Search - Estradasphere :: It's Understood

Amazingly technical music of a vast kaleidoscopic range

organgrinderlv | Sin City, NV | 08/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Metal kids - remember the first time you heard Opeth and realized songs over 20 minutes could be good and non-repetetive at the same time? Jazz kids - remember the first time you got a Coltrane album that was a fast as those tracks you heard on the college radio station but could never remember the names of? This album instills that sense of awe and feeling of 'I never knew I was looking for this...but I've found it and now can't live without it!'This album is pure and intesne music-nerd highly-technical insanely earnest music. Some describe it as hyper-jazz-gypsy-metal-funk, and as such it draws frequent comparisons to Mr. Bungle. This is true, but Estradasphere, at least on this album, is a work of more grinding riff-heavy instrumentation than Bungle or other 'weird' bands, with a more metal than rock sensibility. What does that mean? Sparse vocals used more for ambiance than as a seperate instument, riff after riff after riff of amazingly complex and energetic musicianship, and the need to just bust out of a lull in loudness into a raging cacophony of blasting grind. This album's first and last songs are my personal favorites, but the entire album is a complete experience and takes the listener on a truly epic voyage. The klezmer-gypsy-jazz sound is the root of this album, but it feverishly and very much tounge-in-cheek-ly shifts to extreme metal, funk, folk, hillbilly country, soft jazz/new age, alt-rap, soundtracks, very convincing original 8 and 16-bit video game compositions, and back again.Thier live shows are amazing, and so is thier next album. These guys are nothing short of genius. Fans of avant-intelli-music with a passion for metal are garunteed to have a new obsession. If you liked Mr. Bungle more for the music than for the vocals, this is the band for you (other than SC3). Oh yes, these guys inbred with Bungle and SC3 in various ways too complex to map out here. Just get it if you are interested by this review. It's Understood IS THAT GOOD."

May the disease continue to spread!

High Y | Charleston, SC United States | 02/13/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When you hear the epic opening track "Hunger Strike" from this debut Estradasphere album, you may likely soil your pants. The amount of incredibly dense and tightly structured music packed into this song, and in fact into this whole album, will make you breathless. You'll hear world/gypsy, death metal, bluegrass, new age, video game, funk, pop, and plenty more, and often in the span of a single minute or so. You may say to yourself, "No way they could ever pull this off live," but once you've seen them do it, you'll doubt no more. These guys are underappreciated, but feel fortunate that you've at last found them! If you like Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3, Naked City, or even Shakti for that matter, please give these guys a listen. The only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars is because their next release, BUCK FEVER, is even better. Maybe one complaint about IT'S UNDERSTOOD is that it runs some parts a little long, and the album sort of gets weaker as goes along. But I should be ashamed for even criticizing something this awesome!-- buy this album, AND buy BUCK FEVER."

Cool

Gordon Smith | san jose, ca United States | 01/24/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I went to school with a few of these guys. Didn't know them very well, but they were basically cool. And extremely talented. I'm glad to see they're going places... representing UCSC! This album is mainly musician's music, but speaking as a musician I'm duly impressed. Definitely worth checking out."