EXPERIMENTAL/POST METAL

This is one of the most interesting record I've heard this year, I am always grateful when a band dares to do something unique and different that surprises and enchants me. Papangu's Lampião Rei is an avant-garde prog record with some metal elements, delving into Brazilian folklore, history, a while moving away from their "metal" past. Following their successful debut Holoceno, known for its dark riffs, environmental themes, and Zeuhl explorations, the band now shifts focus to the legendary historical figure Lampião with remarkable flair. The record serves as a powerful ecological and preservation historical document, reflecting Papangu's commitment to exploring deeper narratives within their music.

Brazil has long been a hotbed for avant-garde creativity, with 70's trailblazers like Egberto Gismonti, Os Mutantes, and Hermeto Pascoal pushing boundaries, alongside a strong metal scene with bands like Sepultura, Shaman, and Soulfly. It was only a matter of time before a band merged these influences, and Papangu rises to the occasion with *Lampião Rei*, fusing the complexity of avant-garde with the intensity of metal.

Papangu has evolved dramatically, opting not to revisit their previous style. The album opens with the delicate acoustic guitar and clean vocals of "Acende a Luz II and III," painting a tranquil picture of Lampião's early life. As the track progresses, harsh vocals and keyboards introduce avant-garde influences from Frank Zappa and Soft Machine, showcasing Papangu's talent for creating intricate, layered soundscapes. The production is impressive, balancing intensity and clarity, with each instrument?guitar, flute, or synth?distinct yet harmonious.

Tracks like "Maracutaia" highlight this transformation with off-kilter piano and jazzy breakdowns, marking Papangu's confident shift into avant-garde jazz-rock. Meanwhile, "Boitatá" combines staccato guitars, bass-driven riffs, and a standout flute solo, reminiscent of Jethro Tull and Canterbury-style jazz, pushing the boundaries of their sound while staying true to their identity.

This evolution is a bold move, but Papangu embraces it with confidence. *Lampião Rei* is a genre-defying journey, blending optimism and darkness while capturing the complexities of Lampião's era. The vibrant "Oferenda no Alguidar" contrasts heavy drum beats with bright synths, epitomizing the band's refusal to be pigeonholed. Papangu's transformation is not just about change but about enhancing their storytelling and expanding their musical range, making *Lampião Rei* a standout in the modern avant-garde scene.

As we look to their next release, the anticipation builds?what new paths will Papangu explore? Wherever their musical journey takes them, one thing is certain: they are a band that refuses to stand still, and I'm eager to see where they go next.

THE BLOSSOMING is the band's third effort and continues the eclectic pilings of atmospheric black metal, prog and psychedelia with a touch of jazz fusion decorating the side lines. This is one of those bands that likes to spice up its black metal entree so intensely that in the end it becomes more like a bento box of tasty treats dished out in controlled doses as not to make anything really stand out too intensely as to steal the show so to speak. This album of six tracks that adopts the classic album running time of 44 minutes retains its rampaging atmospheric black metal angst that unfurl into posty progressive song structures that find moments of saxophone splendor and Middle Eastern grooves and rhythms adding a touch of exoticism to the mix. While Paul Breheret dominates with his blackened raspy vocal screams from the abyss, guest musicians add a touch of world fusion as if a black metal band had decided to crash a party at the sheik's pad and the merriment ensued.

While black metal has hybridized with what seems like every musical expression this side of the next galaxy, the mix with Middle Eastern elements is not one that is very common and for whatever reason doesn't seem to work as well as it should possibly because the spiritually uplifting Arabic musical scales and rhythmic drive is in a way the antithesis of the scary brutal alienating nature of black metal although Christian liturgical choirs have worked out quite well. The moments where these elements accent the black metal are fine but it seems like when the metal is dropped and the bellydance party is about to begin it dilutes the effect of what black metal is supposed to deliver. It's an interesting experiment for sure but not one that sounds totally convincing either. Jazzy Middle Eastern tinged black metal just seems like bloodthirsty warriors trying to have a soiree in a roving jazzy night club act traveling through the sandy deserts of Saudi Arabia on the way to Mecca.

Side quips aside ÆTHERIA CONSCIENTIA doesn't deliver a compelling style of black metal that really sounds that different from about a million other bands that have emerged in the last couple decades with a rather generic chord progression run and what often sounds like an over polished production job which favors the smoothness of the jazz and Arabic flavors rather than emphasizing the nasty nature of the black metal. I don't know. This band has its following and it's not a horrible effort by any means, in fact it's actually intriguing how they piecemealed it all together in logical manner that doesn't sound terribly stilted but at the same time the entire shebang just doesn't feel as developed as it could be with many loose ends needed to be tied up before launching the rocket ship to Mars. A bit more diversity in the riffing department with more emphasis on more interesting songwriting would go a long way.

