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TIME MACHINE

Dzyan

Krautrock


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Dzyan Time Machine album cover
3.76 | 102 ratings | 18 reviews | 18% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1973

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Kabisrain (7:59)
2. Magika (8:45)
3. Light Shining Out Of Darkness (3:13)
4. Time machine (17:47)

Total Time: 37:44

Line-up / Musicians

- Eddy Marron / acoustic, 6- & 12-string guitars, baglama, vocals
- Reinhard Karwatky / bass, double bass, Super String synth
- Peter Giger / drums, percussion

Releases information

Artwork: Helmut Wenske

LP Bellaphon - BLPS 19161 Q (1973, Germany)

CD Bellaphon - 288·09·108 (1993, Germany)
CD Long Hair - LHC142 (2014, Germany) Remastered by Jörg Scheuermann

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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Buy DZYAN Time Machine Music



DZYAN Time Machine ratings distribution


3.76
(102 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(18%)
18%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(44%)
44%
Good, but non-essential (28%)
28%
Collectors/fans only (8%)
8%
Poor. Only for completionists (2%)
2%

DZYAN Time Machine reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
4 stars As Dzyan's first album was more or less a studio/one-time project, the first line-up did not survive the album's release. So the group was reduced to a very-different trio with only Karwataky remaining from the previous one. In came Giger on drums and percussions and Eddy Marron on guitars. Graced with a full psych artwork representing their tree-bordered paths, this album is one of Germany's most acclaimed instrumental jazz-fusion album. It was recorded in the Dieter Dierks studios and released on the very collectible Bacillus label.

Made of three tracks, the first side starts on the superb 8-min ethnic-sounding Kabisrain with a distinct Indian influence. The following almost 9-min Magika is much harder to swallow/ingest as it starts out on a wild drum intro, and it never really lets up until its end. The tracks often veers dissonant and limit atonal, but does remain accessible (more so than Crimson's Moonchild or Providence) to most and in its second part the guitar does take the track into more conventional improv grounds, but still remains uneasy reminding some of Nucleus's Belladona works. The third (and much shorter) Light Shining Out Of Darkness is quite a change as it veers Flamenco-jazz in a way that Metheny or DeLucia would not disown. Easily the album's most accessible track.

A sidelong monster title track with its 18 minutes fills the flipside. The track can be seen as a manic Mahavishnu Orchestra meeting a brass-less Nucleus. If the track remains relatively on the subject, avoiding useless lengthy soloing, it does not avoid some lengths especially that Marron's guitars are the only fronting soloing instrument. However the track veers around the 1é-min mark and presents a very repetitive riff that makes the last 6 minutes a bit minimalist, but also a bore.

While Dzyan's second album is well in the line of their first album, it is more "concise", precise and urgent than the debut album.

Review by hdfisch
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars 4,5 stars really!

Dzyan was for me one of the best less known Krautrock bands and none of their three albums was a real flaw. The music on here sounds very much improvised on the one hand but as well very enjoyable and rather accessible on the other hand. First track "Kabisrain" actually does not posess something what we usually call structure in a song but still the music presented here is quite enjoyable though rather avantgardistic sounding with a strong oriental touch. Really nicely played acoustic guitar mixed with a bunch of strange keyboard sounds reminding at times very much to Tibetian temple tunes. "Magika" is much different from the first one, much more up-beat,played on electric guitar,bass and drums and slightly reminiscent of ZAPPA. Really hard to decide whether they practised this before or it's fully improvised. Anyway a very enjoyable track as well! The third one, the short "Light Shining Out Of Darkness" is the most mellow and cheerful sounding one of all 4 tracks. It's all acoustically played on Spanish guitar and this one does not sound improvised at all. A very beautiful yet quite complex tune. The title track is the longest and certainly the best and most sophisticated track on here. I am not a musician, so I'm far away from being competent to judge whether it's possible to play something like this by improvising. I just can say if they did they must have been incredibly talented and skilled musicians. It's just awesome and I was fully blown away right after the first listen. A very much grooving and jamming piece of music with excellent guitar / bass play and great drumming/percussion. Despite its running time of over 17 minutes this piece does not become boring and pointless as it's the case with some other side-long tracks at any moment.

