KYOBO NA ONGAKU (A VIOLENT MUSIC)

Bi Kyo Ran is one of the older Japanese progrock bands, their eponymous debut CD is from 1982. From tha tmoment they are often described as the Japanese answer to early King Crimson. Especially guitarist Kunio Suma sounds like the second coming of Robert Fripp! This CD is another tribute to King Crimson around the Red and Larks Tongues In Aspic-era: dynamic prog featuring fiery and biting electric guitar, a propulsive rhythm-section and soaring Mellotron waves. At some moments their music reminds me of Swedish band Anekdoten but less adventurous and compelling. In my opinion this is one of the best releases from Bi Kyo Ran, only the vocals are mediocre.

There are portions of this record that are incredible, but overall this doesn't measure up to their first two studio albums. "A Violent Music" is an apt title for this recording as it is often very "noisy" and as victor77 says it's "hard to listen" to at times. Sometimes the drums are too upfront in the mix or they just don't sound good, and at times it's the distorted guitar that takes away the enjoyment of this record for me.

"A Violent City" hits the ground running with a lot of noise as guitar leads the way. Fortunately we get some scorching guitar melodies, and the guitar is especially good before 5 minutes in. Mellotron then floods the soundscape as xylophone, more mellotron and some blistering guitar follow. "Feet On the Ground" is difficult for me to enjoy as there is again a lot of noise.

"A Violent Party" is uptempo with fast paced vocals as the guitar grinds it out. Mellotron and drums follow before the melody from the beginning comes back but this time with xylophone. "A Violent Fort" has more mellotron and xylophone, but prior to that it's the guitar that impresses me the most 3 minutes in. "A Man Of Hand To Mouth" has processed vocals that I don't like, but I love the mellotron after 2 minutes. "Creep Funk" has some good bass and I especially like the guitar 3 1/2 minutes in. "A Violent Nightmare" features some good guitar as the band jams for a while.

A good record but disappointing for me after really enjoying their early work.