It's awesome to see that more rock/metal-influenced artists are dabbling in the free-jazz territory using guitars to produce the avant-garde overtones rather than horns to bring forth a flashier version of art rock.
But like the ground that jazz musicians like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman created,
Stripsearch follows a similar path, using a stripped down production method, as a progressive power trio consisting of Mike Elizondo on bass, John Freese (from A Perfect Circle) on drums, and axeman Michael Ward; in addition to the trio, there is a guest, saxophonist Jason Freese, making the whole jazz connotations present instrumentally.
Besides following the path of jazz musicians, there are the comparisons to some of the more off-the-wall Liquid Tension Experiment material, Steve Hackett's avant-garde material, Attention Deficit, Frank Zappa not to mention that Trout Mask Replica (Captain Beefheart) comes to mind,
Stripsearch remains completely interesting through and through.
As for their sound, they incorporate complex rhythm patterns, along with sudden tempo and key changes, crunched out guitar leads and mellowed chorus laden chordal patterns, metal drumming pounding out heavily on the skins, and a bass that tends to switch between the rumbling growl to a brighter lead, sounding like a amplified upright resonating through the tracks on this album, in addition to all this, there are the occasional sax squeals to compliment the albums artsy backdrop.
Opening up with
"The Baby Faced Assassin," a complete free form jam session that almost sounds as if these guys had a lot to get out of their system, but that changes with the next cut
"El Terrible" not exactly an appropriate title for a melodic but yet experimental piece that continues the noise passage of high fuzzed guitar among the bass taking the main melody.
"Stoner Jazz," oh yeah, its present here, with cuts like
"Orange Fragile" and
"Hands of Stones," these guys might be the forerunners of a new genre. More groove related cuts include
"The Mongoose" and
"The Razor," but the rest is an all out free form jam session.
Defiantly for fans of Knitting Factory performances and just about any free form experimental music, or for those who are fans of Mike Patton's Ipecac label, something for those who wish to hear something out of the ordinary.
Written by
Hashman Tuesday, December 16, 2003
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