SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM

Not only do the band sound like they've not missed a beat - and in fact, they never did with many of the members having continued to work with each other in Free Salamander Exhibit, perhaps nodded to in the opening track here. Moreover, they began working on much of this material in 2010-2011 (and SQPR, a This Heat cover, hails from as far back as 2004) and have been gently working on it ever since, meaning this album has been brewed, distilled, and refined over the span of a decade. The end result might be the best expression they've ever offered of their creative vision, a keystone which ties their body of work together and which in retrospect it feels like their earlier albums were building towards all along. With many of the band members equally adept at rock and classical instruments, and Nils Frykdahl giving Mike Patton a run for his money in terms of vocal acrobatics, the Museum deploys its full bag of tricks here expertly, everything used purposefully and thoughtfully to best effect.

For a group which started out resembling an avant-prog take on Mr. Bungle, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum have only forged ahead into yet stanger territory; here they make Mr. Bungle's most alienating moments seem outright smooth and approachable by comparison, but never become dryly technical, maintaining an impressive command of atmosphere and emotion for the whole 66 minute running time.

To say this was a welcomed surprise is quite a fair judgment. The group, after a long time, have evolved their musical offerings in new ways that make this feel of a rather unique way, even for SGM's sake.

I don't usually talk about the negatives first, though, for the sake of this review I feel as though I must bring up that this record feels considerably less harder than their last three. Not that they necessarily went pop, or went soft, as this is still pretty heavy hitting, especially on tracks like Salamander in Two Worlds, El Evil, and The Gift, but they certainly have become less focused on making very heavy avant garde metal tracks, and more on composition. I won't say this is the most horrible thing the band has done in regards to their music, as what they've put here is still very excellent, but I do kind of wish for more metal ideals that made me fall in love with the band's sound.

However, SGM does find ways in making a strong album of their own accord without relying on metal. For example, I heavily enjoy that they got a lot more bizarre with their direction. The band has always been quite abstract, but here they certainly are taking more of an effort with their MIO sound, with noises and ideas that feel much more akin to Art Zoyd than their previous--more Samla Mammas Manna or Henry Cow-like ideals. This allows for probably one of their most creative sound directions to boot, to where, even if I may miss their more heavy stuff, they know how to make me still find something to love for their freakish workouts.

I also dig how they seem to be a lot more conceptual here. They are a concept band, being music based around this weird mythos of a freakish museum, the apocalypse, and dadaism, but they focused a bit more on the music and less on the concepts themselves. Here, they explore what it means to be the last human in a world of monsters, extinction, philosophy, post-mortem, and what it means to live. They capture a very dreadful, but oddly heart warming atmosphere with these tracks, and the less harsher vocals allows for these songs to be a bit more accessible to those who desire to see more of SGM's story sides. I heavily enjoy this direction the band took here, and I would honestly love it if they explore more conceptual projects further. Who knows, maybe they might go in a Devil Doll direction and have one of their albums (maybe their last one) be a full on rock opera, kind of like Dies Irae. I think that would be very fun.

There are also no truly bad tracks here (aside from maybe Fanfare for the Last Human Being and Bells for Kith and Kin). That is to be kind of expected from SGM, though, but even then they show that they are master musicians in their effort of crafting these highly invigorating musicals. My favorite song here has to be either El Evil, SPQR, or Old Grey Heron, and I honestly cannot choose as they are all very fantastic. El Evil has this scary energy that feels like a Disney villain song, but a lot more evil than anything Scar or Ursula can muster up. SPQR is a very fun track, being very bouncy, and you know that I love my groovy jams here and there. And Old Grey Heron is very soft, and delicate, but still has that inherent creepiness that SGM excels in, to a certainly masterful degree. Truly impressive stuff.

Whilst I may miss what the band were doing before with their sound, this more softer, yet abstract direction the band takes is still excellent. Even in new spotlights, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum manage to still be one of the most unique metal bands, and I certainly say their entire discography, especially now, deserves attention from anyone who may be daring enough to dive into the more freakish metal projects out there.

Best tracks: El Evil, SPQR, Old Grey Heron

Worst tracks: Fanfare for the Last Human Being, Bells for Kith and Kin

Seventeen years is a long time for such a creatively insane band to drop off the scene entirely and suddenly reemerge but that is exactly what has occurred in the earliest moments of 2024 when the majestic madness of the SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM has announced its reopening with an invitation to experience its latest exhibit - OF THE LAST HUMAN BEING. Yes, it's all back and so too are the main curators and partners in crime which has included the mischievous gypsy geniuses Nils Frykdahl, Dan Rathbun, Carla Kihlstedt, Michael Mellender and Matthias Bossi and of course they resurrect their entire arsenal of sound making devices for your listening pleasure. The "Rock Against Rock" troupe has reactivated all the musical mojo that made the first run so magical and once investigated a bit further, it turns out that SGM actually began to write for a fourth album as soon as the third one was complete therefore much of the material presented on OF THE LAST HUMAN BEING actually feels like a natural continuation of where the band left off in 2011. But of course it wouldn't be SGM without throwing a few curveballs and for that we will always love them.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated returns to the world of avant-prog metal, the new album was made possible by fans crowdfunding the financial creation of it. Perhaps all of those who missed their favorite musical mystics needed to relish in the unsavory thematic events that emerge from the age of the Anthropocene Extinction just needed their fix once again. Well look no further. The band sent out some teaser's with early video releases for the tracks "Burn Into Light" and "Hush Hush" and proved that they still have that eerie avant-garde connection to the wellspring of ethereal creative conductivity that has once again manifested itself in this larger than life lumpen musicalis from which there is apparently no cure. OF THE LAST HUMAN BEING exemplifies the typical format of the SGM with 13 diverse tracks that take you through the roller coaster ride love affair of avant-prog, freakish metal, psycho-folk, screwball cabaret all the while narrating the musical maelstrom with some of the most head-scratching themes and lyrical content in the world of art rock. The wait is over and the feast is ready for serving. The album is just under 66 minutes long.