Though I decided to lower my initial 5 star-rating done in an admittedly euphoric mood I still would recommend this record highly to any Kraut and Jam Rock fan. Probably not a masterpiece of prog in general but anyway a real unpolished gem and an excellent addition to any prog collection.

Edited 7/7/2006

Review by memowakeman
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars An improvisation trip?

I dont really know, but i have listened to it several times, and im still thinking that those guys gathered one day, and started jamming or something, and took their instruments to make an improvisation album, there are of course some moments that you will notice it was practised many times, but the most of the album shows us a strange ,weird, fine and mind blowing impro sound, also this album is completely instrumental.

I`m not a Krautrock expert at all, so i can`t say if this album keep the rules of a krautrock sound (if there`s a rule), at the same time i can`t recommend it saying that it is recommendable to kraut fans, but anyway here is the review.

"Kabisrain", the first song is obligated to give a good impresion , if so, you will keep listening to the album , but if not, maybe you will create your own limited vision about it, in this case i found this song very challenging, it has a magnific acoustic guitar sound throughout the song, not chords, i mean it doenst have a "rythm" that you would remind because as i said above it sounds like an improvisation, suddenly you will hear keyboards making soft and strange soundscapes, meanwhile guitar is being torn by his fingers, i dont really know if you are understanding my point of view, but i hope, it`s only my feeling.

"Magika" starts a bit faster, with bass, guitars and drums making the same ryhtm at the same time, it sounds more practised at the beggining, but during the song intruments are loosing in it`s own way, you will hear guitar in this side, percussion in the other side, and if you are a musician, you will smile when you listen to this. It has it`s high and lows, also you will find a bit jazzy sound, nice song.

"Light Shining Out of Darkness" is the shortest of them all, here again that spanish guitar returns to kick asses, im not saying that it`s a super sound, but easily i remember Di Meola or Mclaughlin making their guitars shooting us. This is maybe the "happiest" song with also a little folkish passage.

"Time Machine" after the shortest, the longest , the last, and the best song of the album . It starts with a soft drum sound, giving us a clear jazz sound, then guitar and bass enters to the song again like a jazz trio, this is when your mind is tripping, and your senses kneel down to the sound, when the progressive rock and jazz gives you a real reason of why this kind of music is so appreciated and beautiful, a song that you might enjoy a lot, not boring in any part, with a touch of sax, and after a slow tempo, it changes to an "always-playing" sound, the moment where you wont stop moving your head or your feet, i dont know, the fact is that it`s great, it show us clearly the quality of musicians.

So after that, i really liked this album, and i repeat i dont know if that was an improvisation or not, but it`s great, so i`d like to recommend it to any prog fan who wants to experience something different to the "usual" prototype of progressive rock, 3 stars for me, because it is not a masterpiece,nor essential, but why not a good addition. Enjoy your trip!

