CHOIRS OF THE EYE

This album is incredible. Original, intense, very dynamic. This is not music that just anyone can appreciate. It is not accessible by any means, you really have to grow into it and appreciate it's importance. It is considered one of the most important post metal albums ever.

Toby Driver, the founder of this band, is trying to define modern classical music through post rock music. I really appreciate his vision. This is what I would imagine new classical music should sound like. It is very important to him that electric guitar is a seminal part of modern classical music. I have to agree. Why is it that in order to be considered classical music that you have to shun the new instruments of today? This is music that needs to be explored, and is being explored by several pioneers including Kayo Dot, Godspeed You Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion, Mogwai, Mono, Sigur Ros, John Zorn and so many others. Kayo Dot however doesn't just concentrate on the guitar, but it fuses the guitar into the "orchestra" to emphasize it's importance.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is not an easy album to listen to. But when you get to the point that you can appreciate what is going on here, listen for the dynamics in this music, how it doesn't have to follow the typical patterns of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, break, chorus. It is music that is free, that has many liberties, and that is the best way to express oneself.

Now this formula works very well on this album. You get a lot of interesting things going on, the instruments are all important and easy to pick out throughout the album, the lyrics can be hard to understand though, even in the quiet passages. However, it works on this album somewhat better than it does on Kayo Dot's later album "Blue Leniency Downward", which is still an innovative album, but harder to follow because of the similarities of the tracks and the tendency on that album to not concentrate so much on individual sounds, but to rely on the entire sound as a whole. So, for that reason, I like "Choirs of the Eye" so much better, because there is more of a variety in the sound here.

Just a warning here before you check out this album though. It can get quite loud at times. The vocals sometimes reach high emotional levels in that screaming and growling occasionally exists here. But that is all part of the dynamic and the freedom that exists in this music. Anyway, this is highly recommended if you are looking for music that breaks the boundaries of modern popular music. It is actually an attempt to merge the sounds, but it tends to lean more on the avant garde style of modern classical music, so expect dissonance. But don't worry, there is a lot of resolve too. If you want something challenging and different and if you love post rock/post metal, then this is something essential that you should be listening to. Great stuff. Masterpiece. 5 stars.