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Bass Invaders Bass Invaders Review by Gary Hill As you might guess, I hear a lot of new music. It takes a lot to really excite me. Well, this album (which is technically not new, but rather dates back to 2017) did that. Had I heard it the year it was released I am sure it would have made my "best of" list for that year. Of course, I am probably precisely the audience that this appeals to the most. I like experimental, adventurous instrumental music, and I'm a bass player. That second point is important because this band is made up of a drummer and three bassists. If you weren't told that, you might not realize it, though, because a lot of the bass parts on this sound more like guitar. I have to say that I just find this thing to be incredible music that is really unique. It sits musically in a zone that borders on post-prog, fusion, heavy metal and more. For my money, that makes this progressive rock. I should mention that this is not the same as the project I previously reviewed under a similar name that is one word rather than two. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2021 Volume 1. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2021.

Track by Track Review

A Real Banger Ambient tones bring this into being. The cut powers out from there as some heavy bass is heard. As the other basses join the number builds into a cool, heavy fusion-like jam. Although at first it's on the melodic side, it turns toward more driving rocking zones further down the road. This is powerful and intense. It does drop back to that more melodic territory later in the piece, though. This is just such a strong cut and great opener.

Barbelith There is a funky sort of vibe built into this thing. It's another killer instrumental cut. This gets incredibly intense. It's even more of a powerful and dynamic cut than the opener was. There is a mellower, jazzy movement later in the track, though.

Kama Sumatra There is a cool, almost twisted vibe to some of this. The cut has some great shifts and changes. Parts of it lean toward heavy metal. It's one heck of a dynamic ride that just works so well.

Illiterate Ghost Driving and dramatic, there are some decidedly heavy parts of this. It's one of the most intense numbers here and one of the most metallic through a bridge that has a real stoner metal feel to it.

Smooth Puma A bit more melodic, this leans more toward the purely prog zones. I love the driving bass in the background of this.

Nite Come Screaming fast paced jamming, this intense and another that gets metallic. There is a cool dropped back section around mid-track where it drops to the rhythm section for slices of time, but that's punctuated by more screaming hot bursts. Of course, those drop backs are still lightning fast and powerful.

Motherplutt There is a bit of an element of fun built into the early parts of this. There are hints of shoegaze in the mix, too. The cut gets into some driving, intensity further down the musical road. This is another powerhouse tune.

Doom Patrol This fast-paced number has some killer textures and sounds built into it. It has bits that are metallic, but a lot of it lands more full oin heavy instrumental prog zones.

Watermark Starting a bit more tentative, this gradually works out from there to a dramatic jam. It does get heavier at times, too. Like everything here, it's dynamic and diverse.

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