Review by philippe
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Dzyan represents an awesome combination of Eastern inspired motifs and ultimate "acid" jazz improvisations. Considered to be the best Dzyan effort "Time Machine" is much more progressive than the others and largely neglect the dreamy / trance-like vibrations of "electric silence". "Kabisrain" opens this freak out jazz rock collection with an atmospheric sound full of acoustic guitars, eastern harmonies and cymbals. A weird, avant-folk ambience prevails. "Magika" is a wonderful, colourful psychedelic jazz excursion with many complex rhythmical variations. The musical level is similar to Return to Forever at their submit. After four minutes the tempo goes slower with a magnificent chromatic guitar work. The drum and bass guitar accompaniment is as precise as consistent. A few amazing, groovy effects come into the "trip". "Light shining out of darkness" is a mixture of speed acoustic guitar sequences (exploring McLaughlin's guitar playing) with a world and jazzy feel. The last track is deserved to fusion jazz, including nice instrumental demonstrations and some melodic guitar parts. A progressive, propulsive, "delirious" jazz rock. Very good.
Review by oliverstoned
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Each one of the three Dzyan albums is different. While the first one is of English inspiration, with much vocals and an obvious canterburyan influence, the last one, "Electric silence" is in the best german cosmic tradition. "Time machine" is somewhere between. The first piece is a "worldprog"/ indoprog cosmic masterpiece. The album's following is in a more canterburyan vein, a highly technical jazzrock (purely instrumental) of the best level, very impressive. It's probably their best album in term of production as well. A success.
Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars The band has changed a lot since their debut a year earlier, as only the bassist Reinhard Karwatky is left. The vocals are gone thankfully and their sound has changed quite a bit as well. Enter the sitar and more of an Eastern flavour as the result. I much prefer this one over the debut. By the way I really like the cover art, the image of driving down this tree-lined road gives us a clue that we are in a for a real trip with this album. I should mention that the new guitarist on this one is Eddy Marron who played for the psychedelic band VITA NOVA from Austria, and he adds a ton of talent to this record.

"Kabisrain" is probably the most difficult track to get into as it has no real melody just a lot of sounds that come and go. You can hear gongs, tambourine, acoustic guitar, keyboard sounds, sitar, zaz, super string and percussion. This is really a head trip, very experimental. "Magika" starts out in a more traditional manner with guitar and drums.This really impressed me the first time i heard it because it showed me how well these guys can play. They just rip it up, and the drumming especially is outstanding. It's like organized chaos after a while. After 3 minutes we get some keys that are followed up with an atmospheric section. Dissonant guitar sounds as well as bass outbursts come and go. The guitar sounds amazing 5 1/2 minutes in, as does the drumming. The bass is prominant late. Great,great track. "Light Shining Out Of Darkness" features some cool sounding classical guitar melodies with percussion. This is by far the shortest song but the guitar is so beautiful.

"Time Machine" is the title track at 18 minutes in length. This is more uptempo with more mind blowing drum and guitar work. A calm after a minute as some tasteful guitar comes in with light drums and bass in the background. I'm thinking MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA at this point. Back to the uptempo melody again as this contrast continues. Love the way this tune sounds. They just start jamming 3 1/2 minutes in as the bass and drums create the rhythm the guitar plays over top eventually laying down some blistering melodies 6 1/2 minutes in. The percussion eventually joins in as well.The last 5 1/2 minutes feature the same mid-paced drum led melody over and over. It's too bad they didn't just cut that off the end because it would have made it a better song in my opinion.

4.5 stars and a Krautrock diamond if there ever was one. A must have people.