While i'm always a fan of experimental metal that boldly goes where no headbangers have gone before, sometimes we have to admit that certain experiments just don't jive as well as we'd like especially when basic songwriting techniques are abandoned in favor of gimmicky hybridization effects that could have worked well in the proper context but lack the vision to place them there. That is the problem i have with THE BLOSSOMING and ÆTHERIA CONSCIENTIA itself for that matter. I can't put my finger on it but beneath all the bells and whistles of the jazzy side streaming and Arabic excursions onto the world's playground lies a rather generic and uninventive black metal band that hadn't mastered its basic premise before decorating it with accessories. A decent album even if i don't find it ridiculously exciting.

3.5 rounded down

Together this power trio has cruised through the last decade delivering a brash barrage of atmospheric sludge metal in the vein of Isis and other sludge legends however after the collaborative efforts with the Japanese free improv noise guru Keiji Haino, the band has turned to the more experimental, free form and avant-garde which began with 2018's "Love Shadow" and has slowly ratcheted up the freak show ever since. The band's latest effort THE HEALER may be about as therapeutic as sleeping on a bed of nails in a burning house yet features the band's most extravagant journeys into the world of free form noise, feedback freakery and avant-garde extremism. With four tracks that ooze past the 76 minute playing time with the opening "World Of Light" and closing "The Stone's Turn" hovering around the 25-minute mark, SUMAC has let its freak flag fly full staff in a relentless musical menagerie of sound.

Talk about a long arduous journey where every juncture is spring loaded with crazy sludgy feedback that reverberates to kingdom come and back, the band ventures into moments of hardcore, pure noise as well as death metal and drone metal static overload. Sounding something like a mix of Isis, Eyehategod, Maudlin of the Well, Russian Circles and well, 1960s AMM, this band unleashes a noisy complex labyrinthine procession through a never-ending series of musical motifs that morph into something completely different without losing the sludge metal tones and timbres that keep it firmly planted in that camp. Discordant chords and atonal guitar squeals flitter alongside irregularly timed percussive outbursts, bass bantering and moody growling vocals with a pageful misanthropic demeanor reminiscent of classic Iron Monkey or early Neurosis. This is not an album to experience casually as it will leave you agitated and on the edge of your seat as it wends and winds through volitive unpredictable terrain.

Listening to THE HEALER is a true test in devotion to a craft that is as idiosyncratic and eccentric as a convention of those who love to consume furniture foam. It's a knotty ugly affair that excels in nurturing all the most ugly and grating elements of sludge metal and couples them with nebulous indecipherable compositional flow, yet this whole chaotic stew is appealing in its unappealing nature. Far from mindless improv, THE HEALER is constructed of chunks of ideas that sort of metamorphose into a new batch of ideas with some stitching together in the context of sludge metal and others dabbling in chaotic noise swirls and droning monotony. While it comes off as pure free improv, the album is actually laced with musicality not only in the chord progressions and cyclical post-metal looping effects but also through order of seemingly chaotic embellishments.

Overall SUMAC delivers the ultimate difficult music listening album with THE HEALER as it ventures into territory that few metal bands have dared tread. The sounds of extreme metal formatted into the stylistic approach of European free jazz, brutal harsh noise improv and sound collages is certainly a difficult pill to swallow especially at such an excessive playing time but even though such albums can come off as ridiculously convoluted and excessively avant-garde for its own sake, i have to say that because SUMAC are such seasoned pros they infuse a vast array of musicality woefully missing from many similar styled acts. While definitely not music you want to play at your wedding, SUMAC delivers all the goods and if you're into the idea of Khanate meets a more extreme version of Maudlin of the Well then this one's gonna rock your world!

3.5 rounded down

The band has delivered one of its finest albums of its career in 2024 with its sixth full-length studio album UMBILICAL which has been garnering rave reviews as one of the best metal albums to have emerged in recent years and while such claims seem to be a dime a dozen in this diverse day of varying opinions and array of tastes, in the case of THOU's latest effort all the brouhaha around the band's newest album is actually well founded. Like many of the band's albums, UMBILICAL has been released with a variety of album covers, three in this case with completely different cover art for the CD and vinyl and yet another for the digital downloads. Personally i prefer the band's album covers that depict black and white scenes from war times and other historical despair from antiquity. Preferring to call themselves grunge rather than sludge metal (well Ok whatever!), UMBILICAL does indeed display more aspects of its ancestry than other sludge metal bands with Alice In Chains chugs, good old fashioned Nirvana inspired self-loathing and at times a rather Stone Temple Pilots simplicity.

