The art on this has a very simple and elegant feel…white background throughout with all the information you could want. The cover is stranger…a cobra is in the center with various scenes of birds circling it. It has a peculiar feel that works well. The booklet has plenty of information with who contributed what and it just works nicely.
I've had this for a few months and it's a tough one to review. Sometimes you get albums that are hard to put into words, this is not the typical Rock Power Zine material so perhaps that's why. However, I feel it's strong enough to warrant a review.
This came out a while back but only on an Italian label…it was re-released in 2004 in the US on Ipecac. The music is for the most part straightforward...what I hear is a sort of east meets west classical music piece...it's very western sounding with traditional instruments but there's also some pretty heavy Asian influence (see "Doorway to the Sun" for that) and even a bit of medeival sounding segments ("Sidi Bou Said" for that). The influences are highly varied.
I'll admit, I picked this up because Mike Patton contributed his vocals and I am something of a Patton geek. I was somewhat pleased to hear that Patton is simply just a part of the ensemble on here...it's not a Patton release, there's no squealing or screaming, he contributes some haunting chants over the music here and there and that's about it.
The music is minimalist and mellow throughout. I wouldn't exactly call this a normal straightforward work, but compared to Kang's other work, and the work of those considered to be his peers, this is easily accessible with heavy reliance on melody.
Ultimately, my tastes come back to metal...this is not metal, it's not loud, it's not heavy in the least. But it's beautiful, quiet, and the perfect record to listen to while reading or just relaxing to. Laying down and listening to this record the whole way through would not be a problem if I was stressed out and just wanted to settle down.
If you read this site you probably are into the louder stuff, but if you're going to try something for a change of pace, I must recommend this. It's different and something you may not think you'll listen to a lot but this has definitely crept into my frequently played piles. It's well worth checking out.
