BLACKJAZZ

Well I must admit this is a diappointment for me after their previous album "Grindstone" which blew me away.They've pretty much made this record more extreme when it comes to the vocals and sound. It's a noisy and chaotic recording while the growling and screaming vocals are just too much for me. A very intense album.

They kind of play with the title of Neil Young's "Needle And The Damage Done" calling their's "The Madness And The Damage Done". It opens with yelling then kicks in heavily. Not a fan of the vocals here. It's chaotic before 3 minutes and the vocals come screaming back after 4 minutes. "Fiskeye" opens with heavy drums as crazy synths join in. Spoken vocals a minute in as the guitar joins in. Synths are back. Sax before 3 1/2 minutes. Catchy stuff believe it or not. "Exit Sun" has a good guitar intro and some killer drum work.It turns experimental when it settles. Kicks back in at 6 minutes.

"Exit Sun" is a short percussion based tune. "Helter Skelter" is an uptempo track with drums and dissonant sax standing out. "Madness And The Damage Done" is intense early. Drums kick in before 2 minutes and the guitar follows. "Blackjazz Deathtrance" has these strange sounds that pulse before the heavy drums arrive. It settles around 3 1/2 minutes with more weird sounds. Spoken words follow. It's intense again. A calm before 6 1/2 minutes then it picks back up 8 minutes in. "Omen" is dark and intense once again. Sax in this one after 4 1/2 minutes and later. "21st Century Schizoid Man" is an interesting cover especially with the processed growling vocals. I prefer APRIL WINE's version.

A tough one for me to get into. Experimental, chaotic, noisy and loud. And no this has nothing to do with Jazz.