But let's get real here, despite nods to the past in the course of ten caustic distortion-drenched tracks, THOU is the epitome of doom metal infused sludge metal delivering all the misanthropic attributes of what makes the genre distinct, unique and reverberating into the extremities of guitar feedback. THOU is also one of the most angry sounding of the sludge metal world by far with Bryan Funck's raging screamed vocals that give you a sore throat by merely listening. Add to that the exaggerated use of creepy slow tempos out of the Eyehategod playbook with the occasional more energetic outbursts of adrenalized speedy romps. It's classic 90s sludge metal through and through but done so well that it makes you remember the days when sludge metal was pure and impregnated with that classic 90s annihilation and pure depressive extirpation. In the modern era where most sludge metal has hybridized with prog, post-rock or dark ambient sounds, THOU emphasizes sludge metal's punk and grunge origins better than most.

Sure experimental metal and avant-garde forays are always nice evolutionary branches to explore as they create completely different mood settings in hitherto unexplored soundscape crafting but there's something about unadulterated sludge metal that just resonates so wickedly well with the psyche as if it is the absolute panacea of a cathartic release of pent up rage that goes along with living in the modern world where absolutely everything seems dysfunctional and in decline. While many acts such as Cult of Luna, Intronaut and even Neurosis jumped off this bandwagon decades ago, THOU has continued to remain true to its sludge metal origins and in the process has garnered a slow and steady ascent as one of the guardians of the old school of sludge metal majesty. And it's not hard to hear why on UMBILICAL as the band delivers one amp splitting guitar squeal after another with vocals so insanely intense as to qualify as scary.

Oh how THOU hath delivered a multitude of musical majesties yond resonates liketh a flame beckoning for an airy gust of inspiration the likes of which bloweth aught competition by the wayside. Rejoice in the beckoning quipping of the art of musical resonance yond captivated by the incessant floweth of the exquisite resonating sounds of sludge purity. Heavy denseness suffocating thy senses liketh a blackened tornado of souls in anguish in pure musical form yond hath been unleashed onto the world in the finest of art forms called UMBILICAL so finely constructed yond coequal Shakespeare himself wouldst tremble in awe at the sheer magnitude of the album upon us anon. For alloweth t beest writ yond the reveled anguish unveiling itself through the pyroclastic floweth of torturous textures and melancholic malaise shall reverberate in the most pleasing of ways as THOU hath polished its musical charm liketh the finest of silver in all of the kingdom.

4.5 rounded down

Track 1 - The Grudge

We begin with a cool odd-metered riff. At 1:15 we hit some big chords after a few lines of lyrics. At 1:45 we begin a verse, as the dynamic level lowers a bit. At 2:35 there's nothing but cymbals, then the band kicks in heavily on a vocal part. There are some cool drum fills from the highly respected Danny Carey. There is a guitar feature at around 5:30 from Adam Jones. Justin Chancellor has a nice bass riff around 6:30. Maynard lets out a big scream just ahead of the 7-minute mark that lasts almost 30 seconds, impressive, I suppose. Nice drum fills as the song ends. From a technical standpoint, it's a cool track, but it doesn't do much for me.

Track 2 - Eon Blue Apocalypse

This seems to be a brief interlude between longer tracks. There is a tremolo picked note on the guitar that fades in for 40 seconds, then there are some middle eastern-type patterns played for about 20 seconds?that's it.

Track 3 - The Patient

This begins with some palm muted clean guitar parts mixed with some wah-wah bits. The singing begins quietly at around 1:05. An odd meter riff begins slowly building as we get to the 2-minute mark. Power chords explode at 2:20. The vocal harmonies aren't bad before 3 minutes. Nice drum fills around 3:40 Things get super quiet at about 4:30. Then kick back in a few seconds later. The guitar is louder than the vocal in the mix at around 5:30. Things are really loud around 6:30, before dropping down to almost nothing for the last several seconds.

Track 4 - Mantra

Another brief in-between track. I believe something sinister is hiding in an underground cave. That's what it sounds like to me anyway.

Track 5 - Schism

Tool's best-known track. It begins with an awesome bass line from Chancellor. Jones & Carey join in before Maynard begins singing. The track is built on variations of the riff. Things get suddenly heavier at around 2:20 but goes back to the main riff. There is a quieter guitar part with delays that begins around 3:40. This part continues until 5:10 or so with vocals on top. We end with the riff and "I Know the Pieces Fit!" repeatedly except for the drum fills at the end. If I was forced to choose a favorite Tool track, it'd be this one (unless something dethrones it on the remainder of the album).

Track 6 - Parabol

Another short one, but not as short, at 3:04. We begin with some low-pitched guitar notes, and Maynard mumble- singing underneath. The bass joins along with cymbal rolls at about 0:50. Lots of long sustained sounds in this one. I haven't understood a single word. It ends by nearly fading out, before a volume swell takes us to?