Review by Cesar Inca
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars For their second album, Dzyan refurbished their sound according to the dramatic variations underwent by the line-up. Now as a trio with two newcomers - guitarist Eddy Marron and drummer/percussionist Peter Giger - joining forces with bassist/contrabassist Karwatky, Dzyan was ready to emphasize their experimental drive under a renewed scheme rooted in a clever mixture of psychedelia and fusion. This one and "Electric Silence" are genuine classics of the fusion-friendly side of krautrock. From the very first seconds of the opener 'Kabisrain' a special magic of sound is created out of the zaz, contrabass and sundry percussive ornaments, all of them freely stating a ceremonious ambience. The acoustic guitar washes serve as complements to the zaz textures, with the electric guitar arpeggios soon joining the overall atmosphere. There is a particular passage in which the sonic display reaches some heights of intensity, but that's just a moment of particular colorfulness amidst a flow of languid ambiences. This is sort like a hybrid of early Jade Warrior and second album-era Annexus Quam. 'Magika' shifts to a very different mood, with the band assuming a power-trio line of work in an electrifying exercise on psychedelia-driven jazz-rock: in this way, the band shows similarities with Zappa, the jamming facet of post-"Court" King Crimson, and Agitation Free. The energy is tremendously obvious, but it is also very controlled since the syncopated pace delivered by the rhythm duo manages to set a clear frame for the overall instrumental expansions. Marron is a real virtuoso, and he knows how to keep an open mind to the momentum's experimentation. Once again we face a shift of mood with track 3, the bucolic 'Light Shining Out of Darkness': now, the band explores the introspective side of jazz-rock with a prominent role of acoustic guitar and the use of soaring lines on the electric guitar for the provision of textures. I personally would have preferred that this piece had been longer than its 3 ¼ minute span, but what can one man do. things are as they are, and this piece is beautiful anyway, regardless of its duration. No complaints about the time span of the title track, whose 18 minutes allowed it to fill the whole B side of the vinyl edition. This is a solid and varied exploration on the standards of krautrock from a clearly defined jazz-rock perspective. The first minutes are marked by the alternation of languid passages and brief explicit interludes. The jam that settles in to conform the track's central motif reminds me of a mixture of Ash Ra Tempel and Mahavishnu Orchestra. The additional percussions insert a tribal vibe that state an effective counter to the bass solo that emerges while the guitar becomes momentarily subdued. Each individual's proficiency can be heard from miles, but the most amazing thing is how well the three musicians articulate an amalgam while preserving each their own performative freedom. The last section is built as a ritual of repetitive cadences on a mid tempo pace: the cosmic adornments on guitar and synthesizer articulate shades of eerie playfulness. This is where the essential Dzyan got started: "Time Machine" is a progressive gem of the first division, an undisputed must for all lovers of jazz-rock, as well as krautrock (and other trends of psychedelic rock).
Review by loserboy
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Although "Electric Silence" (reviewed later) is the more popular album and much more praised album of the three first albums it is this (the second) that I seem to go back too more often. Essentially Dzyan were an ethnic-inspired krautrock-jazz quintet that reached great heights on their first 2 albums. "Time Machine" is absolutely for the first time brought to life in this remastered version (no name label) and to be honest everything else up to now has been muddy sounding. With deep progressive tones and depth this album completely absorbs the listener and takes us into some pretty magical musical places. Now this might sound like a cliche but here it goes.....my favourite track on this album is the 18:00 mins epic (Time Machine) which achieves greatness they never reached again (IMHO). This album is full of noodling but not needless stuff and I find it all builds to create an interesting series of layers to work from. I also love the drum and bass interplay on this album which stillbrings a smile to face when I hear it. Definitely an album you have to listen to closely and without interrutpion to get into.
Review by snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars After interesting (but not better than that) debut, Dzyan's second album is real improvement! In fact, it's just totally different band - only same musician on both albums is bassist Reinhard Karwatky, and second album recorded by psychedelic trio.

Album's opener is down tempo Spanish/Arabic music influenced psychedelic jazz rock composition with plenty of acoustic guitar soloing. Fantastic atmosphere, and you're really waiting what happens next.

No disappointment - second composition " Magika" is real complex jazz-rock jam, again - with strong dose of psychedelia. Musicians show their excellence there!

"Light shining out of darkness" is about acoustic jazzy guitar, melancholic melody and fantastic rhythms! Last album's composition "Time machine" is longest one (17+ minutes) and demonstrates all band's best abilities - from fast power fusion in the beginning to melodic and psychedelic melancholia, heavy electric guitar attack and acoustic aerial down tempo sound again...

Too short for masterpiece, this a4 compositions album is really great one! Recommended for all early krautrock and jazz-rock lovers!

My rating is 4+!

Review by Bonnek
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Dzyan is a newborn band on "Time Machine". It's virtually impossible to recognize the earlier embryonic experiments with Canterbury Jazz from the wild and unleashed free-jazz-based music here. The album is still very eclectic in scope, but this time all parts gel.

From the original line-up no one survived but bass-player Karwataky. He's joined by Peter Giger on drums and Eddy Marron on guitars, sitar and the occasional saxophone. As aptly described before, "Time Machine" is where Mahavishnu meets Nucleus, without brasses but with the violent guitar playing of the former and the improvisational interaction of the latter. The firing intensity and emotional content can be traced back to both bands.

