RIO/AVANT-PROG

When it comes to the contemporary prog stable (pun intended) of Dur et Doux, CHROMB! is one of my personal favorites. Thier previous 2020 LP "Le livre des merveilles" left me a bit disappointed, as it saw the band going more into melancholic and slow territory - which is fine, don't get me wrong; it's just that when I go to a CHROMB! record, it means I'm in the mood for some quirkiness, some weirdness, some lightning-speed fun.

And boy oh boy, does "Cinq" deliver exactly that!

At "Cinq", the band gather their strengths to deliver short, but very dense, dancey, peculiar cuts, and I'm all for it. It seems this time around there is a stronger emphasis on electronic elements, as heard with retro-style keyboards and electronic drums bits. The rhythm section is super tight here, providing some odd, yet so very dancey grooves, while quirky keboards and saxophone just blast away into weirdness galore. As expected, half of the record is drenched with tasteful short-time delay, which is a well-established characteristic of CHROMB!'s sound at this point. Not to many vocals this time around, but when they show up, they are as strange as ever. The more melodic parts (like on the last track, for example) do occur as well, and are a much appreciated moments of French sweetness. Every track on the album has a slightly different taste to offer, and it all comes together just sooo nicely!

In my eyes, "Cinq" is definitely the best CHROMB! album so far, and how could it not be? It's FUN, FUN, FUN, 100% FUN, 200% FUN, 300% FUN. Did I mention this album is FUN? Because it is!

I will dance to this one until I'm dead.

'Hellfire' is a cavalcade of sounds (pun intended) that bombards the unprepared listener with an instrumental menace, topped by the hardly distinguishable lyrics, sang in a pretentious manner, often through spoken word. Despite the interesting and adventurous flamenco and jazz influences, the band intentionally and successfully blurs the line between music and noise. The playing is impressive by all means, but when an album becomes more painful than pleasurable to listen to, then this is a bad sign. Apart from this, 'Hellfire' is so emotionally shallow that one could hardly feel connected to any part of it, generally lost among the bull[&*!#] stories or the chaotic instrumental sections. I am generally confused by the record. Mostly messy.

These dwellers of the Souther Hemisphere, from Santiago, Chile to be exact have forged a new path that straddles the nebulous line between 20th century classical chamber rock and 1970s avant-prog fueled Rock In Opposition. ASCETA may not have conquered the world with its strange forging of knotty instrumental workouts yet but has hit the ground running as demonstrated on its self-titled 2022 debut that effortlessly juggled Univers Zero and Art Zoyd chamber prog bleakness with the classical experiments of classical masters such as Béla Bartók, Olivier Messiaen or in modern days, the Arditti String Quartet. Less than a year in its wake, ASCETA returns with its sophomore effort titled EREBUS, LA SUITE DE LAS SOMBRAS and takes the listener on another adventure down angularity avenue where sugary pop hooks are completely jettisoned in favor of hairpin turns and excessive time signature escapades fully adrenalized.

Fortified with an army of classically trained musicians, ASCETA led by the eclectic Rodrigo Maccioni tackled the typical chamber music instrumentation of the cello, clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, bassoon, upright bass and drums taken into avant-prog rock territory with the inclusion of the electric guitar, synthesizer, electric bass and drumming styles. The band of seven plus a couple guests features an amazing array of seven densely complex compositions that rocket the listener straight into the heart of the difficult listening music section of the musical universe with the seemingly over-the-top and not-so-easy-on-the-ears tugging of the senses. This is definitely not music for the feint of heart and is one of those albums that requires a few spins just to wrap your head around .

This is prog with pride. Chamber rock that heralds champions. In its 50-minute run the band pummels the senses with incessant time signature changes and lugubrious mood churning tones that cast a dark shadow on the soul but in a most satisfying way for those who love these wild rides into the darkest and most technically challenging recesses of the world of chamber prog. While ASCETA follows in the footsteps of myriad artists ranging from Henry Cow, Rational Diet and of course the mutltiide of Belgian and French artists that have kept the style churning on through the decades, ASCETA still finds a unique little niche in the midst of these fertile grounds with its own rhythmic flow and strange quirks that offer a refreshing new take on the tried and true subgenre in the prog universe.