Track 7 - Parabola

After some power chords, tribal drumming and vocals take over. The choruses open up the sound. When Jones takes a solo around 1:40, It appears as though there are little to no overdubs, as only bass & drums accompany it. A loud heavy vocal section comes next. Things have chilled again by 3 minutes in. I would not be surprised to find out that this was recorded "live in the studio" or at least mostly so. The guitar tone at 4:45 is so overdriven & fuzzy it lacks definition. It seems to be fading out with that along with some Bass & Drum accents. There are a few clean notes during the last few seconds.

Track 8 - Ticks & Leeches

We begin with a drum groove that is soon joined by bass. Next the guitar fades in and goes into a lead pattern. Things go into a double kick-drum pattern, before Maynard enters with a scream. I like the groove, but not crazy about the vocals, a bit too screamy for my taste. I REALLY like the rhythm that starts at around 3:00. Things get quiet with soft guitar strums following that. Wind sound effects join in eventually and then the bass and subtle drums. At around 5:50 everything pauses for a few seconds then kicks in heavily. Maynard is screaming his head off incessantly. Cool drum part at around 7 minutes in. I liked the music; the vocals gave me anxiety.

Track 9 - Lateralus

I am familiar with this one as well. I love the shifting meters in the riff. (apparently it uses the Fibonacci sequence as a road map) . Awesome drum part at 1:45, I love the way the toms are panned. I actually like Maynard's vocals on this one so far; he's singing, not screaming or grunting. This one reminds me a bit of Disturbed in approach. Nice guitar solo at 4:20. Everything but bass drops out just before the 5-minute mark. Soft guitar joins in, and a crescendo begins as Maynard starts singing. The drum part adds to the slow build. Cool groove shift around 7:20. This one is up there with Schism as far as Tool songs I like. The vocals were more enjoyable in this one, even though it was still plenty aggressive.

Track 10 - Disposition

This one begins rather calmly, with bass and clean guitar harmonics. The vocals are so soft and low in the mix that they are barely audible. Carey is playing soft percussion to give a hint of the groove, possibly tabla drums. A relatively short, quiet interlude between the 2 longest tracks.

Track 11 - Reflection

This is the longest song on the album at 11:08 We begin with a drum groove, joined by bass. Once again there is cool stereo panning on the toms. Then wait, what's this? Synth? It comes in at around 45 seconds. They are building a nice soundscape here as the song continues to develop through the first few minutes. Seriously, the synth adds a nice touch. It reminds me of the synth sound at the beginning of Tom Sawyer by Rush (an Oberheim? Synth experts help me out). The vocals start softly at 3:45, with an effect on them. The guitar part gets more rhythmic. They are being very restrained as we pass the halfway point. Things seem to be building more as we approach 7 minutes. A guitar solo begins at around 7:40 with sustained notes. This track is almost trance inducing. Things get heavier with power chords at around 9:20. They bring things back down for the final minute. This is a standout track on the album. I am starting to enjoy Tool a bit more here.

Track 12 - Triad

I believe that this one is meant to be a collage of various Tool tracks. We begin with wind sound effects, and a rhythm fades in. The drumming is tribal in its approach. Jones is playing sustained notes that degenerate into feedback. The bass, drums and guitar sync up on a rhythmic riff at around 3 minutes in. Things quiet down at around 4:20. If there are ideas from previous Tool tracks here, I am missing them, due to lack of knowledge on the topic. But as an instrumental, it worked for me/

Track 13 - Faaip De Oiad

Electronic buzzing and sound effects kick this off with a Carey drum part WAY in the background. I believe this is supposed to be a radio transmission from area 51 discussing aliens or extra dimensional beings. This sounds like it should be in a Sci-fi/horror movie. I could have lived without that track closing the album.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

I liked it more than Aenima which I just found to be OK. Some of this album was still more aggressive than I prefer for my taste, but there are 3 standout tracks that I especially enjoyed? Schism, Lateralus & Reflection. I gave Aenima 3.5 stars. I think I'll give this one 4 stars. Still not one of my all-time favorite bands, but it was quite good at times.

Track 1 - Untouchable Pt. 1

An upbeat fingerstyle acoustic starts us off, soon to be joined by vocals. Nice harmonies join in and the whole intro is backed with subtle sustained synth. The rhythm section kicks in after the first verse. So far, I like their sound. So far, I'm not feeling any metal at all. OK, now some distorted guitar kicks in around 3 minutes in, but not really metal sounding, yet. The vocals and instrumental arrangement are both fantastic. The song ends with everything but the synth dropping out, with colossus out the song.

