Page 86 - Classic Rock (January 2020)
P. 86
ALBUMS
Jaz Coleman hypnotic feel, as if they’re
Magna Invocatio: being played by androids on
A Gnostic Mass For Choir methadone, while the likes of
And Orchestra Inspired Die Waiting and Saw Lightning,
By The Sublime Music Of with its cheeky throwback to
Killing Joke SPINEFARM the slide guitar of Loser, hide
Joke gain beautiful classical their miseries beneath
punchline. crunching beats, pulsating
While Killing whoomps and chartable
Joke’s elemental melodies. Their talents
intensity is cited merge best on lovelorn finale
as a major Everlasting Nothing, a blade
influence by runner’s idea of country gospel,
Metallica, and their original line- and proof that, when visionaries
up support Tool in US arenas, collide, sparks can both fly
singer Jaz Coleman continues his and drift.
pursuit of ultimate catharsis by QQQQQQQQQQ
exploring the “panoramic beauty” Mark Beaumont
in their songs through a Gnostic
mass using Russia’s venerable St Hazemaze
Petersburg Symphony Orchestra Hymns Of The Damned
and choir. RIPPLE MUSIC/CURSED TONGUE
On a mission to inflame spirits Beyond the realms of death
above harsh modern life, Developing from
Coleman uses mystic author the more 70s
Alice Bailey’s The Great Invocation stoner approach
as a launch pad for “thirteen of their self-
digestible epics” which include titled 2018
reworkings of later Joke tracks debut album, Hazemaze might
such as The Raven King, well have found their ideal sound
Yes Intravenous and Honour The Fire in Hymns Of The Damned. Heavy
like Everest falling on your head,
into euphoric orchestral flights,
or Adorations transformed into these eight monster tracks grind
From A Page BURNING SHED
a gorgeously becalmed pastoral. and groove ominously through a
Unreleased 2010 material sees Oliver Several tracks from 2015’s Pylon, variety of contortions which,
notably a darkly pulsing Into basically, take Sabbath’s Hand Of
Wakeman doing his dad proud.
The Unknown, bolster the Joke’s Doom, turn the doom bit up to 11
latent menace on to an evocative and let rip.
new plane. Shadow In The Night, Lobotomy,
he ongoing Yes saga is one the epic band collaboration The Gift This remarkable set really can Thrill Seeker – the entire album,
confusing, labyrinthine tale, which Of Love. soothe or ignite a troubled soul in really – display an impressive
Tmakes David Lynch’s film Mulholland They sound in great nick throughout, harsh modern times. command of doomy rifferama,
Drive look simplistic. This partially new finding a likeable halfway line between the QQQQQQQQQQ peppered with some very nice
release comes not from the current line- more strictly disciplined Horn-honed Kris Needs cowbell action throughout.
up, or line-ups – and we’d need a material and their earlier exploratory Beck Guitarist Ludvig delivers his
vocals from the bottom of
lengthy sidebar to explain that – but from urges. Howe in particular seems in the
Hyperspace CAPITOL a rather deep and watery well,
a 2010 incarnation. With some 2009 zone, having one of those intermittent Odd musical couple make his bleak tales of horror,
attached. Before we get bogged down in spells where his every solo flies, and you
beautiful intergalactic music. murder and mayhem perfectly
a “previously… on Yes” recap, the happy can sense the love that Wakeman has put Plonk a mid- complementing the oppressive
news is the record is really rather good. into it, not wanting to let the family tree divorce Beck sense of gloom and dread.
So: with Jon Anderson at that time flake. As archive raids go, From A Page is (a man with The lyrics do eventually trigger
recently ill and displaced, the personnel revealing in terms of the team-list’s form in making evil-fatigue, but there’s no
consisted of new Canadian vocalist Benoit dynamics and respectable on its own supremely denying just how fantastically
David, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Alan musical merits. Its release is, counter- devastated break-up albums raw and huge Hymns Of The
White and Oliver Wakeman, the latter intuitively, just enough of a good thing. – see 2002’s Sea Change) in Damned sounds.
recommended by his dad. They started Glued on to make a mini box-set is the a studio with Pharrell ‘room Impressively unsavoury stuff.
recording, until some ran off with Trevor 2009 two-disc live album from the same without a roof’ Williams, and QQQQQQQQQQ
Horn and Geoff Downes. Yep, again. quintet, In The Present: Live From Lyon, you’re never going to get an Essi Berelian
Oliver was benched, and the 2011 Horn- previously released but now with a bonus album that sounds of this earth.
produced album Fly From Here emerged. Howe acoustic solo track, Second Initial. Sure enough, Hyperspace, Beck’s Molly Hatchet
fourteenth, following the pop- Battleground STEAMHAMMER/SPV
However, the stuff they’d begun with This two-hour set starts off timidly but
Wakeman Junior as chief writer and locates its confidence and blossoms into heavy Colors, is the sound of the Another new line-up, another
otherworldly sci-fi R&B that’s live album.
producer is now deemed release-worthy. gripping performances of such Yes
released when a psych country It was way back
And correctly so. All parties speak highly stalwarts as And You And I, South Side Of singer-songwriter and a future- in 1985 that
of it and suggest it made no sense for The Sky and Starship Trooper.
pop production legend bond at southern
music featuring the late Squire to sit on For completists, this amounts to molecular level. rockers Molly
a shelf. Wakeman has polished it up and a compelling compendium of the Benoit Beck’s bleaker themes (post- Hatchet, friends
written useful explanatory notes. The David-Oliver Wakeman period. split desolation on Uneventful and spiritual heirs of Lynyrd
four tracks amount to around 26 minutes, A multiple choice test on Yes’s history will Days and Dark Places; the OD Skynyrd, made a defining
with simple Wakeman-and-David piano now be passed around the room. death of a childhood friend on statement with their concert
ballad From The Turn Of A Card a comma QQQQQQQQQQ Stratosphere, featuring recording Double Trouble Live. All
between two six-minute smoothies and Chris Roberts Coldplay’s Chris Martin) are these years later, keyboard
given a hazy, synthetically player John Galvin is the only
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