BLACK ONI

3.5 stars. This record was a let down for me after the masterpiece "Five Suns". The things that I liked so much about "Five Suns" have all been scaled back. A lot less mellotron, very little guitar, and this is not very melodic. Having said all that this is still a good album, it's just different from the last one that's all.

"Black Oni I" is dark and haunting like something out of the "Heresie" album. Drums and some heaviness after 2 minutes. Nice. This continues for about a minute then it settles to the end. "Black Oni II" is again dark and disturbing. Drums take a prominant role before a minute with chunky bass lines. The piano joins in then the guitar around 3 minutes. The drumming is outstanding. The tempo continues to change. It's dark and eerie before 4 minutes as we get a calm for about a minute then it kicks back in. These contrasts and themes continue. Excellent song.

"Black Oni Part III" opens with piano that continues for almost 4 minutes then the drums and a fuller sound join in. A driving, hypnotic soundscape is the result. Nice. The tempo picks up around 5 1/2 minutes and it has a real Zeuhl flavour to it. Guitar and organ join in a minute later. "Black Oni Part IV" is pretty much eerie noises that rise and fall throughout. "Black Oni V" hits the ground running with huge bass lines and great drum work while keys play along. Mellotron rolls in at 2 1/2 minutes, and check it out at 4 minutes. This is the mellotron track right here. The driving rhythm stops and the organ comes in before 5 minutes. It's slowly building. This is dark and creepy. No scary is the word.

So this album takes the band away from that ANEKDOTEN sound to more of a UNIVERS ZERO / ART ZOYD flavour. I like both but much prefer the former. I've changed my rating for this 3 times now. It's just a tough one for me to enjoy.