I first heard about this band when I was doing research for my book The Strange Sound of Cthulhu: Music Inspired by the Writings of H. P. Lovecraft. I was never able to get a copy of the disc before publishing, so they were one of the big question marks of the tome. Well, now I’ve got the CD and they are still a bit of a question mark in that this music is hard to categorize. Sure, the easy label is RIO and that comes close, but jabbing, jarring music is merged with shrill operatic vocals in a soundscape that is often difficult to endure, but just as often musically compelling. This is definitely not for everyone, but if you’ve got a heart and taste for musical adventure, then I recommend it heartily. Fans of the RIO movement would be the most likely audience.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2009  Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

They open the disc with this nearly sixteen minute epic. Dark jazzy tones start off. As they carry forward we get some vocals amidst this oppressive soundscape. They build up and the vocals becomes almost operatic and this gets quite noisy. Around the two and a half minute mark this motif goes away and they drop it back to a more pure jazz approach that’s not so insistent. This grows gradually and starts to become more ominous. Thus begins a massive journey. This is organic and powerful as it keeps altering and shifting modes without making any real hairpin turns. It’s not until after the six minute mark that they revisit territory they’ve already conquered. Around the eight minute mark they take it out into noisy chaotic cacophony that’s loaded with dissonance. The vocals return and then they take it to a false ending. Ambient weirdness is interrupted by short stabs of bass soloing. They work this up into further strange territory and then the vocals return nearly unaccompanied. Instruments are added and we’re taken on another ride through mysterious and rather dark territory. It gets quite intense at times, but doesn’t move anywhere near anything anyone sane would call “beautiful.” This is music for the insane. It’s unsettling and disquieting. As it carries on it moves through all kinds of weird territory. Fans of RIO should find themselves at home here.