EXPANSION

AHLEUCHATISTAS is the instrumental brutal prog brainchild of Shane Parish who as a solo act is more renowned for free improvisation and American primitivism guitar skills has been on the scene for over two decades now. This band is one of those noise prog bands that throws math rock, avant-prog and post-punk into a blender and let's loose all in a semi-composed / semi-improvisational manner. For those wondering the band name came from the Charlie Parker tune "Ah-leu-cha."

Existing primarily as a power trio, AHLEUCHATISTAS has released a total of nine albums since 2003 with this latest being EXPANSION. While Parish has been the only constant member from the start, the newest rotating cast of musicians includes drummer Danny Piechocki of various prog, punk and math rock bands such as Jitters, Nude Tayne, Terms, Throat Puncher and Zulu Wave. Also on board is bassist Trevor Dunn of Mr Bungle fame but of course he has ventured into way too many other projects to mention. Here's is yet one more.

Lying on the outskirts of the prog and punk world simultaneously, this underground act has been cranking out all-instrumental knotty avant-prog meets math rock and punk albums for quite some time now and on EXPANSION the band performs its strange musical concoction pretty much as usual. Knotty time signature rich guitar riffs dominate the soundscape while a bantering bass groove and jazzified drumming virtuosity creates the proper frenetic backdrop.

EXPANSION features another ten tracks of brutal prog splendor in all its unapologetic regalia. While brutal in terms of relentless time signature frenzies and unexpected hairpin turns into other riffing sessions, EXPANSION doesn't turn up the volume in the distortion department as do other similarly minded bands such as The Flying Luttenbachers or any Weasel Walter project for that matter. If you ask me i'd say that this band is more like a free-jazz trio that's happening to play on rock instruments.

More math rock than avant-prog, there is also a post-rock style of cyclical loops that are implemented and comparisons to the jittery manic freneticism of Captain Beefheart have also been made. For a trio, AHLEUCHATISTAS covers a lot of spectrum with each instrument pretty much crafting a complex counterpoint in relationship to the rest of the band. Unlike some skronky math rock avant-proggers, this band does employ melodic features albeit in a jazz-like abstract nature.

It took seven years between EXPANSION and the previous album "Arrebato" from 2015 when Parish embarked on the journey as a solo act but when the skronk is in you then you gotta find a way to let it out. EXPANSION scratches that itch. One could compare this album to 2022's "Desecration Of Form" from Deadly Orgone Radiation but while that band took the speed and distortion to extreme levels, AHLEUCHATISTAS' release of the same year can be thought of as the somewhat mellower counterpart with easier on the ears tones and timbres and at least some sense of assembly regarding the musical motifs generated by the individual players. Personally i find this a satisfying brutal prog release although it's an acquired taste for sure.