RETORT

After delivering their debut dose of high octane zeuhl meets heavy avant-prog with "Pangaea Proxima," the five-man instrumental band UNIT WAIL followed suit the very next year in 2013 with its sophomore release RETORT which turned up the energy level a few notches. While the debut delivered a veritable dose of Magma inspired zeuhl wrapped up in Franck Fromy's dark and macabre Shub-Niggurath days accompanied by sprinklings of guitar angularities in the vein of Robert Fripp, RETORT takes things into stranger, more surreal and at times heavier musical territory.

Once again all the music was written by keyboardist Vincent Sicot-Vantalon but the overall equation has been skewed with a greater variation in keyboard tricks and atmospheres and what seems like a greater effort to offer more extreme variations of avant-prog time signature workouts. Likewise the guitars are set to a heavier riff oriented mode instead of being confined to the odd background instrument that delved into complex contrapuntal weirdness. With an already demanding and varying debut, RETORT shows just how creative this team of imaginative musicians really was to craft a continuous flow of spicy tracks that offer so many differing stylistic approaches.

Featuring 10 tracks at around 43 minutes of playing time, the tracks are generally set to about 4 minutes but each delivers an array of intricate ideas crammed into each and every cadence. Each instrumentalist has his moment to shine whether it be the guitar-drenched opening "Kakdamon" or the bass slapping ferocity of "Numinosity." Noticeably more subdued is Vantalon's keyboard style this time around and even though it permeates every nook and cranny of the band's overall sound, the keys and synths just seem to take less prominence overall with the lion's share of emphasis going towards Fromy who delivers a veritable mix of mid-70s King Crimson and 90s Anekdoten under one roof.

Perhaps another aspect of RETORT that sets it apart from its predecessor is the fact that many tempos have been increased to make this a truly heavy rock experience for the majority of the album rather than the occasional deviation. It's clearly the same band as the chemistry seems locked in with each instrumentalist finding his way throughout the mix. Somewhat less active this time around is drummer Philippe Haxaire whose drumming seems a little bit more kept on the leash. While not completely devoid of throwing out some serious chops here and there, his role seems to have gravitated more towards rhythm keeper. In fact the entire band sound seems just a little more honed this time around.

There aren't a substantial number of differences to distinguish this album from the debut but they are noticeable to an attentive listener. It goes without saying that if either of these albums appeal to your sensibilities then the other will although having a preference is understandable and personally i think i slightly prefer the debut for whatever reason. It seemed a little more free in its approach whereas this one carries a bit more structure. Of course that all depends on tastes but overall the musicianship is basically delving out the same avant-prog splendor only with less traces of zeuhl this time around and more emphasis on Crimsonian guitar heaviness with discordant feedback and all the strange soloing techniques Fromy can muster up. Overall RETORT is a deliciously dark example of deviant rock that suits my tastes quite well and an excellent followup to its already irresistible debut.