Ozric Tentacles release Technicians of the Sacred

Tom Ozric wrote: Lately, when I've gone to bed, I've been using this album to doze off to. I never make it to track 2 !! Either it's that blissfully serene and spacey it puts me to sleep, or just boring. I haven't decided.

I'd go for the former, I find it quite relaxing. DSOTM normally has the same effect on me and I like the album.

Looks like everything else they've done. I'll still give it a whirl though. Good band.

I found their set at the 1993/94 (?) Reading festival on Youtube the other day. I was at that show. They were awesome, and Siouxsie & the banshees were on later, so it was a bloody good day.

^ Correct !!

I don't really understand the criticism. The album is totally enjoyable and has a nice flow to it, more than some of the older albums. Still the OT trademarks are there, the arabic folklore on Epiphlioy for example. By the way Paper Monkeys was also great.

Re some of the comments above, pretty much agree with Tom Ozric  on this one.

Ozrics used to be a lot more interesting and unique than something you could put a generic genre label on, like 'Psytrance'. Compared to the 90's this sounds quite uninspired and lacking the kind of powerful production they were capable of.  Not surprisingly I didn't like Paper Monkeys or YYT either, but I think this is the weakest album yet.

It's not just that it lacks a solid rhythm section and dynamics, or that it's 'too electronic' (not really how I would put it anyway, and I enjoy plenty of 'electronic' music). The problem is also that the compositions just aren't what they used to be.

There's still some nice atmospheres and fantastic synth layering as you would expect, but the context is so off-putting that I just can't listen to it. Some of the better moments sound too much like re-hashes of what's been done better before.








Edited by AlienD - August 15 2015 at 19:02

You know that shreddy 80's Satriani/Vai-ish (well that's how it sounds to me!) guitar style in the heavier parts of the Ozrics albums has always been the sticking point for me personally, Tom, so I think I much prefer the guitar on the MM disc.

Mind you, putting things in perspective, MM have delivered one single album, and the Ozrics many....but WHAT an album

Edited by Aussie-Byrd-Brother - August 01 2015 at 21:19

Well, Tom, we can always fall back on THIS little beauty (matter of fact, I'm spinning it right now! ), the Ozrics sound done right, and better than anything they've done since `The Hidden Step'...and probably worthy of praise as much as the classic Ozrics albums?

Maybe that's the problem for you, Tom....the Ozrics `project' (let's just call it that) have moved on well and truly from that fusion of sounds of the earlier albums. We really should have seen this coming. It's gradually been evolving into a more electronic project for some time now, for better or worse, depending on your music tastes - I'm going with MUCH WORSE in your opinion!

Yes, in many ways it's a shame, but I think there's still plenty that captures the true Ozrics sound in it, and they haven't sounded so modern and focused for some time.

If I had a complaint about TOTS it's that it's a little mellow for my tastes. I'd like a few more sections to go to 11, so to speak.

I spun Tantric Obstacles, which dates from 1985. Utterly brilliant, inspired stuff, powerful enough to re-arrange the order of the universe. Well, that's how it sounded after Technicians.......
Also spun Paper Monkeys, and it too, is much more enjoyable than Technicians. HAD there been a more prominent rhythm section - chunky bass guitar and drum kit, Technicians would be a helluva lot better. Imagine what Zia and Merv could've added to this work ?? So, the compositions themselves aren't bad, Ed knows what he's doing, but I find it all very synthetic with too little input from the other members.