Fears of a botched comeback gone wrong are extinguished very quickly as the opening "Salamander In Two Worlds" evokes the same lullaby pacification that "Of Natural History" exhibited throughout its labyrinthine callithump. The tintinnabulation of xylophones and glockenspiels with Nils Frykdahl's familiar vocal tones feel like a long lost friend. The track exhibits all those bittersweet contradictory musical factors: avant-prog time signature workouts and insane instrumental interplay that these gifted musicians are now famous for. The title makes you wonder if it refers in code to the announcement that SGM and Free Salamander Exit will exist simultaneously although literally the track actually refers to Theodora Kroeber's biography "Ishi In Two World" which narrated the last known member of the Native American tribe, the Yahis. Ishi became a living museum exhibit and apparently now an exhibit at everyone's favorite Dadaist institution.

While the opening track exhibits the SGM's propensity for cleverly crafting intricately delicate melodic developments fortified with all kinds of complexities and dynamic shifts, the following "Fanfare For The Last Human Being" seems to extend back to Rathbun and Frykdahl's Idiot Flesh days with a marching band type musical procession only embellished by violin-fueled folk and a Stravinksy classical flavor however it is a short instrumental and the third track "El Evil" jumps into the more familiar straight on metallic rockers of "In Glorious Times" only showcasing Carla Kihlstedt's amazing violin shredding capacity. Strange tribal rhythms, erratic industrial guitar freneticism in avant-funk mode accompanied by Frykdahl's best possessed by sheer evil vocal performances ensure that this album has lost none of the creative fortitude of its predecessors. All fears of an botched project have officially dissipated at this stage! Woohoo!!! And damn how do these MUSEUM curators make evil so [%*!#]ing addictive!

The band has also lost none of its propensity for keeping the album flowing in different directions with the chimes of "El Evil" ceding perfectly into the chime-rich short instrumental "Bells For Kith And Kin" which makes you feel like you've been teleported to some Tibetan monastery! Next up "Silverfish" which allows Karla Kihlstedt to pacify the soul with her Bjork-ish vocal delivery. Dark and brooding the track begins as a Chelsea Wolfe type of dark ambient pop sound only with a melancholic jig styled violin accompaniment which offers a strange bedfellow with the witchy spell casting lyrical delivery. The following "S.P.Q.R." actually dates back to 2004 and features one of the most frenetically demented bass runs of the band's entire output. As the group sings along in unison it almost sounds like some bizarre ritual as the bass and violin shred like Pagini with eerie brooding atmospheres oozing in from the ethers.

"We Must Know More" is another throwback to the marching band rich Idiot Flesh days. Completely devoid of bass and guitar, the track features a tuba, trombone and Frykdahl delivering a sermon of surreality. The catchy melody is almost of commercial jingle value. Perhaps the catchiest track the band has ever released, at least the most accessible. Think of a barber quartet gone psycho-marching band and you'll get the gist. "The Gift" jumps back into the brooding darkness and the jarring avant-prog musical processions that hop, skip and jump between slow passages and then erupt to fully ignited avant-metal rampage. In other words, it's SGM caliber weird! "Hush Hush" comes next. One of the videos that served as a sneak peak is actually not indicative of the album as a whole. A tender ballad SGM style narrated by a fragile Carla Kihlstedt, the is brooding and stays in an eerie downtempo sort of speed with Kihlstedt's vocals soft and contemplative however even this track breaks into a metal sequence in the middle before Kihlstedt regaining control

"Save It!" is one of the most spastic tracks and sounds like some sort of industrial avant-funk, something like you would expect if Primus and Einstürzende Neubauten were collaborating forces with Univers Zero. "Burn Into Light," also released as a video, visually showcased a bizarre collision of a crow-human alchemist and humans seeking magical knowledge beyond their ability to control. The video was captivating and creepy as hell and what the musical score offers is no less so. An industrial metal rocker with the expected avant-prog workouts, this track fires on all pistons including Kihlstedt's controlled violin contributions. "Old Grey Heron" is actually the longest track at 7 1/2 minutes. A tale of a heron who only wants humanity to get it together before the extinction event occurs, this post-rocker resembles the track "The Creature" from "Of Natural History" at least in Frykdahl's lyrical delivery. The music is less punctuated by avant-prog stabs and rather remains calm and calculated and perhaps the most free-flowing track the band has thus penned. The time signature workouts are kept to a minimum and the minimalist approach (by SGM standards) ensures the message is uninterrupted. Even the metallic heaviness is more like a "normal" alternative rock / metal band than anything remotely SGM. The trumpet adds a nice mariachi band touch.

