THE END OF THE BEGINNING

"The End Of The Beginning" is NEXT ORDER's sixth 'live-recorded' album. In this creation, their playstyle and soundscape have got more deeper, more kaleidoscopic, and more crystallized, let me say.

The first track "Beyond The West Side Hill" ... what an impressive shot Gori's first drumming be, that is followed by mellow jazz rock scape spreading out based upon Atsutomo's deeper bass swamp. One of different manners from their previous work is that they could stir up dreamy, psychedelic guitar sounds and strict, rigid and heavy, deep rhythm riffs, without separating them into several components. Such a mixture like a renowned bottle of blended whisky can get much appreciated by lots of jazz rock fans, methinks. Also "The Beginning" has two opposite sides of stories - stillness and movement are well harmonized, amazingly. Down tempo in this stuff cannot let us down because of such an altered states of appearance.

The opening of "Killer Hornet-2" reminds me something stoner like recent Napalm Death or Kyuss. Although splendid improvised drumming by Gori passes through in the middle part, basically three guitarists (especially Yuji?) play aggressively and violently here and there. Cannot help feeling their appearance as mad scientists, very cool indeed. Anyway, Let's relax our muscles in the shoulders in the following track "Unknown Seed", featuring Takumi's spoken guitar. Comfortable structures can be felt amongst sharp-edged jazz-rock-ish strokes. No difficult thought needed in this one, please leave yourself into the seed garden. 'Kaleidosoundscape' can be heard as the previous album "Live-Intensified" ... guess it's their characteristic upon playing.

"Precise Rewind" ... interesting title really. Suppose they played precisely as the tape into reverse. Actually not difficult to listen to like the title, but very smooth, precious, and atmospheric one. Their precise, well-calculated production and play should make us feel so, I guess. And as the title says, "Paradigm Shift" notifies us their drastic alteration into heavily guitar-based hard progressive rock (sometimes swift, and sometimes stoner). Their stage with colourful gems called soundscape can be enjoyed fully, we can understand via their theatrical development.The following "Pound For Pound" is in the same vein and they might squeeze lots of heavy / metal rock elements into this shortest track ... the latest speed 'kick' might have knocked the audience out obviously I imagine (yeah Gorieeee!). The last "Frogs And Hay", completely upon the opposite ground to the previous two, can be suitable for a stable ending of strongly intentional jazz rock / fusion by them, with some tips of hard shuffles of guitars / drums.

Some reverberatory images and overtones all around should notify us we can but attend their 'real' gig.