HUNDRED SIGHTS OF KOENJI

Their first recording is my last to review. To be quite honest, it's just as brilliant as the other three. Completely unhinged frantic vocals coupled with some real muscle in the form of frantic, erratic drums and bass make this another unforgettable album from these Jap masters of the genre.

Koenjihyakkei were clearly the only band that could ever leave Magma sobbing in a corner, due to their colossal confrontational stance. They are as hard as nails and thankfully had the recording technology to capture their power in its full glory.

Sounding like Magma's fidgety spoilt brat twin, it wails and screams. You know the type - the ones that throw milk bottles from their prams into startled mothers faces.

'100 Sights of Koenji' has a lot more guitars present than future releases where they are gradually replaced by keyboards. This album will either give you a splitting headache or will leave you grinning like Cheshire cat... like me.

The only downside to this great band is the fact that their albums all start to sound a bit similar to each other - as if they've taken things as far as they can and end up battering their heads off of a brick wall in frustration. Maybe that's why they've been silent for the last 5 years...

With no apparent news of a break up, I eagerly await something new from probably the best prog band of the last 15 years.