You have to put your rose-colored glasses on for the album's grand finale, "Rose-Colored Song" which bookends the album much like it began with a tinkling of a glockenspiel that resembles a music box and a fairy tale soundtrack quality with psycho-cabaret overtones. As the Disneyland-esque theme park ride giddiness cedes to bizarre industrial sound effects, the sputters on aimlessly allowing a dark brooding atmosphere to slowly bid you farewell from the latest MUSEUM exhibit. Once against the light and the dark wrestle for world domination and once again a truce of the forces keeps the cliffhanger in perpetual motion. And then it's done leaving you to wonder how this album stacks up against its predecessors. Well after a few spins already, i have to say REMARKABLY WELL! With nothing left to prove it seems that SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM was content to simply mine its entire history in order to retain a sense of familiarity yet allowing new ideas to organically coalesce into the greater mix. In other words this album exceeded all expectations and proves to me that this band of musical troupes really is one of the most creative forces on the planet par none.

OF THE LAST HUMAN BEING really does feel like a continuation of the band's earlier trilogy and although i have heard no announcements of the band's future, we can only hope that at least another trilogy is on the drawing board. While my expectations were set low as to avoid any disappointment whatsoever, it comes as one of the most pleasant surprises of 2024 that a band so talented could pull off a proper comeback nearly two decades down the pike. A brilliant and instantly palatable set of tracks will allow any fans to instantly regale in past endeavors only set to the immediacy of the 2020s. Perhaps a bit more accessible than the albums that preceded but only in a way that is logical and allows the continuity of the album's entire run to play out. It's true that the metal aspects of "In Glorious Times" have been tamped down quite a bit but on the bright side the playful and often giddy larger playground of instrumentation that was so missed on the previous album has returned to generate one of the most ingenious album experiences of the 2020s. SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM is not only back with a new exhibit but one has produced yet another masterpiece of magnetic music magic unlike any other. Oh rejoice for the pleasures of life are too fleeting and too few.

While the band's first two album's were very theatrical in a demented Vaudville fashion with the music matching the wild performance art routines, on IN GLORIOUS TIMES the band streamlined its sound into a heavier avant-garde metal juggernaut with more inspiration from "Red" era King Crimson or the Swedish prog revival bands like Anekdoten, Sinkadus or Landberk only with a razor-sharp metal edge. If "Of Natural History" was SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM's magnum opus to prove they were the worthy successors of the mighty Mr Bungle, then IN GLORIOUS TIMES was the answer to Mike Patton's Fantômos, only SGM had a knack of keeping everything distinct and original no matter how many nods they dished out to past masters. In that regard album #3 delivers with abundance.

A noticeable more brash and metal oriented album from the very start, "The Companions" insinuates the band is back with fairy-tale dreams in avant-folk forests but in reality only stirs up brooding atmospheres that erupt into chaotic discord. Once again graced by Nils Frykdahl's poetic prose set to a demented Gothic crooning persona, the opening track allows a bit of creepy melancholy to sink in but for the most part the album just let's loose with more focus on the heavily distorted dissident guitar workouts than the myriad detours into a labyrinth of musical genres that the first two albums dished out unapologetically. "Helpless Corpses Enactment" jumps right to it with crazed chord progressions laced with brutal prog time signatures and a demented vocal tirade of Frykdahl proving his metal game is on par with any of the scariest screamers, growlers and rage against the machiners out there.

Carefully constructing the right gloom and doom is the name of the game before the volcanic eruption of metal mania detonates its might. "Puppet Show" almost begins as an avant-prog tribute to Magma with the entire band engaging in a vocal sing along but cedes to a demented dissonant piano that seduces the violin into a game of contrapuntal warfare. The strategy of IN GLORIOUS TIMES is to simplify the musical approach and let the creative music mojo manifest in other ways, in this case in contrapuntal instrumentation that weaves massive webs of avant-prog counterpoints and unusual syncopative approaches. While the guitar, bass, violin and drums almost completely dominate this album with an almost total abandonment of all those clever self-made tricks and trinkets that Dan Rathbun decorated the first two albums with, softer passages do allow some intricate percussion and lullaby effect sounds to be heard.

Unlike the previous two albums, IN GLORIOUS TIMES doesn't flow perfectly with a few tracks like "Formicary" not jiving as it feels like a forced display of avant-prog technicalities without the melodic build up to justify it. The following "Angel Of Repose" finds Carla Kihlstedt in the vocalist's seat and on this one she channels her inner Bjork and sounds like the Icelandic diva only set to an oddball mix of psycho-jig fiddle playing and avant-metal extremism. It's a bizarre track but it only sets the stage for the most crazed and unhinged track of all, the heavyweight "Ossuary" which gives a glimpse as to what King Crimson's "Red" might've sounded like if Gentle Giant was invited to join in. The track single-handedly conjures up the most haunting soundscapes of the entire release with jittery avant-prog guitar workouts working in opposition to equally nerve-wracking bass lines, brutal proggy percussion and Kihlstedt's violin shredding.

