COMBAT ASTRONOMY

Founded in 1998 as a solo project of James Huggett, the jagged musical soundscapes of COMBAT ASTRONOMY soon began with the industrial harsh noise debut "Psychedelic Failure" and then slowly but surely adopted musical elements of rhythm and industrial grit with "Lunik." Over the ensuing years, COMBAT ASTRONOMY has slowly sucked up the various musical genres of avant-garde jazz, math rock, brutal prog, no wave and zeuhl into its insatiable appetite driven focus on making bizarre industrialized noise-scapes and continues to unleash these wild experimental beasts onto the world in the current calendar year 2024.

METHOD AND TRAP is the band's latest and these days a well fortified band effort features an arsenal of instrumentation and a crushing brutal heft to its industrial-tinged bouts of bleakness. This latest effort follows in the footsteps of 2021's "Shamanic Insurgency" and continues the bizarre musical amalgamations of freaky dark jazz, avant-prog curveballs and industrial noise rock based detachment. This latest concoction features seven tracks of minimalist intensity in the vein of a wild and unthinkable orgy of sounds extracted from Guapo, Godflesh, tribal ambient acts and even doom metal. Noisy processions offer rhythmic marches through a series of noisy atmospheres and avant-garde extravaganzas.

Both heavy and repetitive and entirely instrumental, METHOD AND TRAP delivers the usual stab of a murky underworld where avant-garde darkened jazz somehow becomes one with avant-garde metal, industrial noise and bizarre tribal ambient percussion. A novel and exciting idea to say the least, COMBAT ASTRONOMY definitely found its own little niche that as far as i'm aware none have dared follow. Noise and confusion is the name of this game and it's almost impossible to tell what the hell is the point of all this! What we find is a beefy heavily distorted bass groove not too distant from early Swans, Godflesh or 80s no wave bands. Add to that industrial guitar noises that elicit an unsettling noisy backdrop will the keys and drones linger on in the background. COMBAT ASTRONOMY almost sounds like a Japanese noise rock band only Huggett grew up in England and now resides in the St Paul region of Minnesota.

This is a hypnotic style of industrial rock that verges on metal but doesn't quite get there. It calls it free jazz but the instruments are so muddled in filth and muck that it doesn't sound like jazz either. The minimalist approach allows the rhythmic marches to extend to infinity with only strange sounds from above breaking the monotony. Spoken samples and trippy keyboards add to the overall texture while creepy industrial sounds sort of ooze in and out of the jittery percussive drive without warning. Overall this is a very strange band and METHOD AND TRAP simply delivers another slice of this band's outside ethos that has kept it firmly rooted in the experimental underground for its entire existence.

This really is creepy music. The impending darkness that hits you from every angle. The unnerving percussive beats, the jangling guitar Fred Frith-ian freneticism and the eerie ambient accoutrements is the perfect recipe for soundtracks to a nightmare. Perhaps the closest i can think of to compare is the earliest of offerings of the German act Einstürzende Neubauten but just as i think the album surrenders to post-industrial ambient bleakness, another track will deliver a hefty dose of grungy guitar and bass workouts taking it to the world of noise rock. A nice varied mix of freakery which keeps COMBAT ASTRONOMY on the radar for all the noise freaks out there but as cool as this album is and the band's sound in general, is just shy of making it a completely essential musical experience. For those who love simplicity and a direct musical flow sort of style then you will probably devour this like roadkill. Enjoy.

A big thanks to Ian who has recommended this band at different times over the years. COMBAT ASTRONOMY play an Avant style of music, quite dark with bassoon. This gets tagged with "Brutal Prog" as well with those heavy, distorted sounds that are quite prominent at times here. What a pleasant surprise it was to hear Elaine Di Falco's voice who many will know from THINKING PLAGUE and HUGHSCORE. Plenty of electronics, programmed sounds, horns which are usually dissonant, flute and bass flute, electric piano and the usual rock instruments. A 5 piece band out of the USA this album really scratched an itch for me a few weeks ago and has received lots of spins as a result.

The first two songs really start the album off the right way in my opinion with Elaine's reserved vocals not sounding as RIO as with THINKING PLAGUE. "Lightning In Her Eyes" with the brutal sounds as vocals join in. Just a catchy sound believe it or not with vocals standing out with the heaviness. "Touch The Moon" is even better in my opinion. More laid back with plenty of vocals again and I like the vocal arrangements here. Oh and the electric piano is a nice touch. "I Can't Breathe" is quite heavy with reserved vocals and electric piano standing out. I like the vocal melodies late.

