BURNING OFF IMPURITIES

Though not quite as good as their previous release, "The Black Tar Prophecies" this still deserves a 5 star rating. It's kind of like saying Pink Floyd's Animals is not as good as Wish You Were Here. I get the impression that this new material simply didn't gestate as long as the earlier collection. That's not to say that the songs aren't well composed or played. The talent displayed here is still superior to that of many of their post rock contemporaries and on par with many classic psychedelic and prog icons. Grails draws from a wide variety of sources and explores a wide variety of moods. Because of this it's difficult to describe the Grails sound in detail. Yet they still achieve a sense of continuity on every album I've heard. Fans of Pink Floyd, The Future Kings of England, Popol Vuh, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Porcupine Tree, Steve Hackett, Six Organs of Admittance etc may want to grab hold of this. But by all means download the "Black Tar Prophecies" first.

Third (or fourth, not sure) album from the Oregon-based now-quartet (their violinist Tim Horner is now gone), and probably their most varied (at least until the turn of the decade), Burning Of Impurities is certainly a title that could shock with a fundamentalist's interpretation of the title and by looking at the (superb) images of destruction of the booklet, one wonders what Grails's message is this time around, and as usual, the track title are of no help.

BOI is definitely between the usual post rock, but this time delving in semi-cosmic/space rock on one hand and Krautrock (ala ADII meets Popol Vuh) and some Indian classic sonic tapestry of some tracks. There also bits of electronic music that relate again to the left bank of the Rhime River. One of the big differences in this album is the jamming/improvisation level, which never seemed so high on a post rock album, but it's quite refreshing, often veering psychedelic, but never overpowering either.

Definitely the less post-rock album of their discography, BBOI does remain a typical Grails album, with plenty of good and some average and its load of tiny surprises that makes it one of the most enjoyable album of the genre. ? Rounded up to the upper star rating.

I've been meaning to review Grail's discography for months on end, but I hadn't got any further then the 2006 release "Black Tar Prophecies". With their 2011 release pending, it's about time I got to it. Just like "Black Tar Prophecies", this album shows the band moving away from their post-rock roots to a dark and disturbing place somewhere in space-rock.

There are still many traits from post-rock in the sound, meaning that slow and quietly shouldering sections are posed next to very loud and almost ecstatic outbursts. Luckily, the band knows that there are more volume ranges then just the extremes of loud and quite. They may sound a bit like GYBE, but the songs are more concise, with more effective melodies, and with a more skillful and more dynamic build of the atmosphere.

The music is instrumental but very expressive, not that we can be conclusive about what the music is meant to express but it surely conjures up a powerful, fear-filled and almost religious sensation. Maybe I get this through association, as the band's music has a big affinity to Popol Vuh's music from the 72-76 period. It is more modern, ambient and darker, but it evokes similar spiritual and devout feelings. On top, Grails are also connected to Red Sparowes, known for their 'fear for the Lord' song content.

"Burning Off Impurities" is a perfect start if you want to discover the dark and eerie world of Grails. I prefer the preceding "Black Tar Prophecies", but this one is not far below it.

Grails - Burning Off Impurities (2007

It's not always that you hear something, and when you are done with it, an hour later, all you can think of is ... the history of so many things in your mind that it might remind you off, and in the end, it makes for a small comparison that seems to extend over 50 years (for me) ... and stand out, for an incredible piece of music or two, and this band, easily brings up 3 of these for me.

There are a couple of bands, for me, that were quite experimental in their early days, one came from the drum circles in a commune (Amon Duul 2), and the other, has a more difficult connection, although I think that it is strictly based on visuals and film (Djam Karet), something that most rock music listeners tend to leave to the "lyrics" to tell them what the music is about ... and for me, it has always been the best when no one says anything, and your imagination has to wake up to what it is seeing.

The CD, Burning Off Impurities by GRAILS, is a far out example of what the creativity of music can do to your imagination ... when bits and pieces of this material in this album brings me to some of the free form moments in Amon Duul 2's YETI ... but even those, or that parallel, is probably STRICTLY in my mind, and I am not sure that anyone else would see that.

It is kinda wonderful to hear, right at the start, a piece of music where the guitar is not soloing where "it's supposed to" in a rock song, and many times it is simply adding a wonderful mood to the music, again, this was something I first found in Amon Duul 2, starting with YETI many years ago.

GRAILS is much more "modern" and the music, if you are to take each piece from the CD, quite a bit more different and explosive in its own way, specially as the CD goes towards the end, even after an awesome opening. It seems to have some Eastern surprises (maybe it's just the instruments and how they are used), but the continued ability to create pieces that are not defined within a known rock style ... is to me, very special indeed.

What is more amazing is the material in this CD, is from an American band, in an area not well known for anything that far out, or that experimental ... for them "experimental" here means a cacophony group that intentionally distorts everything within a classical music format ... and everyone seems to like it, even though I would suggest that a lot of that music is very invisible, like a lot of free form jazz that is endless and meaningless in experiential ways, at least for me. It feels like an exercise in nothing, for the sake of nothing ... and sometimes it's called "art for art's sake", isn't it?

In this CD, the longer pieces are the ones that really stand out, from the opening "Soft Temple", then "Silk Road" and further in "Origin-ing" and "Burning Off Impurities" ... and for my tastes, in terms of an experience in listening to this, "Burning Off Impurities" is about letting go the conventions that prevent the music from being free ... and it certainly seems far out and expressive in my imagination, to the point that seeing visuals in this is actually difficult, in that you gotta dig to find them, but they are there ... in a mix of cultures and music that is impressive, and very well done.

It is, weird to me, to see this considered "psychedelic", as if the music sounded like that under that condition, and we are imagining things about the music ... which of course is quite possible and plausible. However, it takes away from one's own individual ability to "see" and "dream" beyond what one might usually find, or locate any meaningful discussion and thoughts, that would help you define things for yourself ... I guess that Huxley was not exactly my best example of "psychedelic", other than the colors. When it came to music, literature and art itself, then ... we are immediately confronted with the reality ... here is another person ... and sometimes this unusual thought, makes us think that they are this and that ... and this is not the case for me. This band is probably more "spatial" than it is "space rock" and it is less "psychedelic" within the definitions that we are used to from 50 years ago ... which are so rare to find nowadays, but are gloriously heard in this CD ... and it does not have to be "psychedelic" at all ... just pure excellent material for your imagination to gnaw on ... it is that kind of music!