The album is on a more even keel than the previous two with the same basic build ups and climaxes with the usual SGM trademarks thrown in for good reason therefore the rest of the album pretty much follows in the footsteps of what has already been established in the first half of the album. Frykdahl trades in his Vaudville persona for some sort of demented psychotic philosopher who tortures himself over some mighty peculiar subject matter. The album is overall more rhythmic although unabashed avant-prog workouts do take things into the wild west for moments of brutal prog orgasmia, the album more or less follows a more controlled musical flow which i find to remind me most of Anekdoten's earliest albums. IN GLORIOUS TIMES also delivers an abundance of abrasive and grating sound effects like the grittiest industrial harsh noise album there are to be found. Unlike the previous albums that offered a bit of respite on the closing track, "The Putrid Refrain" ushers the album out with shrill sound effects.

SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM fans fall into two basic camps: those who love the diverse kaleidoscope effect of the Vaudville meets avant-prog metal of the first two releases and those who love this more streamlined heavy prog meets extreme metal approach of this one. Personally i fall into the first camp but i have to commend SGM for not just copying and pasting its excellence par none of the first two releases. This was a bold and daring experiment that although to my ears not quite as pleasing from beginning to end, nevertheless showcased the darker and more abrasive side of the band where every member was allowed to showcases their stunning virtuosity. This album is more equivalent to sonic terror as opposed to the Disneyland meets Devil Doll style of the early albums. This is one that never really stuck with me but as i've revisited it for the sake of this review, i've found i've been missing out on a very unique and intricately designed album that is quite fascinating in its own right. The more uniform approach allows the band to gel in a way that is absent on the earlier albums. It also allows the vocalists to excel in ways not possible before. An excellent album even if not quite as perfect.

Part avant-prog, part extreme metal and laced with folk, funk, industrial and being 100% demented, SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM forever changed the landscape of experimental rock and metal with its debut "Grand Opening And Closing" with its Dadaist musical madness and surrealist visions that incorporated every possible genre into the overall scheme of things. The band regrouped to start album #2 although percussionist David Shamrock who dated back to the Acid Rain days jumped ship and was replaced by newbie Frank Grau. The result was the band's sophomore effort OF NATURAL HISTORY which found SGM progressing in many ways from its debut release. While the diverse nature of the music continued in the footsteps of its processor, the band became emboldened to tackle even more elements and throw them in the sonic cauldron and boil them all down into a tantalizing concoction of avant-metal splendor.

OF NATURAL HISTORY took on the continuity of a concept album where narrative poetic prose about 20th century anti-humanism found philosophical existentialisms thematically posing the apocalyptic implications of humanity's existence on planet Earth. With a distinct merging of tracks that seamlessly cede from one distinct mood to another and graced with infallible musical logic, this sophomore album featured an unthinkable roster of 12 tracks that despite extending to nearly 72 minutes of playing time, instantly demanded full attention with authority and once pulled into their gravitational forces upon the listener, refused to release its iron grip until the very finishing touches. While the usual SGM characteristics of yore punctuated every aspect of album #2's rich palette of ingredients, the band simply refused to stand on its laurels and outdid itself once again. With the addition of many field sample recordings, even more spices were added to the overall recipe.

This time around the band included even more stylistic additions to its already burgeoning musical edifice which in the hands of an ordinary band would crumble like sandcastles in a storm however the musical prowess exhibited by the likes of Nils Frykdahl (guitar, flute, vocals), Carla Kihlstedt (violins, organ, zither, vocals) and Dan Rathbun (bass, lute, trombone, vocals) were of a caliber rarely encountered in the world of experimental music. With the skills of the top classical composers and the creative fortitude of Salvador Dalí, SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM was a serious force to be reckoned with. In addition to the band's eclectic arsenal of traditional instrumentation was the huge array of self-made instruments courtesy of Dan Rathbun, add to that additional session guests who added the touches of xylophone, glockenspiel and a choir's worth of backing vocalists. If that wasn't enough the band's cohesion reached its pinnacle with tight-knit compositions chock filled with complexities reaching stunning perfection.

Starting with a drone that leaves you in suspense for several seconds, the opening "A Hymn To The Morning Star" enters a strange dark Disney-esque type Vaudeville show from another dimension. With Frykdahl offering his best Gothic baritone deliveries, the track evolves through strange complexities that ends in a second droning session that leaves nothing but darkness suspended in your very soul. Ceding as though a single track, the following "The Donkey-Headed Adversary of Humanity Opens the Discussion" builds up a dissonant jangly guitar racket before avant-prog scales start whizzing up and down with industrial sounds and a seeming demonic possession taking hold of Frykdahl's vocal deliveries. With various cadences of bizarre instrumentation and brutal prog workouts, the track exceeds the already complex nature of the first album and setting the tone for an album equally as dense and filled with strangeness.

"Phthisis" follows with Carla Kihlstedt taking over the vocal duties. The track perfectly demonstrates the stunning contrast the SGM takes on. Sensual angel vocals and a soft pacifying violin groove relentlessly backed up by abrasive metal guitar chugging and the usual time signature brutality. The art of emphasizing sheer beauty and ugly aggression simultaneously is brought to full light on this one although that is the general recipe in the SGM playbook. "Bring Back The Apocalypse" comes off as an industrial horror movie with gurgling sounds emerging from some unknown source and unrecognizable instruments chaotically churning along like popcorn popping. Demonic group singing ensues along with a haunting violin. It sounds like indeed a party for the damned just before judgment day rears its ugly head and wipes humanity out. This track employs Squarepusher inspired IDM (Intelligent dance music) to offer yet another unexpected twist in the continuing saga of SGM.