"Alive Inside Eternity" opens heavily with spoken words then dissonant horns take over along with some experimental sounds. It settles some after 4 minutes but there's these screaming sounds. It turns heavier again as a loud humming arrive then more horns, bass and electric piano. It kicks back in again. "Sentinel" is the longest at almost 17 minutes. This is such a trip. High pitched horn sounds cry out of the dark atmosphere. Pretty cool. Heaviness around a minute with vocals in tow. It settles right down after 6 1/2 minutes before rising up again before 8 minutes. Horns to the fore after 9 1/2 minutes. Lots of dissonance here and vocals return a minute later. It settles again around 11 minutes, slow and heavy before picking up with vocals, flute and more. Check out the bass horn too.

Combat Astronomy's albums which I've heard all have one thing in common; no matter what else may be present in the band's instrumentation, the crushing, Meshuggah-esque bass and drum interplay which first drew me to be a fan of the group's previous album is still around, and still going strong. That's about where the similarities to Meshuggah end, though. Along with the crushing bass and drums, we're presented with some very interesting free-jazz horn action and some spacey sounds (keyboards, electronics, etc.?). The album is entirely instrumental this time around, no vocals (either wordless or with lyrics) anywhere to be found.

The music on display here calls to mind such groups as Zu, Magma, Meshuggah (I know I've already mentioned them), and could most simply be described as brutal avant-jazz rock/metal. The group's got a formula figured out which works well for me, seeming to meld together bits and pieces of styles from various groups I enjoy, while leaving out some parts which don't quite appeal to me as much (Meshuggah's vocals, for instance). As a bassist and general fan of rhythm sections, I personally LOVE the bass and drum intensity displayed within the music on this album. Polyrhythms abound, the bass has a nice, chunky distorted sound going for it, and together they lay a rock-solid groundwork for the wind instruments/keyboards/etc. to do their thing over.

I'd definitely recommend this album to fans of any of the above groups, especially fans of Zu and Meshuggah, along with any fans of fuzzed-out, distorted, heavy bass. That's one element which you must enjoy, because it will dig its way into your brain one way or another. Another advantage to enjoying this album is an appreciation of free/avant jazz horns, including squonking sax. If you enjoy both of those elements, then I'd highly suggest checking out Flak Planet. Not a flat-out masterpiece, but still a very solid 4-star album.

My first taste of Combat Astronomy. This group goes for that 'brutal' sound that some modern avant bands are into. The dominant instrument here is the loud distorted bass. It gets a bit much after awhile; it would have been nice if there was a little more variation. In addition to the bass there is some drums, wordless vocals and wind instruments(saxes, clarinet). There is also some electronics added as well.

The album begins with a female voice that reminds me of Il Balleto di Bronzo's Ys album. "Parallax Of One Arc Second" opens with a nice mix of acoustic piano and electric piano. Then the bass and drums come in and drown that all out. Things get better with the wordless female vocals and the saxes. "Eating Backwards" has a cool title. Starts with some good spacey effects. Some sax skronking at the end. The title track is divided in three parts, the second part being the most interesting. More mellow than the other two parts. The vocals in the third part are pretty good. "The Atrocity Commission" is the longest song. Starts out with a 'brutal' sounding part, and then a long less intense section with winds, piano and effects. Goes back to the 'brutal' part later. Interesting percussion sounds near the end.

Sometimes the music sounds like a slowed down Ruins. The bass and drums are in your face and rarely let anything else breathe. Recommended to those who like the heavier, noisier end of modern avant-prog. A good effort but nothing spectacular. 3 stars.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from something called like that. Some kind of Dark Space Prog. And from the first seconds of quite monotonous (but haunting nevertheless) song Astralized, we know what this will be about.

After all, Space is dark place, isn't it ?

Monotonous, hypnotic riff remains in these songs. What is the most interesting for Avant lovers, well, probably nerve scratching saxophone which really shines in some songs (needed spicing of them). Title suite Earth Divided by Zero starts like very Hard Rock riff with some keyboards joining later. It creates haunting combination (and saxophone kicks in soon afterwards), because number of instruments used on this album grants either big weird chaos, or new horizons of music (it's up to you and your likings).

Oriental like rhythms are available when noisy music calms down (so you can hear them) and this all sounds very interesting, only that I cannot find it as enjoyable as I would like. Because this album takes strong personality (or special persona with special tastes) to like it.

3(-), maybe in future.

EDIT: Maybe shot (not).