Track 2 - Untouchable Pt. 2

This part starts with piano playing a chordal pattern. The vocals join in after a moment. Female vocalist Lee Douglas joins in and it becomes a vocal duet. Vincent Cavanagh is the male singer/multi-instrumentalist (gtr/keys/bass, etc.). String synth sounds join in with the piano, followed by bass & drums. (BTW, the rest of the band is multi-instrumentalist (gtr/bass/keys, etc.) Daniel Cavanagh, and drummer John Douglas. After a little checking, I found that we have 2 sets of siblings here. Additionally, there are numerous other session musicians credited for different tracks.

Track 3 - The Gathering of the Clouds

Gentle thunder sound effects start this one off, followed first by keys, then joined by acoustic guitar, then harmony vocals. The vocals get more layered as we progress through the song. The arrangement is very symphonic, with only cymbal swells for percussion, and maybe a steady bass drum.

Track 4 - Lightning Song

This one starts without a pause from the previous track. We continue with the symphonic sound while Lee Douglas takes the lead vocal spot. Subtle drumming comes in just before the 2-minute mark, with a bass drum and rim shots on the snare creating a 6-8 rhythm. Heavy guitars come in at around 3:15 and the drumming becomes stronger. Still not really metal though. Almost more power ballad-like. Most of the instruments drop out at around 4:35, except arpeggiated guitar with keys and Lee's vocals, this leads to the song winding down to a conclusion.

Track 5 - Sunlight

This one begins at a moderately slow tempo with clean guitars & keys joined by Vincent on lead vocals again. Subtle tom toms begin building as we go along. Slightly heavier guitars join in around 3 minutes in and then we explode in an almost Who-like manner about 3:15. We hit a big power chord around 4:30, then subtle instrumentation closes out the track.

Track 6 - The Storm Before the Calm

A triplet pattern starts us off here, with occasional accents and vocal sounds. There are some sounds that sound like they are recorded in reverse. We go into a heavy, almost funky groove for the first verse. The cycle repeats for the second round. The lyrics are primarily "It's getting colder?" This one, so far, is more about the feel & groove, and I like it. Siren-like sounds begin to build up at around 4 minutes in. At 4:50 everything drops out except an electronic hum sound. Then clean slow guitars take over, to be joined by piano and the rhythm section. Then vocals join. There is a bit of a gradual crescendo happening, leading to big, beautiful chords with a shifting meter. Excellent track.

Track 7 - The Beginning and the End

We have a moderately slow piano part, joined by the rhythm section in 6-8 time. Male vocals join us. The intensity gradually builds. This song has a great sound to it, very warm production. Good guitar solo, not a display of virtuosity, but it fits the music well. The piano takes the spotlight then things wind down. Nice Track.

Track 8 - The Lost Child

This begins very quietly with humming. Piano and strings join in. A mellow male vocal part comes in, eventually joined by female harmony. This one is also in 6-8. The rhythm section joins in, and we have a slow build. This track is very dramatic and orchestral. Things drop down at around 5:45 to just strings and piano. And things wind down at the end.

Track 9 - Internal Landscapes

This song fades in in a dreamy kind of way. We have spoken dialog. Sounds like he is describing a mental breakdown and suicidal thoughts. He had "near-death experience." Acoustic guitar chords begin to accompany the dialog. Female vocals take over, followed by male vocals. We are in a slow 5-4 time here. The two singers alternate in a very seamless way as though one is merging into the other. The instrumentation gradually gets more dense. There are distorted guitars, but not super metallic. Fantastic harmonies with the 2 singers at around 6:05. The opening dialog resumes, describing the peaceful feeling of his near-death experience. We have a very slow fade out as the album comes to a close.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Wow! Not what I was expecting at all. Their description as "Experimental/Post Metal" had me thinking that this was going to be another heavy growly affair. It is not that AT ALL. This album has a very beautiful sound throughout. Excellent production? very warm tones. I quite enjoyed the album, but lyrically, it is very heavy, subject-wise. Might not be an all of the time album, but it is very well-done. 4 out of 5 stars.

Track 1 - Stinkfist

Some soft percussive sounds establish a rhythm, followed by guitar feedback. This gives way to a heavy Rage Against the Machine type of groove. I have never been a big fan of Keenan's vocal style, but it's tolerable. This one is kind of repetitive, so far. The bass takes center stage after about 2:30, then guitar over the top. A variation on the riff happens around 3:40. The vocals are kind of in the background here. Not bad, not great.

Track 2 - Eulogy

A similar start to the first track, with soft percussion establishing a rhythm. The music begins to build very gradually. Guitar joins at around 2:00, followed by vocals with an effect. The music opens up at around 2:40. After the first chorus, the vocals get the effect again. The effect alternates with non-effected vocals. A guitar solo begins just before 5 minutes, then the bass takes over. The guitar riff and vocals come back in and carry the rest of the song.

Track 3 - H.

Big power chords start this one. Things chill out to more subtle playing when the vocals begin. Adam Jones sure likes pick scrapes?lol. Interesting accents during the verse. There is a 4-note guitar ostinato over the rhythm section around the 4-minute mark. I like the groove starting at roughly 4:45. Tool are good at creating moody soundscapes.