"FC: The Freedom Club" dials things back a bit by offering a more "normal" respite into the world of progressive rock with xylophone dreams and glockenspiel grandeur paving the way for a heavier rock based anthemic celebration of the demise of humanity through its own technological additions. The track also features one of the most manic aggressive outbursts on the entire album. The form of the track is in a whole other league of composition and beyond brilliant. "Gunday's Child" offers an even deeper dip into the avant-garde with some sort of bass stringed instrument that falls in and out of tune and torturous avant-prog time signature workouts with so many instruments whizzing around on their own trajectory that only the vocal harmonies tie everything together. The fairy tale singing sessions sound like a demented counterpart to some Disney classic gone totally wrong.

"The 17-Year Cicada" provides a bizarre avant-folk instrumental interlude with lots of creepy insect noises, totally unhinged flute lines and some sort of tribal steel drumming. Essentially a nearly 4-minute canvass to punctuate with unexpected percussion sounds and virtuosic flute wizardry. Next up - "The Creature" which is the most profound track on the entire album. Immediately ushering in an avant-prog time signature workout, the complexities cede to an atmospheric narration about a creature that must consume everything until it finally has to feed upon itself and how the pacifist population does nothing to stop it. Presumably a critique on the nature of corporations and the desire to commoditize every living resource until nothing remains. The track is chock filled with extreme avant-prog workouts all laid out in dynamic logical processions. "What Shall We Do Without Us?" provides another short avant-folk interlude with a brief explosive segment into chaos.

"Babydoctor" is the longest track just barely under 14 minutes and introduces the band to the soundscapes of post-rock and post-metal which keeps all the excesses somewhat tamped down. Perhaps the most easily digestible track although the band still offers lots of variations within a more limited constraint. The album closes with the rather strange love / hate ode to the "Cockroach" which seems to revel in its ability to overcome any obstacle and its survival beyond humanity eminent. Presented in the same Gothic crooner style as the album started it evokes the same Disney gone Vaudville effect and offers the strongest sense of irony on the entire album. The album ends with the 6-minute track "Untitled" which really isn't a track at all but rather just the sounds of swamp noises and a conversation between what sounds like hillbillies of the Ozarks. While this track is utterly unnecessary it's not really a part of the album and should be considered a skippable "extra."


One of the true masterworks of 21st century experimental progressive rock and avant-garde metal, OF NATURAL HISTORY is really an album that it's almost impossible to comprehend upon the first few listening experiences. While the melodies and grooves are just accessible enough to get your attention, the details and the complexities continue to impress as you navigate through the layers of musical sophistication. On this sophomore release SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM proved itself to be one of the most original and creative bands that world of progressive rock and experimental metal had ever encountered. The journey through this album is so rich and packed with ideas that it's really hard to believe it's just one release. By fusing so many styles and genres of music and blending it all so proficiently, the band literally ventured into a world of its own making and while experimental avant-garde music is hardly anything new, to create a completely new musical paradigm and master it to a level of proficiency and virtuosity is another matter altogether. This is one of my all time favorite albums and one that really just gets better with time. A true masterpiece in every conceivable way.

As Idiot Flesh these experimentalists took on the idea of Dadaism and surrealism as the basis for their musical expressions and incorporated everything but the kitchen sink (and then that too!) to their bizarre musical concoctions. To say that IDIOT FLESH wasn't obsessed with unbridled creativity would be a gross understatement but the band went from a rather loosely based level of freakery on the 1992 debut "Tales of Instant Knowledge and Sure Death" to stunning precision and avant-prog technical proficiency by the time it reached its third and final album "Fancy" in 1997. The stage was set for whatever was to come next and what came next emerged two years later with the creation of SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM.

Taking the essence of Idiot Flesh and elevating it to even further sophistication, Frykdahl, Rathbun and Shamrock reunited and invited some other stellar talents to the freak party. Violinist Carla Kihlstedt of Charming Hostess, another project of Frykdahl joined forces along with Vacuum Tree Head members percussionist Moel Staiano and multi-instrumentalist Michael Mellender aka The Lower Animals. The band developed a strange mythology around a fictitious museum created by Dadaists and Futurists that was named the Sleeptime Gorilla Press. Deemed the museum of the future it was to exhibit anti-artifacts, non-history and surrealist's visionary exhibits. The museum supposedly opened on June 22, 1916 but a certain exhibit which consisted of fire caused chaos and destruction on the day the museum opened thus the source of the title for the band's debut release GRAND OPENING AND GRAND CLOSING.

This mythology encompasses both the band's musical ethos and Dadaist approach. The band's first concert was also on June 22 only 83 years later and thus the band's debut release GRAND OPENING AND GRAND CLOSING was born and released in 2001 after two years of meticulous creativity being infused into its wild and adventurous set of 9 tracks that encompasses 58 1/2 minutes of playing time. Of course the album doesn't represent their theatrical live shows that evolved from the Idiot Flesh years. SGM continued the elaborate routines ranging from erudite fictitious readings from Dada artists and mathematicians to all sorts of bizarre unexpected surprises. Nevertheless, the band proved a musical competence almost unmatched in the world of unusually experimental music.

