Appearances might partly deceive, as while this almighty release by the Denver, Colorado quartet of Paul Riedl, Isaac Faulk, Morris Kolontyrsky and Jeff Barrett has a grunting death metal tag, it also traverses a wondrously inventive landscape of dynamic prog, folk, rock, krautrock and beyond with an accompanying film. At times it summons sounds reminiscent of Pink Floyd to Yes, King Crimson to Tangerine Dream, and that latter German band’s Thorsten Quaesching appears as a synth-master guest on The Stargate [Tablet II], one of three with that title, with three Tablets under the title The Message.
It is also the soundtrack to the film The Stargate, directed by Michael Ragan with a “saga of a mysterious artifact and its victims in a hallucinatory synthesis of science fiction and folk horror, where mind bending imagery and unsettling atmospheres converge in a surreal tale of primeval blood magic, inter-dimensional travel and grotesque otherworldly technology beginning in the Dark Ages and journeying into voids of deep space.” Take a deep breath …
Meaty, mighty bass chord changes, devilish suffocating breathy groans and wizardly snarls, breathtaking guitar shreds and warp-speed drumming abound, but there are also many mind-blowing pace changes and various keyboards. “All life is suffering, all life is temporary!” intones guitarist and vocalist Paul Riedl on the first track, and that might be mostly the case, but they are certainly enjoying it. Dive in if you dare. Devilishly indulgent, but also enormous, escapist, frantic fun. Out on Century Media.
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