While Chile is hardly a place where one would expect a band of this calibre, ASCETA has placed this South American nation on the map for some of the most intricately challenging music there is to be heard. A wild ride that wends and winds through the vast fields of tempo changes, time signature workouts and instrumental interplay, ASCETA is a no nonsense go for the gusto type of band that excels on the world stage. Although the knottiness of EREUBUS will surely alienate neophyites, seasoned avant-proggers will rejoice in this album's attention to detail and noncompliance to modern day trends that focus more on copycatism than musical mastery. While this second offering in many ways is a bit more of a bitter pill to swallow than the debut, EREBUS yields its secrets after several attentive listening sessions. I, for one, have been loving this one!

A masterpiece. This is one of the albums that make it in my top ten of all time. Every song is equally amazing, unique, crazy, and fun. This, to me, is the peak of anything Frank Zappa ever worked on. It couldn't get much better than this with avant-garde tracks like "Dwarf Nebula", "Prelude", and the title track. The shorter and more accessible tracks are amazing too: "Directly", 'Oh No', and "My Guitar" are all amazing little ditties in Frank Zappa's discography. Chilled, laid back, and relaxed. Amazing. A masterful amalgamation of various genres that everyone can find something in if they try hard enough. Prog on.

1. "Impetus" (9:17) the sound rendering is quite cluttered and muddy and the song construction quite simplistic and straightforward for Avant/RIO--but not unlike NIL, UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA, or DAAL. My favorite part is the spacious almost-classical jazz passage occupying the seventh minute before bursting out with the sax solo. (17.5/20)

2. "Abnormal Reversible Reaction" (2:55) temple with Hammond organ and baritone sax open this one before the drummer goes OTSUBO HIROHIKO (Bondage Fruit) on us and the band injects some klezmer and DON PULLEN ideas into the music. A very odd and eclectic blending of sounds and styles. I might not like this so much were it not for being a sucker for Bondage Fruit. (8.875/10)

3. "Prayer for the Dying" (8:55) opens sounding SO MUCH like a blend of King Crimson, KBB, and Van Der Graaf Generator. Really good! An amazingly refreshing and yet familiar composition. The slightly muddled mid-range is the song's only flaw. (19.75/20)

4. "Dark Matter" (11:16) a cornucopia of prog sounds--some sounding Japanese, some sounding classic prog rock, many from the jazz-rock fusion front. Some of it just doesn't sound that good together. (Guess I'd never do well if 1970s CARAVAN, 1980s ROBERT FRIPP, 1990s COLLAGE, 2000s KBB, 2010s SEVEN IMPALE, and Woody Allen's coffeehouse Gershwin-tinged New Orleans Jazz band all got on stage together to jam.) (17.875/20)

5. "The Decay" (11:12) more Woody Allen?! Such straightforward, New Orleans-sounding marching music. But that was just the introduction: in the second minute we stop, get out of the car, and get into another, more modern (yet still classic) vehicle for some more smooth-driving jazz. Just a little too sloppy and chaotic for me. (17.5/20)

Total Time 43:35

90.28 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of eclectic progressive rock. With a little better sound engineering, tighter performances, and more discerning compositions, this could well have been a masterpiece.

P.S. This NOT Superstring; with a change of lineup the band has decided to rename themselves ARKITEKTURE.

I was a little worried seeing someone tag this as chamber music as it's just not my favourite style but I didn't hear it myself. This is electric and energetic with some nice contrasts though when they bring those calms. They repeat themes but more than anything this is just a joy to listen to. Five tracks over 43 1/2 minutes and this is quite melodic with tinges of the avant to make it more interesting. Custom made for me is what this album feels like. I always rave about electric piano and bass combos and we get that here. This has it all, well no vocals.