Track 4 - Useful Idiot

Just a brief 40 second interlude here. Sounds like static on a record, getting louder.

Track 5 - Forty-Six & 2

A nice riff to start us off. Maynard's vocals are kind of buried at first, then things open up at around 2 minutes. This one has a bit more complexity, rhythm-wise than the first few. We go into a 7-8 rhythm at around 4 minutes. Nice! This is my favorite track, so far. Pretty cool polyrhythms at around 5:30.

Track 6 - Message to Harry Manback

A soft piano and a voice that sounds like it's on a telephone. Can't understand all of it, but several F-Us in it. Only about 2 minutes long

Track 7 - Hooker with a Pen!s

A few seconds of sound effect then the riff begins. A bit reminiscent of Summertime Blues, but not exactly. High tempo. The rhythms keep changing. Lovely lyrics, lemme tell ya! Maynard has some issues he seems to be working out here?lol. I hope he's gone to therapy since.

Track 8 - Intermission

Some cheesy organ provides some comic relief after the last rage-fest.

Track 9 - Jimmy

A heavy guitar with a shifting complex meter opens this one. Some more mellow sections on this one that always seem ripe to explode at any moment. We seem to have locked into a 3-4 for a while now. Yep, the music exploded around 3:45. Pretty good track

Track 10 - Die Eier von Satan

Another short connecting track here, I believe. Electronic sounds with a rhythm, joined by guitar. Spoken word in German, I believe. Have we found an unused Rammstein demo? It starts sounding Hitler-like?Kind of scary.

Track 11 - Pu[&*!#]

The second longest track at just under 10 minutes. More electronic sounds at the start of this one. The vocals start kind of quietly over the riff. The meter is complex. I believe this one is going to be a slow burn. It builds up one level around 2:45 in. Lots of anger again. Rhythm shift at around 4 minutes. A bit of a mellow interlude just before 5 minutes in. The dynamics increase at around 6 and a half minutes. Adam Jones' chords get less-restricted here. After a question-and-answer type section between instruments and vocals, the tempo increases before the ending.

Track 12 - Caesaro Summability

Baby crying sounds and then sound effects at first. Jones is doing a thing that sounds like a racecar accelerating.

Track 13 - Ænima

A whisper precedes the opening guitar riff. I haven't mentioned Carey's drumming, really but he's had nice grooves throughout, including the tom-tom beat here. Once again, Maynard has lots of angry F-Bombs for us. It was the 90s. Many a rock band was pissed off about something weren't they? Cool drumming at around 3 minutes in. Cleaner guitar around 5 minutes in. A big explosive ending section.

Track 14 - (-) Ions

Wind sound effects fading in at the start. Possibly a plane flying overhead? Some electronic buzzing joins the mix after a while. Thunder, now? A 4-minute sound effect interlude, I think

Track 15 - Third Eye

A big epic length closer here at nearly 14 minutes. Bill Hicks, the late comedian is doing a routine about musicians taking drugs. I believe Tool used to have him for an opening act. A bit more Bill Hicks?. The music is bubbling and building underneath, led by cool Carey drumming. Jones comes in with slide guitar, then gives way to the vocals. 6- 8 rhythm. Some screaming, then a slight shift in feel, while still in 6-8. Then we get some middle eastern style guitar licks for the solo. The rhythm section is insanely holding everything together. Justin Chancellor is quite the bassist as well. Call and response with power chords and whispered vocals in the middle of the song. Everything drops out except subtle bass drum and very soft vocals. We blow up at just under 9 minutes. More angry vocals then they bring it back down. I like what's happening at around 12 minutes. A huge ending is building up for the album. I like it better than the part where he is screaming about his 3rd eye that follows. But then the song ends in an explosion of power chords.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Pretty good. The weakest tracks (excluding all the short interlude parts) were at the beginning of the album. It got better as we went along on the main tracks. I'm not sure what the need was for all of the little filler tracks was, but it drags things down for me. I stick with my previous assessment that I like Tool in smaller doses. And boy, there is so much anger here. All in all, I give high marks for the playing, but the lyrics/subject matter/mood of the album makes it difficult for me to listen to very much. 3.5 out of 5 stars. (a bit of a theme over the last few albums?)

Clicked 3 but really 3.5.

