SCULPTURE

BaK is back! Or so i thought. This Australian duo of Beau Djekic (guitar, bass, baglama, vocals) and Kit Dyson (drums, percussion, keyboards, piano, vocals) has been on the scene since 2010 and crafted a unique mix of progressive metal and Arabic folk music with its debut SCULPTURE in 2011. Sounding something like "Black Album" era Metallica accompanied by a traditional Arabic folk ensemble, BaK found a winning formula that i still revisit to let those irresistible hooks an rhythms sink in.

Unfortunately after SCULPTURE hit the scene in 2011 these guys have only put out three shorter EPs throughout the next decade culminating with 2021's "Crater" which i found to be wimping out a bit on the metal side and going more ethnic folk prog. I was excited to see a new release has squeaked into the calendar year of 2022 at the 11th hour and once i checked out a (supposedly) new EP titled SCULPTURE i was ecstatic to hear that BaK sounded as good as their former glory from a decade ago.

Oh wait! This isn't a new release at all but rather a truncated digital release of SCULPTURE from 2011. Whaaaat? Yep, that's right. The original SCULPTURE featured ten tracks and this new digital version has only five. So what gives? In short, i have no friggin' clue. This is a DIY underground band all the way and has never released its products in physical format save a cheap homemade version of its debut now long out of print and impossible to find. My guess is there are some disputes over who owns the music or perhaps even lost files?

Whatever the case this is a disappointment to find five tracks from ten years ago without the other five all wrapped up with a new album cover and presented as something new. Yeah i missed the identical title thing first time around. BTW i don't like the new album cover. The first one served just fine. IMHO this is a total rip off! I can comprehend legal issues or problems with retaining files or something and there obviously has to be a reason why this has emerged eleven years later as half the album it once was but i really wish this band would get it together and release some real albums.

Musically speaking these five tracks are excellent, an easy four stars with a sound that makes you rock the Casbah heavy metal style! As a release though this is beyond disappointing because the original album was released digitally already but it seems to have disappeared from the internet. A mystery for sure but not one that's welcome. See my review for the full album SCULPTURE for more detailed analysis of the music itself. As for this release it's an easy 3 stars. For newbies who have never encountered this unique fusion music you are in for a treat. For us who have already been indoctrinated into the club, a basket of rotten tomatoes for this tantalizing teaser that turned out to be nothing more than recycled past glories. Bah humbug.