"Kabisrain" is a very enigmatic opener, with sitar and dark ethnic percussion. It's brilliant, mysterious, dark, but also spiritual. "Magika" is a more rocking beast, heavy on percussion and with sharp and snappy guitar work. It's almost free-jazz in places, with short shreds and noisy outbursts rising from silent but concentrated noodling. "Light Shining Out Of Darkness" is a more accessible piece, it's slightly flamenco and quite melodious and romantic in places. Somewhere between acoustic Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. The second side is the 18 minute title track, which returns to the free and spontaneous rocking format of "Magika".

A stunning work and almost a masterpiece for me. But utmost care is recommended before approaching this as it can seriously damage your harmonious senses. There's a cheap re-issue of the album where it is paired to the follow-up "Electric Silence" on one CD. A real deal. 5 stars for the first half, 4 for the second half.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars On their second album Dzyan go beyond the fusion flirtations of their debut and step wholeheartedly into the fusion genre, with songs like Magika sounding at points like a cross between the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Frank Zappa's Hot Rats material. At the same time, the band are already moving beyond fusion into even stranger experimental waters; for example, the title track closes off with a long section in which the rhythm section plays a repeating, angular riff which sounds an awful lot like something Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band might have tried out on Lick My Decals Off Baby or Trout Mask Replica, whilst Eddy Maron's guitar and sax soloing keeps the track from getting too boring. Another album proving that Dzyan were much more unique and original than many second-tier bands on the Krautrock scene, though by dint of this they are something of an acquired taste and they can tend to latch into ideas and keep pecking at them until they become unbearable.
Review by Aussie-Byrd-Brother
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Dzyan's instrumental second album `Time Machine' combines eastern raga, dark jazz and progressive rock set amongst an ocean of psychedelic experimentation. Quite schizophrenic and disjointed in structure, the album tracks alternate between ethnic influenced ambient acoustic pieces and noisy spacey guitar heavy jazz workouts that sometimes don't hold together too well placed side by side, but are always endlessly inventive, full of incredible musicianship and original arrangements. Krautrock fans unaware or unsure of this album should look into it straight away!

Opening with a slow building and immersive eastern influenced ambient piece, `Kabisrain' is a heady mix of acoustic guitar, sitar and ethnic percussion that, with it's occasional frantic and tense outbursts, creates a very disorientating mood. But nothing prepares you for the thunderstorm of dirty bass, spasmodic violent drumming and maddening repetitive jagged guitar playing that is `Magika'! Very oppressive improvised jazz with a slightly sinister tone, with complex rhythms weaving in and out of the dissonant and atonal noise. Some sections remind me of the extended aggressive guitar workouts on Guru Guru's `Hinten', with groovy moments and jammy solos squeezed in too. Totally addictive and sure to drive you up the wall - in a good way, of course! `Light Shining Out Of Darkness' is a warm acoustic diversion with confident guitar playing and gentle percussion. There's some lovely and memorable musical themes throughout the short piece, alternately reflective, sad and joyful.

The improvised side long title track is an explosive electric guitar, aggressive drumming and pummeling bass atmospheric jazz assault. Overloaded with liquid bass runs, wailing guitar solos and loose jazzy drumming, the jammy piece has a propulsive and fiery fusion sound that drives it along. It's frequently up-tempo and constantly changing directions, and a real showcase to the talent of the musicians. Some brief sections of the piece become stuck in a repetitive and plodding groove that is quite maddening!

On the first few listens, the album is quite jarring and messy. The odd combination of ambient ethnic pieces placed next to alternating guitar heavy and jazzy experimentations means the album is strangely unbalanced. Some listeners may enjoy some of the pieces, but not other ones. A few replays reveal an addictive work you can't wait to listen to again, and I think anyone with an interest in progressive rock will find something interesting amongst the whole album. The band would better incorporate all the conflicting different styles together on the next album `Electric Silence', which is even stronger than this one, but `Time Machine' is still an incredible and original work filled with energy and imagination. It's also aged exceptionally well, and is highly recommended for psychedelic, jazz-rock and Krautrock followers.