Listening to an ÖXXÖ XÖÖX is like stepping into a music festival in a parallel dimension where nothing is familiar and everything is completely alienating with symbolism and musical motifs that seem like they are simply stitched together randomly like interlocking pieces of a jigsaw puzzle with no discernible context or purpose but that's really exactly the point of this style of weirdo music, namely to engage in the rare act of total escapism despite the somewhat familiar elements of doom metal, gothic rock and what sounds like tribal ritual sacrifice music. If discerning any particular ÖXXÖ XÖÖX proves difficult then finding the differences between albums can prove to be even more challenging as poetry in some ancient alien language will tend to sound the same no matter what the actual meaning conveys thus highlighting the paradox of such musical extravagances. The fact is that ÖXXÖ XÖÖX succeeds all too well in its alienating effect and seems to take pride in taking an extreme calculated approach to ensure that everything is as wildly avant-garde and bizarrely impenetrable as possible.

Reminding vaguely of the Slovenian / Italian act Devil Doll, ÖXXÖ XÖÖX showcases an equal dose of flamboyance only rather than nurturing musical familiarities structured in unorthodox ways, this band tackles bizarre soundscapes that progress in strange ways that when i have played for friends literally freaked them out! So what's new on +? Well actually i must say that this is ÖXXÖ XÖÖX's most accessible album yet, although that is in relative terms of what they have presented on their previous three albums of course. This is still totally out there although one can be comforted that the band's goal is to liberate the soul with their strange eclectic musical stew. Now how's that for far fetched? LOL. After all according to the band: ÖXXÖ XÖÖX mixes the symbols of yin and yang/ouroboros/binary coded decimal system (0110 = 6 and 1001 = 9). Öxxö Xööx therefore means 69, symbolizing the desire for sublimation: transforming the 6 into 9 (find again the original light)! OK now :)

OK, back to the album. Yes, indeed + is crafted with more familiar styles of melodic touches this time around with melodic guitar riffs, licks and classically infused keyboard parts amongst the bizarre menagerie of gothic vocal harmonies and hairpin turns into unrelated musical motifs. This is the ultimate ADD type of music where there's really no goal other than present various scattered melodies and ideas that are thrown against the wall like spaghetti. The art of indeterminacy is fully intertwined into this bizarre band's master plan just like random atoms clashing and banging against each other in a gaseous state. Despite the weirdness there is the subtle beauty this band exudes through its darkened brume of atmospheres and proggy zigzagging through labyrinthine compositions with freakier than average vocal weirdness as if Dracula joined the choir at a Cirque du Soleil performance.

As with every ÖXXÖ XÖÖX this is an exhausting affair if you actually want to focus on the music actively. It's impossible to make heads or tails out of any real purpose here and the band has a propensity for making the longest albums possible that will fit onto a modern CD in the case of + that means a sprawling 80 minutes or an hour and twenty minutes of artistic excess sounding like a distorted journey through the very hypercube that is supposed to be a part of the indecipherable lyrical subject matter. All in all this album although a bit easier on the ears for those who need melodic elements may prove tolerable in small doses but probably won't win over any new converts as this music is still so friggin' freaky that even those of us who totally dig this kind of warped sound salad can only engage rarely as it is one of those types of bands that scratches the itch when you want to say screw it all and totally escape into a completely unfamiliar world of estrangement.

For some reason it's cathartic to feel out of control because it puts the real world into perspective. So perhaps this Freudian head trip actually has some real purpose after all but remains as bizarre and divorced from the greater world of rock and metal despite any leanings towards slightly more melodic touches. Personally this appeals to me on an intellectual level if nothing else and although i'd go insane if this were part of my daily diet, this does offer the perfect escape hatch into planet mondo bizarro. While there are really no comparisons to this band, it will appeal to those who most love the musical weirdness of bands like Unexpect, Ethel Death, Igorrr, Jute Gyte, Dir En Grey, Thy Catalfalque, Devil Doll, Thought Industry, Ex Eye, Taal, Yawn, Q'uq'umatz, Perculate or even early Azure Emote but i personally find this band to exhibit a level of weirdness above and beyond the call of duty and blows away the competition. It's actually quite admirable in how a band can create a uniform complete detachment from the entire musical world and exist in its own musical bubble.

Part of the reason for this shift in sound (aside from adding new members to the band) is that the subject matter here isn't quite as grim as on their debut. It tells the story of Lampião, a Brazilian bandit leader and folk hero whose heyday was in the 1920s and 30s. This album doesn't cover Lampião's betrayal, capture, and beheading (though the band says they'll do that on a future release), so there isn't the same need for Holoceno's oppressive mood.

Lampião Rei opens on the three-part, seven-minute mini-suite "Acende a Luz". Part one "Alquimia" is a short, folky acoustic intro. Part two, "O Encandeio" starts with a lightly jazzy guitar arpeggio and group vocals. It gives things a somewhat hazy atmosphere, and it quickly morphs into a psychedelic, metallic storm. The addition of a keyboard player to the band has brought a new and distinctive character to Papangu's music. A slinky, Wakeman-esque synth solo serves as a fitting climax. Part three, "Sagüatimbó", wraps things up on a rather jaunty note. Acoustic guitar dances about, and a majestic organ gives a lightness and buoyancy I never would have expected from this band.

