THICK

3.5 stars. TRIBAL TECH have released 10 studio albums over the years and I have two of them, this one called "Thick" from 1999 and the followup called "Rocket Science" from 2000 which I feel is the better album. "Thick" is a good one though with plenty of variety. Gary Willis the bass player gets equal billing with guitarist Scott Henderson on the album cover as he had been getting for a few albums after starting out "Scott Henderson and Tribal Tech". Technical stuff here with Scott's unique style although he changes his style up often on here. Synths are okay but I much prefer when Kinsey plays piano, unless he's adding spacey synths as atmosphere. These guys are players so it's hard not to be impressed here.

Highlights for me usually involve Scott's guitar work but the bass is awesome too and I mentioned in my review of "Rocket Science" that this same drummer impressed me more than anyone so... yeah if your into complex playing without vocals check this band out. Scott plays in the bluesy style at times, even that country/folk style. Funk is on here too. No vocals but some freaky vocal expressions on the over 11 minute title track along with that funky and folky style. A light show from Henderson later on here which we also get on one of my favourites called "Slick". More of that on my other favourite "Jalapeno". Some misses in my opinion like "Somewhat Later", "Party At Kinsey's" and "Clinic Troll" but that's just my tastes.

A step down from "Rocket Science" in my opinion but many seem to disagree with this.