Team Metlay Ballistic

Metlay of ‘Band of Fire’ fame but this time with loads of his friends helping out. There are just too many tracks here to review them all so I have picked out those I consider to be the best. The first disc is subtitled ‘Trajectory’ and the second ‘Impact’.‘Prologue 0500’ is a static ridden radio announcement leading to ‘A Gathering of The Mighty’ which begins is apocalyptic slow rhythmic fashion. We then get a melody being played on piano. ‘Frost on the Steel Viola’ is rather dark and swirling, the ominous feeling continuing even when the rhythm enters. ‘Beijingplatz’ is an uncluttered melodic track where the lead lines are given plenty of space to weave their evocative spell. Its all rather delicate but with that edge of steel. ‘I’m Worth More Than That’ is an atmospheric piece, very cosmic and weird but gets even more out of it as we move into ‘Exposphere/Intercept’. This is one of my favourite tracks from the first disc, pure picture music in which the imagination can run wild. ‘Enter the Helix’ is extremely menacing, dark sounds and effects abound with a voice just being able to be made out but not understood. ‘Thousands of Years’ sounds like something Steve Roach could have done. Gently rhythmic, with percussive detail and ambient pads. A heartbeat takes us ‘into the Ether’. It starts floatingly but them begins to chug along nicely, increasing in intensity all the time.

The second disc ‘Impact’ starts with ‘To Gather Again’. It is a gently rhythmic piece made stunningly effective by its production. Almost like listening to the track whilst on the edge of a dream. There is nothing gentle about ‘Spamming the Globe’ though, this sounds like the heart of some great power station, massive turbines thudding and electricity arcing all over the place. Crash bang wallop, lovely stuff. You will almost certainly want to program out ‘I can see the City from Here’ (Mike what were you thinking?) so on we go. ‘Erratica’ is a strange little number that I don’t know quite what to make of but with some amazing moments if listened to on earphones. ‘Liquid Mirror’ is a complex chugger with some axe man guitar- wild! ‘Hot Tub Party in the Gene Pool’’ is another beat them over the head with a big drum track but with the accompanying cacophony including heavy guitar being just as effective as the man with the hammers. Why didn’t it go on five times longer or at least 49 seconds more to cover up the bridging piece which takes us to the rather splendid half hour live track ‘Aqua Regia (Zap 23)’. It is split into three sections the first being ‘Give us Back our Solvents’. A lonesome guitar cries out, full of distortion and reverb then at about three and a half minutes a sequence starts to form but remains relatively restrained with guitar licks over it, sometimes in an ‘Electronic Meditation’ style. ‘Immerse Me Not in Benzine’ introduces a slow steady bass beat, the guitar is still there but so is a mournful lead line. ‘The Carbon Tet Offensive’ speeds things up and brings mayhem, the guitar going completely ape. Imagine ‘Journey through a Burning Brain’ and ‘Wahn’ played at full volume over a machine about to explode and you won’t be far off the mark. (DL)

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