"Boitatá (Incidente na pia batismal da Capela de Bom Jesus dos Aflitos)", in contrast, starts off with a plodding, distorted bassline and twangy guitars. This cut sounds almost like a metallic version of something off King Crimson's Lizard. The steady guitar riff has anxious electric piano bubbling just beneath it, keeping the rhythm and overall flow in constant flux.Near the end of this cut, things quiet down a bit, and the flute part does an excellent job of evoking the Brazilian wilderness.

Jittery, Üdü Ẁüdü-style guitar lines kick off "Ofrenda no Alguidar". This is intercut with slower jazz-rock flourishes reminiscent of Pink Floyd. Tension is maintained throughout, and there's a constant sense that something is about to break through. The chorus is peppy and jazzy, but there's an undercurrent of anxiety. After a conclusion full of ominous synth pads, the gentle little interlude "Mulher Rendeira" gives the listener some breathing room.

A laid-back, Latin jazz mood persists on "Sol Raiar (Caminhando na Manhã Bonita)". This is the most un-Papangu-like the band has sounded so far, and it took me completely by surprise they went quite this jazzy. I don't speak Portuguese, but maybe the lyrics are fitting for this style. It's not a bad song, or even that incongruous with the rest of the record. It's simply unexpected.

Papangu gets back to something more recognizably Papangu on "Maracutaia". Jazz notes are prominent and unmissable, but it's woven together with moments of heavy progressive rock in an inventive and enjoyable way. The song's final minute sees the band delve into an aggressive psychedelic, folk-inflected black metal excursion.

"Ruínas" is a sprawling instrumental that goes in some very interesting directions. The introduction, replete with chimes, flute, and fluttery synths, sounds like it could have been on a jazz-funk release from the 1980s. Clavinet enters and continues on this funky path, and I really like the uncommon hand percussion they deploy here. From about this song's midpoint, things start to build up. Guitar and wordless vocals push this composition forward, and the eventual introduction of a rock drum kit adds to the momentum.

Lampião Rei ends on "Rito de Coroação". Right off the bat, swirling organ and twining guitars give this cut an otherworldly, psychedelic feel. Things are constantly churning and changing, but it's always small shifts that gradually accrue, rather than sudden shifts. Robert Fripp-influenced soloing will give way to folky group vocals, which in turn go to Magma-style madness and then to the type of grandiosity associated with some of Steven Wilson's bigger songs.

Papangu's sophomore record doesn't quite reach the same heights as Holoceno, but it's really not that far off. I love that they have continued exploring new twists on their sound, rather than just settling into a niche. One thing I like so much about Lampião Rei is just how Brazilian it sounds. I've heard lots of great music from all over the world, but a lot of stuff (especially in the progosphere) can sound quite generically Anglo-American. So when I run across stuff like this, which expertly and artfully weaves in sounds from the act's homeland, it's always exciting.

Review originally published here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/09/09/album-review-papangu-lampiao-rei/

Aside from the orchestra, Anathema manages to strike a good balance between their heavy side and beautiful melancholic counterweight. The first two songs can be considered robust in their own way. Well, one and a half songs, actually. The opening track Thin Air is initially quite mild with a lot of melody, until the distorted guitar blows the song up into almost gothic-like proportions. The following Summernight Horizon is a robust wild child full of pounding bass work and exhilarating drums. It's beautiful the band delves into melancholy halfway through.

Next, the band presents five tracks that already make this album legendary. Especially songs like the poignant Dreaming Light, the pulsating Everything where an angular theme sets the course, and the beautifully crafted A Simple Mistake with well-placed metal riffs contribute to that.

It must have been the ultimate task for Steven Wilson to have the opportunity to mix "We're Here Because We're Here". What a luxury he had under his fingertips. It's amazing how he managed to bring structure to the complex layers of sound. The music is grim, bombastic, dark, tender, and much more in all the right places. Anathema combines subtle guitar work with gritty chords, the keyboards and orchestra add depth to the whole, and the extensive harmonies combined with the often double lead vocals of Vincent Cavanagh and Lee Douglas are also a convincing result.

Although the band has enough variety in their own input, there are a few guest contributions on the album. Ville Valo (HIM) provides vocals on Angels Walk Among Us, Presence features a narrator, and the bombastic closer Hindsight includes a spoken audio fragment at the beginning and end. It's all very enjoyable, topped off by the cinematic Universal. The first part of it is immersive until a sparkling piano ignites the orchestra to great heights.

"We're Here Because We're Here" sounds exceptionally appealing. The combination of atmospheric music and intriguing power has turned this album inside out. Spectacular, to say the least.

Orginally posted on www.progenrock.com