IIIrd Gatekeeper

第2期RAMLEHから派生し、1988年から長きに渡り活動を続けるMATTHEW BOWER率いるブラックノイズ古典派ユニットSKULLFLOWER。1992年にリリースされたエポック・メイキングな傑作アルバム『IIIRD GATEKEEPER』が2LPリイシュー!

1991年にロンドンでレコーディングされ、1992年にJUSTIN K BROADRICK (GODFLESH)のレーベルHEADDIRTからリリースされた作品。SKULLFLOWERの世界的な名声と支持、更には唯一無二の存在としての地位を確立させた名盤です。グランジ絶頂期に登場し、アンダーグラウンドの「ロック」がビジネスとして大きく成長してゆく中、ノイズ、パワーエレクトロニクスのシーンに深く根ざした音楽を追求していました。オリジナル・アルバム収録曲に加え、同一セッションでレコーディングされた未発表曲を追加収録した決定版です。

Skullflower's immense influence is evident in its family tree -- members of the U.K. collective have been involved in Whitehouse, Coil, Pure, Hototogisu, and other legendary projects in their own right. The band was more about doing than selling, and thus its back catalog has been difficult to find. Crucial Blast has done the world a service by reissuing IIIrd Gatekeeper, perhaps the most celebrated of Skullflower's records, in a gorgeous black-and-silver-inked package with extensive liner notes. Without Skullflower, there would be no Earth, Sunn 0))), or other purveyors of heavy, psychedelic electricity. The band was essentially a bridge between '60s and '70s acid rock and metal's industrial and drone experiments of the '90s and beyond. Perhaps Skullflower's shadow loomed longest over Godflesh, whose Justin Broadrick originally releasedIIIrd Gatekeeper on his HeadDirt label in 1992. Skullflower and Godflesh toured together, and the former's influence on the latter is obvious here. The relentless syncopations of "Larks Tongue," in particular, presage Godflesh's Streetcleaner. Although swirling, fuzzed-out, and otherwise abused guitars power this record, they sit atop a remarkably steady rhythm section. Thus, these improv jams feel both transcendent and grounded. "Spoiler" sends Black Sabbath on a long acid trip, while "Rotten Sun" is the sound of post-punk's amps blowing up. The Motorik "Center Puss" recalls the steaming cauldron of Sonic Youth's Confusion Is Sex. "Vanadis" is a beautiful miasma of feedback and venomous bass tones, while "Saturnalia"'s sheets of sound aren't far from the Creation Records shoegazer sound. With constantly shifting lineups, Skullflower's output was notoriously variable; this reissue is an excellently accessible starting point. ~ Cosmo Lee