While SGM is a direct descendent of Idiot Flesh, there are a few distinctions that elevated SGM into the next arena. First of all the violin techniques of Carla Kihlstedt added an entirely missing dimension. Secondly the inclusion of extreme metal to the mix added an entire world of contrast that added yet another missing aspect. Thirdly the band's unique chemistry allowed everything to gel into an extremely cohesive manner where exquisitely demanding compositional fortitude merged perfectly into the world of virtuosic technicalities which all fit in perfectly with alternative tunings, demented musical scales and of course all those brilliant self-made instruments crafted by Rathbun that added even more diversity to the Idiot Flesh paradigm. Needless to say, SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM took the world of avant-garde metal by complete surprise in 2001 and through the course of three albums set the bar so high that few have even dared to attempt to recreate anything resembling this demanding and divinely inspired music magic.

"Rock Against Rock" was the band's motto and indeed GRAND OPENING AND GRAND CLOSING fits the bill with its unique infusion of avant-prog, experimental metal, industrial, avant-folk and freakazoid madness. Rock In Opposition of the highest magnitude, SGM cites such disparate forces as King Crimson, Swans, Stravinsky, Thinking Plague, Univers Zero, Henry Cow, Einstürzende Neubauten, Art Bears and even metal acts such as Mayhem not to mention funk rock acts like the Red Hot Chili Peppers as inspiration for its strange amalgamation of weirdness. It's doesn't take long to hear how original the SGM really is with the opening "Sleep Is Wrong" which immediately unleashes a plethora of time signature workouts, vocal harmony tradeoffs, contrasts in folky passages and industrial metal heft. Passive violins cede to dissonant metal chord bombast and moments of self-made percussive interludes nurture group harmony workouts in the spirit of classic Gentle Giant only in a style that is SGM through and through.

As the album continues it only gets more ambitious with the following track "Ambugaton" indulging in a prog metal workout. One of the secrets of the SGM is that all the members were active in the songwriting process as well as being performing artists and multi-instrumentalists making the music some of the most diverse far-reaching soundscapes progressive music has to offer. "Ablutions" written by Carla Kihlstedt takes on a totally different demeanor than the previous tracks with an Art Bears type vocal style augmented by a moody dulcimer and a dark atmospheric backdrop. Despite all the unhinged complexities the band wasn't adverse to more straightforward rockers which comes in the form of "1997 (Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's...)" which is about as "normal" as the band gets but even this track couldn't resist breaking into oddball time signature workouts and avant-metal savagery.

The secret to the album's freshness is how each track offers a completely different glimpse into the strange musical universe of the SGM's own making. While the succinct instrumental "The Miniature" provides the perfect minute-long interlude in avant-folk spender, the Frykdahl penned "Powerless" provides a canvass for his all-encompassing talent for crafting exquisitely designed compositions. He has mastered the art of subtle build-ups, dramatic dynamic shifts and thundering crescendoes that all fit within an avant-framing of a classical composed oeuvre. He demonstrates clearly that he has indeed created a completely new musical paradigm that remains utterly unclassifiable except for the usual "experimental" or "avant" tagging.

The album's complexities just seem to ratchet up into unthinkable proportions culminating in the avant-angularity metal magnum opus "The Strain" but the album offers a bit of relief with the last two tracks which chill out a bit. The track ""Sleepytime (Spirit Is a Bone)" takes its sweet time in its 10-minute plus running time to get started but offers a nice little lullaby effect before unleashing the album's last hoorah of SGM wizardry. The only track that falters on the entire album is the closing "Sunflower" which is more of soul pacifying mechanism rather than a proper track. It is basically an 8-minute meditative chiming of a dulcimer that simply resonates in various ways without ever developing. Given that it's the final track it's easily skippable and personally i find it to be an acceptable palette cleanser after the density and darkness of the album's maniacal meandering through the extremes of time signature workouts, metal bombast and avant-garde Dadaism, it isn't a big deal.

What an amazing achievement GRAND OPENING AND GRAND CLOSING was in 2001 and remains so to this very day. This and the following album are two of my favorite albums of all time and needless to say SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM is a top 10 band. These creative geniuses somehow coalesced their talents with all egos in check for the greater good of making music so magical that i still can't believe it exists. This is the type of music that you can instantly love due to the accessible hooks but can delve deeper and further into all the complexities that allow you to interpret the album in completely new ways. It's the onion peel effect and each layer contributes to an overall aspect that creates a much larger than life musical experience. The original album featured 9 tracks but releases on The End label featured two bonus studio tracks and a live rendition of "Powerless" and they are all decent and worthy but not as essential. This is a bonafide masterpiece with the sole exception of the final track "Sunflower." But even that track works in the album's context so doesn't bother me one teeny bit.

4.5 rounded UP!