Crushing music. Ever heard that term? Probably yes and in most instances, you'd figure, the adjective refers to whatever sort of metal music, hardcore, deathcore, grindcore. Well that is a term I would use for some of these and several recent albums I listened to from these styles do in fact seem to crush down upon you with blistering guitars and drumming, threatening to pulverize your ears. In this case however, we are not talking about a metal band, but about a band that is as heavy sounding and boasts a crushing quality to their music. James Huggett is the American musician who started combat Astronomy. Before that, James was recording electronic music, incorporating noise and industrial styles, which would be incorporated into the sound of Combat Astronomy. Lunik from 2001 is the first release from the band. A limited CD-R release in a DVD box, it was a harsh sounding record with tribal patterns, loops and noise. In 2005 the album, The Dematerialized Passenger, was released. In here James resumed guitar playing, and the foundation of the compositions became the sound for which Combat Astronomy is known for: a rough and granular bass sound around which revolve the rest of the wide range of instrumentation: guitar, electronics, saxophones, clarinet, violin, bassoon and flute with programmed drums. This album was the beginning of the collaboration with Martin Archer, a British multi-instrumentalist and composer. Mick Beck (bassoon; also plays on Dreams No Longer Hesitate) and Charlie Collins (flute) also took part in the recording. In 2008, an expanded lineup released Dreams No Longer Hesitate. From Caveman Shoestore, came Elaine di Falco (vocals, piano), Mike Ward (flute, bass flute), Myrrhia Resneck (baritone saxophone) and the aforementioned Martin Archer and Mick Beck. The live band has had several lineups, which can be seen on the band's myspace page.

Coming back to the crushing matter, this is evident from the very start of the album. Be prepared to play with the bass knob on your system. The music doesn't wait for any introduction; it just goes straightforward and immediately punches its way through your ear canals. Aside from the layers of instrumentation here, there are wonderful noises added to the mix that makes the music creepy and eerie. Listen to this album late at night in the dark, and you've got yourself a recipe for nightmares. Elaine's voice goes perfectly hand in hand with the spooky and bizarre sound of the music; her voice is determined and yet soft in a way and thus complementing the aggressiveness of the music in its most ferocious parts and also its more dreamy segments (which are as powerful, such as in Touch The Moon). The music, taking as much from fusion and zeuhl as it does from rock and metal, is an amalgam of styles, combined very well into one cohesive approach. It is not, however, an endless series of sonic blows to the head. There are moments where it ponders, where it seems to expand horizontally and not only move forward unmercifully. At times this may even remind of shoegaze-styled bands with the slower pace and with a hypnotic endless sound or repetitive sequence. Perhaps the most crushing part here is I Can't Breath. The bass will sound as if it's about to come out of the speakers and break everything in its path. If ever a song gave the exact impression of its title, this is it. The repetitive extremely heavy pounding is a fascinating musical rendering of suffocation (whether mentally or physically). As the song moves on, the drumming gives a highly rhythmic pattern and Elaine's vocals are played with to overlap and thus creating a weird otherworldly sound, with a hypnotic characteristic. This is high-energy shoegaze music. In Alive Inside Eternity, there is wonderful free-jazz saxophone playing with wonderful weird sounding ornaments by the flute and the familiar hyperactive rhythmic drive and dominant (or rather ruling) bass. As the music progresses, it becomes more and more intense, faster and roams unapologetically throughout. It gets more and more insane by the minute, more powerful. The repetitive nature can give an impression of a dark and malevolent ritual going on. This is brutal music.

I think you get the idea by now, right? While upon initial listening it might sound all the same and the songs a repetition of themselves, repeated concentrated listening is required. The nuances and individuality of each song and composition will then be revealed and will allow for a greater satisfying listen. I for one highly enjoy this album and recommend getting the previous one, The Dematerialized Passenger, as well. Highly recommended for those looking for dark and eerie avant-rock, with elements of doom-metal, shoegaze, fusion and zeuhl; for fans of Magma, The Red Masque (especially Fossil Eyes) and Sunn O))).

This album's main sonic signature consists of some pretty hefty math-metal riffs played on a ridiculously downtuned fretless bass (James Huggett, who also provides the various keyboards textures and drums) augmented by the ethereal vocals of Elaine di Falco (of Hughscore 'fame') and bleating horn arrangements of UK jazz musician Martin Archer.

There are a few lazy comparisons you could draw to other bands, but this is really a group with its own sound. While nominally situated in the RIO/avant-prog genre, comparisons could also be drawn to the relentless odd-meter pummelling of Meshuggah, the relentless industrial groove of Godflesh (if they turned prog of course) and the upfront double-tracked bass would also not be out of place in many zeuhl bands.

There is a hypnotic quality about this disc; there is a momentum to the longer tracks ('Sentinel' especially) that you rarely hear outside of space-rock/jam bands. The off-kilter riffs repeat and twist on themselves often for minutes at a time, with the vocals and horns 'on top' of the mix. The result is often thrilling. There are a few moments of respite, though - my personal favourite from this album 'Touch The Moon' and piano-led closer 'Ordinary Miracles' are quite beautiful pieces of music.

This album comes reccommended for anyone looking for something unique; brutal, rhythmic, ethereal and actually quite tuneful at times. A little more variation wouldn't go amiss for their next album, but I look forward to hearing anything from this band in the future. The only thing I can imagine that would turn off some listeners is free-jazz element to the group.