[Review] John Frusciante - Enclosure

I’ve been a fan of John Frusciante since my high school days when I was a big follower of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, back then I was blown away by the lo-fi production of his half acoustic, half electronic folk albums like “Shadows Collide With People” or “From The Sound Inside” compared to the stadium rock of the Peppers. I was fascinated by how dark, emotive and personal his music was and watching him tackle different genres and musical styles in the last 10 or so years has been really interesting.

After John’s departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers he has undoubtedly been experimenting with new tools and learning a lot about sound processing, synthetizers and all kinds of modern tools he used to avoid when recording his first records. The last three releases lead us to the album we are reviewing today, “Enclosure” is his most elaborate and cohesive release since 2009′s “The Empyrean”, a direct evolution of “PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone”, “Enclosure” combines processed guitars, drum machines and synthetizers (and of course John’s vocals) to create a collection of shapeshifting, progressive synth rock/jazz hybrids.

For those who haven’t listened to John’s recent work it should be clarified that “Enclosure” is in now way comparable to his work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, there’s so many elements falling into place at the same time it might take the listener some time before the album comes alive; like most (good) progressive music, “Enclosure” felt underwhelming at first but with repeated listens I got used to the intertwining synths and warped guitar solos, the always changing drum grooves and subtle synth layers on the background.

Most of the songs on the album are synth driven but others like “Stage” and “Cinch” feature long guitar solos that are very representative of John’s current approach to the guitar, just like drums all over the album he accelerates and deaccelerates constantly, as if the songs shifted between two solos being played at the same time, and his reverb heavy tone fits the moody atmosphere of the album perfectly. I found “Stage” to be one of the most moving tracks on the album despite only having a few verses before John’s soloing kicks in and takes over the song.

There’s no doubt now that John has learned quite a few tricks since leaving the Peppers and that he’s constantly evolving and refining his sound, so I can only be excited at what he will release next, in any case the longevity of this album should keep you entertained for a good while.

Ranking: highly recommended

For fans of: synth pop/rock, experimental music in general

Accessibility: requires repeated listens

Highlights: “Sleep”, “Stage”

[Review] Killer Be Killed - Killer Be Killed

The debut album from supergroup Killed Be Killed has finally landed, 3 years passed since the first news of a supergroup featuring The Dillinger Escape Plan's Greg Puciato and Soulfly's Max Cavalera created a little snowball of hype that has grown and grown after the incorporation of Mastodon's Troy Sanders and Dave Elitch (currently drumming for ANTEMASQUE).

Considering the background of each of it's members it was easy to predict the result was going to be heavy, but what they were going to sound like remained a mistery for almost 3 years. So now that the album is out (and assuming you haven't heard the first "singles") you must be wondering... was it worth the wait?.

The album kicks off at full strenght with the first two singles, "Wings of Feather and Wax" and "Face Down", the first featuring Max, Greg and Troy sharing vocal duties between different parts of the verses and bridge, while singing the choruses together. The next two songs are slightly reminiscent of The Dillinger Escape Plan, just much more radio friendly. After track 5 the album is mostly traditional, radio friendly trash metal, much closer to a simplified version of Soulfly than DEP or Mastodon, in fact if it wasn't for Troy's vocals there wouldn't be anything on "Killer Be Killed" that sounded like Mastodon's spacey prog rock.

Most of the guitar work is comprised of very traditional rhythm guitar riffs with heavy distortion, there's rarely a solo or a memorable guitar lead, and the same goes for the drums. I've been following Dave's work since he joined The Mars Volta in late 2009 but while he's certainly very skilled I have yet to see him play a memorable drum beat or fill, and this kind of music doesn't really demands for creativity.

How much you can enjoy this record will most probably be determined by which main project brought you here, I can't really say I'm a big fan of Cavalera's previous work (or trash metal in general), and was probably expecting something more adventurous or groundbreaking, so the best thing to do is just take it for what it is, enjoy the catchy hooks and varied vocal performances, and avoid thinking about what this could have been.

Ranking: decent

For fans of: thrash metal, hardcore

Accessibility: radio friendly

Highlights: "Wings Of Feather And Wax", “Snakes of Jehova”

[Review] Cynic - Kindly Bent To Free Us

California based prog metal band Cynic is back with their third album in 21 years, yes, it's been 21 years since Cynic released "Focus" back in 1993. While Nirvana was in the spotlight and Metallica was still touring their most commercially succesful album (don't get the idea that I like Metallica), Cynic released the influential debut which originally received mixed-to-bad reviews from the metal scene. Cynic cited the backlash as one of the reasons for their break up in 1994, but when they returned from their sleep more than a decade later, metal had gone a long way since 1993 and "Focus" had become a cult classic, inspiring bands like Scale The Summit and Between The Buried And Me.

Fifteen years after the release of "Focus" came "Traced In Air", which was a direct continuation of the sound of their debut album (only a little softer), and was generally well received by fans of "Focus" and progressive metal in general. A series of experiments with the softer and more melodic side of the band came later ("Re-Traced", a reimagining of "Traced in Air", and an EP titled "Carbon Based Anatomy), which bring us to the release we are looking at today.

"Kindly Bent To Free Us" is the culmination of around 5 years of experimentation, and though it retains the sound and textures of their previous work it also makes away with the heavier guitar work and harsh vocals of "Focus" and "Traced in Air". The music remains moderately complex, the drums are groovy and constant and there's still guitar solos here and there, but Cynic no longer sounds like a metal band. With a runtime of just over 40 minutes the album feels a little short for a 6 years wait and it's 8 songs are over too soon even with a 5 minute average lenght.

The lyrics are someplace between spiritual (there's a little excerpt of a speech by Alan Watts) and just cryptic, but with a little imagination you can make something out of them (except the lyrics in "True Hallucination Speak", which sound just like that). The vocals retain the robotic and cold style of their previous albums, if a bit more melodic, but the main strength of the "Kindly Bent To Free Us" is the instrumental section.

Guitars, bass and drums never outshine each other, not even during solos, so the music feels generally complete and engaging, like some kind of futuristic version of a rock band from the 70's. The zeppelinesque riffs (yes, that's apparently a commonly used term), the sweet fretless bass and a  good use of ghost notes give the songs a pleasant sense of speed and groove, and while the music is generally a little cold the album certainly climaxes with the song "Moon Heart Sun Head", a 5 and a half minutes little progressive piece.

Cynic may not have reinvented themselves, they rather disposed of half of the elements that composed their early sound, but the end result doesn't feel limited, if anything it leaves them a lot of ground to explore.

Ranking: recommended

For fans of:  modern prog rock, post rock

Accessibility: moderate

Highlights: "Moon Heart Sun Head", "The Lion's Roar"