1. "The Companions" (10:04) total Danny Elfman cabaret. Could come directly from Nightmare Before Christmas 2. It's so powerful and entertaining! (18.5/20)

2. "Helpless Corpses Enactment" (5:57) a little heavier and darker than the previous song: it feels as if it wants to venture into Death Metal territory. A little too vocal-centric for my tastes. I like the second DEVY TOWNSEND-like motif a little better. (8.666667/10)

3. "Puppet Show" (4:15) sounds and feels like a bombastic metal JC Superstar with its choral vocal delivery, while the music in between vocal passages has more of a cabaret noir feel. The use of toy piano, dulcimer, and glockenspiel gives it that Danny Elfman feel again. (8.875/10)

4. "Formicary" (5:46) angular Andy Partridge-like guitar chord sequences promote an odd melody line that is performed by Carla Kihlstedt and Michael Mellender as if female and male conversationalists in a stage one act. Big, chunky bass beneath and circus-like drums really add to the odd KING CRIMSON-esque feel of this one--especially in the central instrumental passage. (9/10)

5. "Angle Of Repose" (7:53) slower, heavy, plodding music with Carla Kihlstedt performing the lead vocal in a fragile- sounding higher register voice. Very cool--and compelling. The musical bed overwhich she sings is very buoyant and supportive until things speed up and turn ominous in the third minute. The music then turns pure avant--yet Carla continues to sing (and contribute her violin). The fifth minute results in new motifs: kind of two, alternating, as Carla continues her narrative singing. Some klezmer influence showing itself in the sixth minute as Carla's vocal turns toward desperation. I think I'd value this one more if I heard the message of the lyrics. (13.33333/15)

6. "Ossuary" (4:35) opens with a bit of a bluegrass sound palette and feel. A funked-up jazz-rock fusion motif develops in the third minute before the growl vocals and aggressive KING CRIMSON chord progressions begin. As these speed up in the fourth minute one gets the feeling as if the build up of centrifugal force is going to throw one off the merry- go-round but then we are saved by a grounding, pounding, earth-digging pattern that plays out for the final 30 seconds. Interesting. (8.875/10)

7. "The Salt Crown" (8:40) opens with some industrial percussive noises that provide the background for Nils Frykdahl's Judas-like JC SUPERSTAR vocal performance. This is very theatric, very heart-wrenching in Nils' convincingly feigned act of pain and suffering. A THINKING PLAGUE-like musical shift occurs mid-fourth minute and Nils just adapts: his vocals becoming more aggressive with his anguished/angry scream-growls. While I was quite impressed and taken with the tender opening motif, not so with this more angry/aggressive one. Luckily, Nils and the band return to the opening motif in the seventh minute, going even further into the theatric depths of pain and despair. The significance of the recorded voices at the end are a bit of a mystery to me (as they are on several of the album's other songs). (17.75/20)

8. "The Only Dance" (4:20) Carla gets another turn in the lead vocal department with this music that sounds to me quite a bit like the autobigraphical/narrative storytelling of JACK O' THE CLOCK's Damon Waitkus. Even when the music ramps up to loud levels in the fourth minute, there remains some of the deep folk roots that Damon's music exudes. Nice but nothing to write home about. (8.75/10)

9. "The Greenless Wreath" (6:51) there is a familiarity to the style presented by this dirge-like wakes song: something about Nils' MAJOR PARKINSON-like vocal performance; something about the disturbing yet-oddly-cinematic music. Interesting with each and every listen. (13.25/15)

10. "The Widening Eye" (5:09) an instrumental displaying many of the band's odd and self-created instruments within its expanded string-and-percussion tempo-shifting weave. The instrumental palette being founded in picked stringed instruments and clean tuned- and untuned percussive instruments makes for an easier listen than some of their other more densely-populated material. I can easily envision Tony Levin, Bill Bruford, and Adrian Belew enjoying and wanting to join in on this one. (9/10)

11. "The Putrid Refrain" (2:55) what seems like the continuation of the previous song--palette and all--ends with another odd recorded (phone) message. (4.5/5)

Total time 66:25

The compositions and performances are all amazingly sophisticated and artistic, I'm just not as drawn into the music and performances to the degree the I was on the band's previous album, Of Natural History. I think it is Nils' propensity to move into aggressive, almost-growl vocals that sometimes puts me off. Otherwise, I find the ultra- Crimsonian musical constructs to be quite entertaining and refreshingly expansive of other avant/RIO band creations.

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent addition of boundary-expanding avant-RIO music for any and all of the most adventurous prog lovers' music collections.

1. "Sleep is Wrong" (6:35) a song whose music reflects the adolescent petulance of its title perfectly. I wonder how it worked out . . . when (and if) they grew up. (9/10)

2. "Ambugaton" (5:38) the amount of tension one can exude with simple, spacious chromaticism. The intro of this instrumental reminds me of PRESENT or UNIVERS ZERO while full-on ramped up belly of the song reminds me of LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT or BRUFORD-LEVIN UPPER EXTREMITIES. (8.75/10)

3. "Ablutions" (6:05) this more delicate ("fragile" might be the better word) is otherworldly eerie like a YUGEN or --at least until the three minute mark when the Stygian chorus "chimes" in. Weird but genius for creating a mood--and amazingly performed--especially by vocalist Carla Kihlstedt. (9/10)

4. "1997" (4:48) almost "straightforward" death metal! Not their strong suit; this kind of music places the band back in the categorical range of "normal" for emotive metal bands. Luckily, there is the passage in the fourth minute in which they shift to an odd time signature. (8.5/10)

5. "The Miniature" (0:59) chamber music! Gorgeous! I'd like to hear more of this side of the band's talents on display! (5/5)

