TIME MACHINE

Dzyan is a newborn band on "Time Machine". It's virtually impossible to recognize the earlier embryonic experiments with Canterbury Jazz from the wild and unleashed free-jazz-based music here. The album is still very eclectic in scope, but this time all parts gel.

From the original line-up no one survived but bass-player Karwataky. He's joined by Peter Giger on drums and Eddy Marron on guitars, sitar and the occasional saxophone. As aptly described before, "Time Machine" is where Mahavishnu meets Nucleus, without brasses but with the violent guitar playing of the former and the improvisational interaction of the latter. The firing intensity and emotional content can be traced back to both bands.

"Kabisrain" is a very enigmatic opener, with sitar and dark ethnic percussion. It's brilliant, mysterious, dark, but also spiritual. "Magika" is a more rocking beast, heavy on percussion and with sharp and snappy guitar work. It's almost free-jazz in places, with short shreds and noisy outbursts rising from silent but concentrated noodling. "Light Shining Out Of Darkness" is a more accessible piece, it's slightly flamenco and quite melodious and romantic in places. Somewhere between acoustic Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. The second side is the 18 minute title track, which returns to the free and spontaneous rocking format of "Magika".

A stunning work and almost a masterpiece for me. But utmost care is recommended before approaching this as it can seriously damage your harmonious senses. There's a cheap re-issue of the album where it is paired to the follow-up "Electric Silence" on one CD. A real deal. 5 stars for the first half, 4 for the second half.