on planet freak-a-zoid. What can i say except i love this band!

QUADRILLIONTH EP

One of the latest sensations that has been captivating the Reading, England scene and beyond in the last few years has been the strange mutant artistry of a band called ZENDEN GREENPURP which is the unifying force of maniacal vocalist Jack Brissenden, bassist Bret Colloff, guitarist Harry Jones and Dan Postin on drums. Cranking out a strange musical gallimaufry of gauche yet gallant exhibitions of heavy psychedelic prog that mixes the disparate fantasy words of theatrical prog metal with anarchic thrash punk replete with frenetic time signature changes and high octane insanity sounding something like the Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Devil Doll, The Doors and maybe Captain Beefheart?!!!

Anyway you slice it, ZENDEN GREENPURP stands out in a burgeoning world where every sort of musical hybridization has taken place which is no easy feat and even more impressive that the band is actually fun to listen to! Wait, what? Music is supposed to be fun? Only hitting the scene in 2021, the maniacal four has also wisely not pummeled us with sprawling epic albums to woo in their audiences but rather has taken the old fashioned route by winning fans over with crazy energetic live performances followed by a series of short EPs that whet your appetite for more! Sounds like these guys have a clue in how to navigate the music-rich world we find ourselves in today. So far releasing three EPs none of which are over 20 minutes, this one, QUADRILLIONTH is the debut that came out in 2022.

This explosive set of three tracks immediately slaps you in the face and makes you take notice with thrashy punk rock guitar grooves bashing you over the head in cahoots with crazed psychedelic 60s that would could rise Jim Morrison from his grave. Of course the most glaring and in your face aspect of the GREENPURPs is the eccentric and demented vocal style of Jack Brissenden who is as stark raving mad as GG Allin only with the histrionic outbursts of Mr Doctor of Devil Doll however Brissenden maintains a frenetic speed that would puts all the competition in their place as the speed-worshipping musicians keep the music fast and furious thus blurring the distinctions between psychedelic rock, progressive metal and anarchic punk. Is it a Broadway show parodying Phantom Of The Opera or is it the evil illegitimate offspring of Frank Zappa finally making his public appearance? One things for sure, you haven't heard anything like this before!

QUADRILLIONTH only consists of three mere tracks that add up to a mere 16 minutes but i swear that after you are stung by the idiosyncratic mindfu.c.k that is ZENDEN GREENPURP you will either run in terror donning your crucifix high in the air or embrace the erratic mad genius at play. Right out of the gates the declarative "Take On The World" is almost a manifesto of intent for world domination followed by the illustrious psycho-punk antics of "Limitless Power," the GREENPURPs do indeed sound drunk on pure adrenalized ambition and one that expresses itself in a frenetic outrageousness so rare in rock music these days. As the EP closes with "Doctor Obnoxious" the lyrical deliveries become even more crazed with schizophrenic bouts of blitzkrieg poetic prose in tandem with horrific screaming, goofy yelps and clownish gleeful tirades that leave your head spinning and after all is said and done making you question your own sanity.

One of the most original bands i've heard in a long time, ZENDEN GREENPURP is as distinct as the Cardiacs, as schizoid as Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica" and as freakin' weird as Ween! My kinda psychedelic pschyo punk metal on steroids! Perhaps the closest thing i can even come up with in comparison is a more psychotic version of the 70s prog punk / glam rock group Zolar X famous for dressing up like aliens and crafting a similar style of punk / metal / prog / psych and eccentricity. Of the first two EPs, QUADRILLIONTH is by far the most manic and unapologetically schizoid with crazy avant-prog inspired time signatures punctuating every punk-infused cadence and every molten metal motif. A true downed power line in the pond effect, this one with an incessant energetic drive that is absolutely unhinged!

I've seen Zenden Greenpurp do a number of gigs in Reading and London in 2024, and they really have been fantastic experiences. Their music is fast, slow, loud, quiet, serious and ridiculous. All at the same time, but not in the same time signature. The first track on Darkspace is Black Album Cover, which begins with a dark brooding menace that quickly escalates into some quite terrifying vocal theatrics. A short instrumental passage is then followed by what sounds like a descent into madness. The pace then quickens and the excitement builds. Synth makes a surprise appearance, and then the excitement really builds. But suddenly there's a pause, as the vocalist opines "there is no other way, except forwards". And then for the climax, and what a climax! I'm sitting here with my headphones on and waves of sound are coming at me from all directions, one after the other. Exhilarating. Beautiful Dead Eyes is the shortest track on the EP, and it certainly continues the theme of atmospheric menace. I've no idea what any of this is actually about, but understanding poetry has never been my strong point. The third and final track is Void Observation Technician, and it's my personal favourite. It does take a few listens to really appreciate. It starts with an ominous drumbeat and then the tempo suddenly quickens and then the guitars come in. Then the vocals hit and we're away! This is extreme prog and I'm loving it. And then, just when you're settling into some melody, we are thrusted back into mania. It finishes with a quirky "tum te tum te tum". Is that a nod to Genesis? I would categorise Zenden Greenpurp as "progressive melodrama". I think that bands like this are pushing the boundaries of prog and I want more.