Great album with reservations
Austin Tacious | Little Buggerington | 11/15/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I've been into Minsk since Fires of Abandonment. I was therefore very interested in what they would follow it up with. The previous two albums (Fire and Out of a Center...) are well known for their post-90s-Neurosis tribal trancy metalness with a twist. Long tracks, dense soundscapes, 1001 percussion sounds, cathartic climaxs and surprising sounds. For me, this is spot on the money! So I was excited about Echoes...
Within in 2 mins of my first listen, I thought they had lost the plot. This was simply because the drums sounded awful. To me, the drums are the bedrock of Minsk's beauty. There is this clicking on every tom tom and bass drum - and the spatial layout of the tom toms is really unclear. Compared to the awesome sound of Fires, I decided they must have lost their minds. Turning the volume up helps. But the sound of dem drums is still disappointing.
So, since it's release, I have been trying to get over my disappointment with this. And it has been going very well, actually. Because, being able to lay my initial concern to one side (at least some of the time), I have begun to appreciate the vast offering they have made with this album. They are still Minsk doing the same post-90s-Neurosis thing, only they've jacked up the psychedelic sound (e.g. the keyboards) and enhanced the sophistication of the structure of the tracks. There's still the extended build-up and release (e.g. Almitra's Premonition) - they've built on the more condensed tracks of the past (e.g. White Wings from Fires) to take the listener on a more exciting rhythmic and psychadelic journey (e.g. Three Moons). If it is possible, they also seem to have enhanced and condensed the overall intensity of the tribal outings (e.g. Pisgah) without writing obviously structured 'songs'. The Shore of Transcendance is pure Minsk power and beauty. A fabulous track.
The bass is often difficult to make out - but this works beautifully, I think - it's a bit like an angry caged lion pacing up and down, growling at the onlookers but keeping its distance...the analogy comes to an abrupt end...
Really good stuff - but I'm still bothered that the drums aren't captured well, which seems to stop the music from really propelling itself headlong into one's gut, psyche and floorboards.
Finally, saw them live in UK for first time recently. They were awesome (I thought they outperformed A Storm Of Light, considerably). Don't let my 3 stars put you off, especially if you think you are probably less fussy about the drums."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1
