klangmutationen

WeiBe Messe

Touting the slogan 'Organic free metal from Malaysia' I have to say I was intrigued even before I popped this record on the deck - I mean how can you possibly dislike a record if it lives up to that slogan, and I'm happy to say that it really, truly does. While being more 'free' than 'metal', this Malaysian improvisational five-piece make quite a racket and armed with two saxophones, bass, guitar and drums they're not your traditional rock band. In fact the band have more in common with Kraut rockers Amon Duul or jazz-pranksters Mr. Bungle than they do with any of the northern European black metallers the jacket might suggest, but that aside 'Weisse Messe' truly rocks. So you might not get the kind of riffage you'd expect from a traditional metal band, but in place of this is the kind of feedback that would get Thurston Moore's knickers in a twist and the kind of saxophonic skronk that would have half of the modern avant garde brigade instantly searching for a purpose in life. So this is metal in essence rather than sound, so don't expect an easy ride - the horns squeak like nothing you care to have heard before and leave a devastating hole in the cranium in their wake. You think you've heard free jazz? Maybe you need to hear how it sounds in Kuala Lumpur, then you can honestly leave with a smile (?) on your face... insane, and all the better for it.