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Dusted Reviews
Artist: Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno Album: Iao Chant From the Cosmic Inferno Label: Ace Fu Review date: Oct. 28, 2005 |
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The other day, I heard "long-playing rock" mentioned as a distinct genre. I believe it regarded the late Beatles vs. the early Beatles. These days, I have little use for either. But I like "long-playing rock," the term. If I ever break my collection down by genre, I may file all my long-playing rock together. And, no matter how long that takes, I will file this baby under long-playing rock, because I will still have this baby.
This record includes but one track, so the album Iao Chant From The Cosmic Inferno is, in effect, the song "OM Riff From The Cosmic Inferno," and nothing more. It’s 50 minutes long, and covers more ground than most 12-cut albums.
As with most such endeavors, some bullshit is to be expected. What band could make a 50-minute track that doesn’t begin with five minutes of near silence, or devolve, at some juncture, into 10 minutes of pure cacophony? It’s a short list, but make room for Acid Mothers Temple.
There is no bullshit here. This is 50 solid minutes of slowly condensing energy. It gallops out of the box and never falters. As it goes, a cloud gathers around it – a dust cloud, a storm cloud, a cloud of fragments of shattered glass. While the rhythmic source holds consistent and true, it plays host to wordless incantations and instrumental explorations that never jam when they can swing. There’s a lot of business here. But it exists in straight lines focused on what Kant called the "ever elusive point."
The Temple kills live because it maintains this sense of direction, of mission, of prerogative. Often, its records seem to wander adrift by comparison. On Iao Chant From The Cosmic Inferno, the band cuts away what is inessential, is left with one monster track called "OM Riff From The Comsic Inferno," and let it melt the whole slab o’ wax. This track can be trusted.
By Emerson Dameron
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View all articles by Emerson Dameron