Both this album and the follow-up are available on a single value priced CD, which is a steal considering both of them are superb. Well worth snapping up for almost 75 minutes of incredible progressive musicianship.

Again, thanks to Doug and John for the initial Dzyan recommendation I took a chance on!

Review by Neu!mann
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Normally one imagines a time machine being used to travel backward through the fourth dimension, but the second Dzyan album marked a huge leap forward from the band's erratic 1972 debut. It was, in fact, the work of an entirely different group, reduced to a trio, with only bass player / keyboardist Reinhard Karwatky remaining from the original line-up.

The new band quickly jettisoned the more obvious Canterbury sound of the earlier album, along with the bluesy vocals, in favor of something more challenging: a blend of nascent Krautrock, Oriental ragas, Jazz Rock fusion, and the sort of free improvisation practiced by the likes of CAN, KING CRIMSON, and other groups operating outside the functional straightjacket of mere 'jamming'.

The change in direction is obvious from the opening notes of "Kabisrain", an eight-minute Near Eastern improv as compelling as it is formless. In stark contrast, the aptly-titled "Magika" comes wrapped in layers of tightly-arranged, MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA intensity. Here and elsewhere the range of playing shows exactly what the band gained by hiring Eddy Marron, possibly the most underappreciated guitarist in Germany (if not all Europe) at the time.

The pinpoint accuracy, tricky time signatures, and startling instrumental creativity of this track alone are something to hear. But check out the hyperactive John McLaughlin-like prelude to the side-long (on vinyl) title track, introducing a 17-plus minute series of blistering solos over a rhythm section that can't stand still. All of which makes the gorgeous acoustic guitar interlude of "Light Shining Out of Darkness" an even more effective detour.

It's hard to call this music Jazz Rock, or just Rock, or something else entirely. Either way it's the sound of a band re-born, and one that should have had a much higher profile. This is one of those rare albums that, even forty years later, is almost impossible to overrate.

Review by apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars One thing noone can acuuse Dzyan for was their music flexibility.As the original line-up slowly split into pieces, the only one staying put was Reinhard Karwatky.He recruited Eddy Marron from Vita Nova and drummer Lothar Scharf, but soon Scharf was gone to join Virgo, replaced by Peter Giger.A new album, entitled ''Time machine'' was recorded at Dierks Studios and it was released in 1973, this time on Bacillus.

Marron was credited all guitars of the album and Karwatky was the the handler of the electric and double bass, as well as a unidentified instrument called ''super string''.Its propably the one we hear on the opening, deeply experimental and totally improvised ''Kabisrain'', full of bizarre strings, featuring a strong Ethnic flavor in Free Improvisation, but at the end sounding completely cold and pointless.The long ''Magika'' is what the listener actually expects from Dzyan.Opening with superb, complex and frenetic guitar exercises by Marron, much in a KING CRIMSON style, retaining some of the Ethnic flavors around the middle, and moving on in a Kraut/Fusion enviroment, full of jazzy bass lines and scratching, loose guitar solos.''Light shining out of darkness'' is again closer to Ethnic Music with some good but indulgent acoustic crescendos with light electric guitars supporting in a very dark and melancholic mood.The 18-min. title track is an amalgam of the new Dzyan trio's influences.Kraut/Fusion with sparkling guitars, Jazz Rock with attacking improvisations and typical Heavy/Kraut rhythmic lines with excellent bass work and superb drumming complete a schizophenic piece of music, that has its moments.The heavy side of KING CRIMSON vibes is all over the place with many cool breaks included, while the closing groove is absolutely addictive and narcotic.

One of the most uneven albums I've ever heard.The boring passages are trully boring, the more interesting ones are absolutely fantastic and extremely nervous, that you'll have a hard time while going to sleep.At the end, this album from the new Dzyan core is recommended.

