All That Might Have Been

Gyatso is a take-no-prisoners piece of industrial hardcore jazz, for lack of a better term. Machine-gunning drum loops and shrill, scraping horns are the album's main ingredients, with guest G.C. Green's (Godflesh) monstrous basslines providing what bit of melody there is. The tracks generally revolve around a main drumbeat/bassline -- usually something too crooked to really qualify as a "groove" -- that is plainly introduced and subsequently driven straight into the ground. Meanwhile, saxophonist/bass clarinetist Alex Buess blows his top, Markus Kneubuhler adds distorted guitar jabs and other electronic debris, and producer Kevin Martin (God, Techno Animal) seasons it all with his dub-influenced echoes and stereo effects. The feeling throughout is one of heightened and sustained tension, which, combined with the constant repetition and abrasiveness, makes this album a potentially grueling experience if you're unaccustomed to such assaultive, unrelenting noise. But, if you've been finding your Painkiller records too tame or wondering what Peter Brotzmann would sound like as part of the Digital Hardcore roster, then Gyatso may be exactly what you're looking for. ~ William York|