By Maxazine South Africa 
Dozens of new albums arrive at Maxazine’s editorial staff every week. There are too many to listen to, let alone review. This ensures that too many albums are left behind, and that’s a shame. That is why we post an overview of albums that arrive at the editors today, with short reviews.
Photo (c) Jorge Fakhouri Filho
Henry Threadgill, Vijay Iyer, Dafnis Prieto – Fifteen
Henry Threadgill was born on 15 February 1944. The saxophonist and flautist is therefore 82 years old. Threadgill has been regarded as one of the greatest innovators in American jazz since the early 1970s, enriching his playing on saxophone and flute with patterns from rock music. That innovation only earned him full recognition in 2016 when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Threadgill has been playing together with pianist Vijay Iyer and drummer Dafnis Prieto for fifteen years, but they had never made an album. On “Fifteen” we hear three compositions by Threadgill himself, three by Iyer and two by Prieto. The opening “Trio Piece” is by Threadgill and is not an easy way in. There is no foothold because of the complex alternation of time signatures in which flute and piano respond to each other, but without a recognisable theme. A piece such as “I Wanted a Map” is perhaps less adventurous than Threadgill’s own abstract compositions, with a genuine swing, but it is more pleasant to listen to. The closing track “On the Way” was written by Prieto, who asserts his Cuban heritage here and lashes the drums with South American temperament. A fine ending to an album that as a whole is not easy to categorise. It is precisely the strong variation in the compositions that also makes “Fifteen” an inconsistent album and difficult to get through. (Jeroen Mulder) (6/10) (Nonesuch Records)
Fuming Mouth – The Ringing Bell
The American death metal band Fuming Mouth releases a tremendously strong album called “The Ringing Bell” after a long period of setbacks and illness suffered by singer Mark Whelan. The biggest surprise is the arrival of drummer Jay Weinberg (ex-Slipknot). Together with Kurt Ballou’s excellent production, Jay Weinberg’s drumming is the proverbial icing on the cake. Instead of stealing the show, Weinberg functionally keeps himself in the background where necessary, only to strike mercilessly hard at the right moments. Just listen to one of the better tracks on the album, “After Oblivion”, and you will understand what I mean. Essential purchase for lovers of crude hardcore punk combined with crushing modern death metal. (Ad Keepers) (8/10) (Triple B Records)
Gods & Punks – A Shrine by the Sea
The Brazilian stoner (prog) rock band Gods & Punks recently released “A Shrine by the Sea”. It contains two epics of 21 minutes and 12 seconds. Both are divided into four tracks. “The Lighthouse” (side A) starts with the sound of waves and calm music. The dreamy vocals have a somewhat distorted, alienated sound. Pleasant, slow doom passages alternate with Black Sabbath-inspired riffs. On the download I received, the four tracks do not flow nicely into one another. Hopefully this is better on the LP, otherwise it is quite disturbing. “Poseidon” (side B) is more psychedelic. The beginning is calm, but the intensity increases. In both tracks there are calm and heavy sections, and the transitions between them are good. The organ playing comes particularly well into its own in the louder sections. There is plenty of (bass) guitar. The percussion is fine, and the cymbal playing is regularly light and fast. Vocals and music are nicely balanced over the headset. Finally: the balance between the musical styles is good. (Esther Kessel-Tamerus) (7/10) ( Electric Valley Records)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Alien Metal
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard completely leave their guitars aside with “Alien Metal” and throw themselves wholeheartedly onto the dancefloor. The twenty-eighth studio album by the Australian six-piece emerged from a late-night jam session that lasted more than an hour, and that improvisational character can be heard throughout every track. Techno, hardcore, house and jungle alternate at a rapid pace, all filtered through the psychedelic character that has defined the band for years. Opener “Sapience” immediately sets the tone with a pounding beat, after which the title track “Alien Metal” shows how far the band dares to venture outside its comfort zone. “Kill For The Steel” and “Level 5”, both previously released as singles, form two energetic highlights of the record. In “Superheavy, Supercritical” and “Rapid Alpha Decay”, it feels as though you are standing in the middle of an illegal rave in an abandoned warehouse, complete with flashing strobes. “Uqt” and closing track “Atomic Collapse” maintain the pace until the final second. This is not an album for those looking for the familiar King Gizzard sound, but anyone open to a surprising change of direction will be richly rewarded. (Daniel Harris) (7/10) (p(doom) Records)
Chelsea Wolfe – The Dark
Chelsea Wolfe is a songwriter who delivers her tenth album with “The Dark” and presents one of her most accessible records to date. Her music moves between gothic, folk, doom and electronica, but remains inviting and human, without lapsing into arty-farty detachment. With drummer Jess Gowrie, Wolfe formed the idiosyncratic project Mrs. Piss in 2020, which with “Self Surgery” presented a rawer and less polished sound. Little of that can be found on “The Dark”. Opener “Cold” is instead of great beauty and possibly immediately the strongest track on the album. With “Swallower”, Wolfe shows a more ethereal side. Her flexible voice here brings Heather Nova to mind, with a touch of the Cranberries. Throughout the album, she alternates light electronica with folky atmospheres. The title track “The Dark” evokes associations with Mariee Sioux. This creates a recognisable, lightly doomy electronic folk style. “The Dark” is pleasant to listen to, although that also contains a pitfall: sometimes attention can drift away a little. “Dancer in the Sky” closes the album and seems ideally suited to a dance remix. For extra dreaminess, VIP packages are available. (Bart van de Sande) (7/10) (Loma Vista)