"Impetus" is the nine minute plus opener and maybe my favourite. Some huge bass and the drumming is killer. Violin solos over top early on and man I forgot to point out the mellotron on this record, amazing! Like on this opening number. When we get calms we usually get electric piano and the sax does make an appearance and she plays alto and baritone on this record. That short 3 minute second track is different with the organ leading with percussion as bass then sax joins in. There's a different flavour when the flute leads. Funny in the liner notes the bass player mentions that on this second track "bass quotes a passage from SOFT MACHINE's "Esther's Nose Job". They have pretty good tastes in music no?

"Prayer For The Dying" features some massive bass lines and mellotron. Are you kidding me? Sounds so good when the violin starts to solo here. There's something majestic here. Bass only after 3 minutes in atmosphere as other sounds join in. It's experimental and somewhat dark here. Oh my here comes that bass 5 minutes in, sax too as the song starts to move. Bass is awesome! It turns beautiful after 6 minutes with sax then electric piano in mellotron.

"Dark Matter" is that to start with some suspense in that darkness. The sax before 1 1/2 minutes changes that mood as it dances over the drums and atmosphere. Electric piano and bass standout then the synths lead. Bass is so good. It turns intense around 4 1/2 minutes in and uptempo as the violin kicks in. The contrasts continue and it turns avant late. "The Decay" ends it beginning with some happy sax surprisingly given the title. That changes as melancholy takes over. Again we get some contrasts throughout and the electric piano and violin have their way with this song at times.

Man I know two bands from South Korea and both have a 5 star album for me. JAMBINAI being the other, a much heavier Post-Metal band. "Rationalis Impetus" is incredible!

I think it's so cool that they brought in NI's bass player as well, so the POIL bass player plays guitar here. A five piece! This is otherworldly music that is mysterious and the only band I thought of was BONDAGE FRUIT I believe their "II" release but only briefly. We basically get two compositions divided into sections even though each piece blends as one. This is only a 31 plus minute album.

The "Kujo Shakujo" suite to open the record is around 18 minutes and divided into three songs. A lot of repetitive chanting on this one and a ton of atmosphere at times while the powerful sections come and go. That last section features some theatrical vocals, a lot of intensity and almost overwhelming atmosphere after 6 minutes. "Dan No Ura" is over 13 minutes and divided into two parts and puts more of the focus on her satsuma biwa but again plenty of vocals and a powerful and unique sound. I mean check it out at 7 minutes. Oh my! They slow it down on part 2 but lots of depth and a powerful undercurrent.

This is different in a good way and I'm so glad I got my hands on this. Love at first listen.

I bought this on EBay to see what was up. Holy crapadoodledoo, this one's a zinger! If this was on 'The Third Reich and Roll', I would've loved it even more! I hate to demean The Rolling Stones, but this is a hell of a lot better than the original. And the backside! Mwahh! 'Loser=Weed' is a damn good early showcase of The Residents' early industrial sounds. Great '45, and worth every penny of the thirteen dollars I got it for. Crazy, ridiculous, ear-wrenching, hideous, innovative music that I crave from the Residents. When do they get a medal? Prog on!

Roz Vitalis have long been a band who continue to push boundaries, changing personnel here and there, mixing modern classical music with RIO tendencies and Russian inspiration to create progressive rock which is influenced by many at the bleeding edge yet never sounding like anyone else around. This line-up featured three lead musicians, all prepared to take on the main role, provide support when required, and in many ways, they work with the freedom of expression one normally associates with the Seventies as opposed to the modern day. Ivan uses "classic" prog sounds in his samples, Vladimir provides a much harder neo-prog approach to guitar, Vladislav is more direct than one might expect while Evgeny and Ruslan comes at the music from an ELP/Yes area, yet somehow the quintet combines to make perfect musical sense.

Ivan has been the only constant throughout their career, which has seen numerous studio and live albums, and I look forward to hearing the next chapter in this band. If one has not previously come across Roz Vitalis then this deliberately raw and passionate performance is a wonderful place to start.