Psycroptic ‎- 2003 - The Scepter Of The Ancients

Riding on a solid debut album and garnering decent attention the band went on and made a second album two years after their first one. In two years time they absolutely refined and polished their sound up to near perfection.

The vocals are even more insane and impactful than on the first album and the guitar parts got even more wilder and spastic. The interplay between the vocals and the guitars is constantly going on and each is competing to outdo the other. It's almost like a jazz cutting contest at times. The album opens with a song that is a summary of everything that this band is and is probably the best song they ever recorded. As opposed to the first album which ha more of a uncut gem feel this album offers much catchier and more recognizable songs. Most of them seem impactful and more aptly composed. There's nothing that the first album does that this one does lousier. Even tho this one is a clear improvement I still think the first one also offers a good chunk of enjoyment.

Psycroptic after this album sadly parted ways with their vocalist which obviously damaged the developed experience gained making these tracks but I think they are doing well for themselves. I sometimes listen to their later album (Observant is alright and so is the follow up to this one) but generally it's not my cup tea anymore. We still have these two so better something than nothing!

Dig it!

Psycroptic - 2001 - The Isle Of Disenchantment

I...I was absolutely sure I shared this album before. But I didn't for some reason? I even remember typing out the text for it. Maybe I had a dream about it and just accepted that it actually happened. Speaking of which, I noticed I posted a really low amount of death metal. 23? That's it? Maybe I stored it under a different tag (I really need to redo the whole tagging scheme from ground up) and can't find it anymore. But hey, at least I have something to talk about now!

Psycroptic is a band from Tasmania (Australia) that has been around for over a decade or so. I've actually heard about them when they released their second album in 2003 as they offered two or three tracks for free when it came out. Since I'll be posting both albums I'm going to stop with the history here and focus on their first album here in this post.

Psycroptic has two unique things going for them, the first and most obvious is the seemingly endless vocal range of the vocalist and the second is a very intricate fast, short tremoloing guitar riffs. The vocals are the absolute star as they are as unique as they are varied. I guess you could describe them as gasping raspy growling? They sound strained and in pain - which is absolutely great and sometimes as the part goes along it develops into something else like cleans or even deeper growls. They are all over the place and ask for your attention at all times. On this record I can't claim this is good all of the time as sometimes the clean parts sound really bad and sometimes they can't quite reach for the effect they tried to get but other than that it's a real treat. The also mentioned guitar riffs are fast, pommeling and razor sharp often changing speed and tempo several times throughout a single song. They follow the shifts in vocals making these two the main dueling forces on the album. Unfortunately the mixing isn't as great as the music is and I think the drums could have been toned down (especially the snare) but such were the times I guess or maybe just inexperience. They don't make the album unlistenable so It's not that bad.

Dig it.

Takehiko Honda - 1973 - I Love You

Speaking of jazz from Japan, here's another little album that I come back to every now and then. This is a trio of piano, bass and drums. Takehiko Honda is the pianist and he's backed by Yoshio Suzuki on bass and Hiroshi Murakami on drums, all of them played on Kosuke Mine records. Unlike Kosuke Mine records this one is a much more relaxed set that is all standards. Honda leads the group pretty much throughout the set with mostly him soloing and the guys in the back chiming in every now and then. It's fairly good for what it is and that is an exercise in standards but if you're okay with that I think you should get enjoyment out of it. All players seem comfortable and relaxed giving this album a friendly and approachable atmosphere. The album cover is absolutely badass as well.

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Takeo Moriyama & Shigeharu Mukai - 1978 - Hush-A-Bye

This album is a collaboration of sorts between Takeo Moriyama (drums) and Shigeharu Mukai (trombone) all backed by Moriyama's regular band. I'll be honest right at start and say that this album is absolutely nothing special or new. It's a very solid The Great Coltrane Quartet sound/style worship peppered with some basic standards. Mukai shines on the Lover Man ballad but otherwise isn't that much of a presence and his co-star while being a pretty good sounding drummer doesn't seem all very much interested in being at the front. Maybe he just wasn't feeling it much on this session. As with a lot of Japanese jazz records that I've heard these guys lack imagination but they compensate with intensity and energy. This is most evident in the opening and closing tracks which are incidentally also the longest ones on this record. Both of these tracks are carried by the pianist and the saxophonist and it feels like the album should have focused more on them rather than on the stars of the album. All in all this is a lovely record and you'll know immediately if you're into it or not. Not very essential but its accessibility and energy make it a good ride that you take every once in a while.

Get it in flac.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - 1992 - Devotional Songs

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is a religious singer from Pakistan. I am spiritually impaired and have no idea what Sufi or Qawwali is but if it means something to you then you should be pleased to know that Khan is really into it. The music is an uplifting mix of Khan's singing (which reminds me of Mexican/Spanish and Gypsy serenading) with guitars and string instruments all backed by some serious tabla drumming in the back. The star of the show is obviously Khan's very intense and expressive singing but he is also backed by a choir that repeats his lyrics giving the whole thing much more depth and dynamic. I personally think that one needs not to be religious in order to enjoy a religious record and I can feel the intensity of his fervor and joy from singing even though I have nothing to do with it. If you're looking for something that will refresh or diversify your usual palette then I think you should give this one a go.

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Akiko Yano - 1976 - Japanese Girl

Akiko Yano is a female Japanese pop/jazz singer and also a pianist. This was her debut album (she has another one from this year according to discogs) and apparently it made a splash in the scene for its unique sound. In retrospective I don't think it's that unique considering that in the 70s there were a lot of more experimental Japanese "sort of" mainstream artists but the hype should not detract the actual value of this record. The music is a big salad of all kinds of styles but if we tried we could pin it on psychedelic pop? Maybe? The album starts with a relatively jazzy track that devolves into scat singing solo by Akiko. As we go on with the tracks you'll notice more congas getting ever present.  But they stop and the music take a more Japanese turn in sound. After a while it tones down and when you reach track six it's all happy piano ballad with prog rock weirdness in the back. The album is glued together with a consistently great vocal performance by Akiko in all of the tracks. For some it might be over-expressive but if you're used to jazzy vocals you should not have a problem with this. As with music her singing changes styles often but she seems mostly comfortable in all of the settings. This album is a journey, if you're up for one then you're bound to have a good time. Background listening this is not.

Get it.