6. "Powerless" (9:30) with an opening that sounds like a microphone was left on in a piano stringing factory, we are prepped for another doom-and-gloomer. But, man! are these guys talented musicians! (and creative song-crafters.) I think they've out angulated Fripp and the Crim as well as Danny Elfman and his Tim Burton soundtracks! And I love that they didn't have to use death metal growls to convey it (other than in the one-word choruses). Unfortunately, it does drag on a little bit too long in several places. (17.5/20)

7. "The Stain" (6:46) The descending chromatic scale used for this vocal--over a "musical" palette of very sparsely "decorated" industrial noise--does not work for me. The staccato Crimsonian interplay between the instruments also fails to engage me. This song is best described as an exercise in disharmony and disciplined turn-taking. (12.75/15)

8. "Sleepytime" (10:16) Another delicate attempt at Elfman-ish creep and sinister, the beginning section is simply too long, the middle "bridge" too drawn out. When the music does finally reach full scale at the end of the sixth minute, it is slightly dragged down by the continuation of the vocal chorus from before. The final 90 seconds is the best part of an otherwise disposable, sub-par song. (16.25/20)

9. "Sunflower" (7:52) eight minutes of playing around with the acoustics of a hammered dulcimer (and a couple of bells). An unfortunate way to end an album that started so dynamically. (10/15)

Total Time: 58:29

C+/3.5 stars. Were it not for the descending disaster of the final two songs, this would be a near-masterpiece of adventurous and exciting progressive rock musical expression. Thus, I urge you to check it out for yourselves as the first half of the album is certainly something extraordinary.

Once it used to be the darling of 20th century composers everywhere. To classical music, it was the culmination of 400 years of repression by the Christian Church during the Council of Trent essentially outlawing sequences and modes the church deemed barbaric or satanic. So in order to satisfy the masses, happy tonal music was forced, and for good reason: people like pleasant sounding music.

Of course, atonal passages add spice and life to music, but purely atonal music is too much. It was fine when Schoenburg and Webern did it in the 20's and then Babbit and Stockhausen in the 50's but by then classical music was confirmed dead (Russia never even had this problem thanks to Communism) so by the late 20th century composers were reverting and composing music with more tonal structures that still echoed sentiments of a modern era, especially in the 21st century.

So even progressive music today, while far from the boundaries of radio play, still atones to some standard musical properties, there are some bands that push it past to the point of absolute absurdity. Case in point, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and their debut album "Grand Opening and Closing".

Now I get it, I was a contemporary percussionist in college, I'm well familiar with John Cage and Steve Reich and how their works, although not really accessible to the larger crowds, are commendable in their own right, and I indeed commend SGM for creating music completely and utterly unique to themselves, but each song lacks something that keeps my interest. Sure I'm used to atonal music and progressions but I can only take so much.

Put it this way, atonality is like hot sauce. Add a little bit here and there, and it adds some excitement, dials up the flavor another notch. Too much and you're just adding it for the sake of adding it. Too much hot sauce and you get less flavor and more heat. Scientific studies show that people who love hot sauce and continually seek out the hottest and spiciest things are essentially participating in self torture.

Kind of like me when I decided to sit down and listen to this album all the way through.

From the droning repetition of "Sleep Is Wrong" to the slightly interesting but ultimately plotless instrumental buildup of "Ambugation", there's nothing that really captivates me. Yes, the musical abilities of this band are outstanding, but the way that the band deliberately plays like they're drunk or insane during half the songs just gives off the wrong impression. Perhaps that's the sound they're going for, but I still don't get it. Sure, "Ablutions" is a great song when to play when you're recreating a horror movie scene walking down a dark corridor of a haunted house right before the villain guts you with a machete, but it's just way too dark and creepy to withstand more than once, even live.

"1997" is basically industrial metal on bath salts, with its drunken rockabilly freakouts, but it's still brash and vulgar and disgusting in every way possible. "The Minature" is a pointless slightly tonal minute long ditty, "Powerless" is another drunken stupor, this time nine minutes long and "The Stain" is essentially an instrumental percussion ensemble taking a page or seventy from the King Crimson "VROOM" days.

"Sleepytime" is the lone highlight off this album. Here we actually get some structure over a prolonged buildup and while it eventually showcases the band's traditional atonality, there are some moments of respite that bookend the track in (semi) peaceful tonal passages. But then we go into "Sunflower" which again is a contemporary ensemble showcasing finger cymbals and what sounds like a clavichord. "More Time" is drunk again, and "Flinch" is just screaming bookended by ambient sounds.

To be honest, this is a band that, while phenomenal musicians, can only really be appreciated live. The instrumentation they use is astonishing, and some of the more ambient pieces I feel would be more appreciated when performed live. That's the only downside to music like this, it can only be at its most effective in a live setting, where the listener can see the band, see them perform. Listening to this album through headphones does absolutely nothing for me.

This band therefore can really be considered performance art, which it is. Yes, these guys have a rabid cult following, and I get it, but the fact is while the band's best tracks are still tough to digest at times, their worst songs are borderline unlistenable. It's a sound that, while very and truly unique, is so pigeonholed for a very specific audience that it's only really worth a shot if you're willing to dig into the deepest recesses of avant garde rock and introduce yourself to more contemporary classical pieces of music.