Review by siLLy puPPy
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
4 stars While starting out as quintet with multi-instrumentalist Reinhard Karwatky leading the way, DZYAN's debut was a bizarre hybrid of jazz-rock, psychedelia, progressive Krautrock and traces of ethnic musical influences. The album straddled the line between dark and heart-warming but offered lots of eclectic shapeshifting to keep the album in its own little world. For a second act DZYAN was reduced to a trio with Eddy Marron (acoustic, 6- & 12-string guitars, baglama, vocals) and Peter Giger (drums, percussion) stepping in to craft a completely different styled album titled TIME MACHINE.

While the debut featured eight diverse tracks, TIME MACHINE only featured four lengthy complex jams that retained plenty of progressive Krautrock with more emphasis on the rock aspects, the Turkish folk instrument called a bag lama and avant-jazz angularities despite the fact that the saxophone had been dropped. The jazz effects mostly come to play with the John McLaughlin styled guitar workouts that he virtuosically performed with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, a clear influence that had been adopted since the debut. Unlike the debut, TIME MACHINE is more focused on instrumental technical workouts with bopping jazz bass grooves, fuzzed out guitar. The tracks are so out there that they sorta blend in with each other.

The first track that stands out as a separate entity is the third "Light Shining Out Of Darkness" which showcases some excellent flamenco inspired acoustic jazz guitar. Existing as the shortest track, it's followed by the lengthiest track of the album which is the title track and that one sprawls on for almost a whopping 18 minutes! Feisty and fortified with avant-prog vim and vigor it erupts on the scene with a heavy guitar riff and a bass groove on steroids but then it suddenly chills out and becomes a light as a feather jazz rocker closer to something the Weather Report would have released rather than a caffeinated John McLaughlin. Eerie vocals in the back evoke the Star Trek theme song like theremin induced canaries singing to invisible spirits. but then it erupts back into the chaosphere. But wait! There's more! How about a nice jazz-fusion jam? Why, yes! We got that too :) And it goes on for awhile with feisty guitar workouts.

There's not much to say about this one really. You either dig what's been referred to as the no-man's land between jazz and rock with the Mahavishnu Orchestra worship or you don't. Personally i think this one works quite well as it really does construct its own unique personality and even though the pacing and jazzy escapades do evoke the energetic fury of "The Inner Mounting Flame," DZYAN as a mere trio did an excellent task in agglutinating knotty progressive rock, ethnic musical influences and avant-jazz and extending them into exotic improvisations that seriously take your mind somewhere you never knew existed. DZYAN only released three albums but successfully crafted each one to stand entirely apart from the others. This one is absolutely nothing like the debut yet a few remnants of the sound percolate up from time to time. This is the second gem in a row for DZYAN. Madame Blavatsky would've been proud!

Latest members reviews

5 stars In this sophomore studio effort by German, Mannheim-based krautrock/jazz-rock band DZYAN, the group are a trio, with original bassist/keyboard player Reinhard Karwatky and former VITA NOVA guitarist Eddy Marron, and Swiss drummer/percussionist Peter Giger. Time Machine is the fi ... (read more)

Report this review (#1573159) | Posted by presdoug | Tuesday, May 31, 2016 | Review Permanlink

5 stars I have had this CD for quite some time, loved it, but it seemed so overshadowed by "Electric Silence" that I never even rated it here in progarchives.com land. After listening to it just now (probably my 5th overall listening of the music since I've had it) I am quite impressed. This is the tru ... (read more)

Report this review (#383458) | Posted by tmay102436 | Thursday, January 20, 2011 | Review Permanlink

3 stars While I enjoyed listening to this album, this second work by the accurately unpopular DZYAN still leaves much to be desired. Krautrock, as most fans would probably agree, has a stellar and beautiful tendancy to build and build on sounds, in a minimalistic sort of way, to ultimately reach a clima ... (read more)

Report this review (#84313) | Posted by Legoman | Thursday, July 20, 2006 | Review Permanlink

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