Gamma Knife

The album begins with a re-imagination and re-appropriation of a certain style of religious choral music, continuing in the direction of Stained Glass. I couldn't come up with a satisfying interpretation of the lyrics, but the song title (the river of forgetfulness, oblivion, and concealment in Hades) and the sleepy feel of it suggest a rather negative view of the religion that the music originates from. This is consistent with the systems of belief Toby Driver has alluded to in the past (Qliphoth and "I want you to think about 93!") whose goal is often apotheosis, not a resigned rejection and shedding of your mortal self - the soul going up to heaven to live in the shadow of grander beings. Like another band interested in Thelema and magic, Therion, Kayo Dot decided to start using elements of opera in their vocals, most noticeably in the title track. Driver sings them himself, and, like always, doesn't sacrifice expression for aesthetics. I love knowing what a band is actually writing about, so I know why the music is communicating what it's communicating (Unquestionable Presence by Atheist is a perfect example of this). I could do this with motw's albums: they were drug trips or dreams being beautifully illustrated. I could figure out most of Choirs of the Eye, it was Driver's very personal, emotional, experiences being communicated more precisely, elegantly, and powerfully, than any classical composer could ever hope for. Blue Lambency was about hurricane Katrina. This one's about demons and magic and stuff, so I suspect to really "get it" one would need to share Driver's religious interests. Goetic Evocations and Mirror Water are rather unremarkable songs, at least on the first few listens. They might still grow on me. The title Ocellated God immediately brings Melek Taus to mind. The centerpiece of the song is a passage of Gemini Becoming the Tripod-esque screams while trumpets play a bizarre jazzy bit. I can't help but think of someone screaming as they are sacrificed. Overall I've really enjoyed the album. Like all of Kayo Dot's stuff, it's music that you really have to pay attention to and read the lyrics for, not something you listen to while driving or playing video games (at least the first couple times you listen). Even if you have no interest in religion, as long as you appreciate complicated, totally original, and, above all, expressive music, you should buy it.

Arrived on time! Pristine packaging! One of my favorite KD albums. Great live performances. People I've heard have complained about the production but I like it. Really nothing else like this, save Toby Drivers work, so you should listen.

Kayo Dot's 'Gamma Knife' was initially conceived as a short album featuring material recorded in a live situation with 'audience participation'. The middle three tracks are the outcome of this procedure, bearing some of their most claustrophobic and troubling music yet. These tracks, however, are sandwiched between two of the more placid and tonal moments in their growing discography. The result - an album of stark juxtaposition between, if you like, the 'beautiful' and the 'grotesque' (not unlike their previous works in some respect). The ethereal 'Lethe' introduces the album with church bells and reverberated strings and sax, creating an airy, yet rich tonal quality. The repetitive bell sequence combined with Driver's allusion to plainchant (overall, a reference to Christian ceremony/tradition?) serves as the album's shining white light, before plunging the listener swiftly into hell with 'Rite of Goetic Evocation'. The middle tracks (the live-recorded ones) show a slight return to Kayo Dot's much earlier/heavier work; pummeling drums, angular distorted guitar, disorientating dissonance and animalistic shrieks. The metallic inner sound-world of 'Rite of Goetic Evocation' resembles a caged animal, desperate for escape, yet surrounded by the swirling hypnosis of electronic treatment and overdubbed saxophone. In 'Mirror Water, Lightning Night' the sax feels more integrated with the other instruments, forging a demonic coalition between the two previously conflicting sound-worlds. Here Driver's vocals are sung/whispered under washes of reverb, rendering a ghostly presence within the composition. Riddled with tremolo picked guitar, haunting effects and blast-beats, 'Mirror Water, Lightning Night' and 'Ocellated God' border on the chaotic black metal assault of such bands as Blut Aus Nord and Deathspell Omega. 'Ocellated God' is thoroughly grotesque, bearing the darkest depths of the band's soul so far as the piece descends further and further into sonic damnation. 'Gamma knife' gently closes the album with a piano, guitar and vocal arrangement, featuring one of Driver's finest vocal performances on record. The track is haunting, yet non-threatening; melancholy, yet dignified; resembling the memoir of a ghost in the dawn of it's own self-realisation. In contrast with the life-affirming and peaceful qualities of the opening track, 'Gamma Knife' seems to project a sense of emptiness and resignation. Kayo Dot's fifth album is perhaps their boldest to date. Lyrically and musically it embodies life, death, earthliness and religion; moreover, it embodies violent aural contrasts that, unlike say 'Choirs of the Eye', attempt not to find clear means of unity or natural progression, but intentionally contradict one another. It is in this respect that the 'Gamma Knife' achieves its uniqueness and deserves serious attention.

１曲目「Lethe」の敬虔な弦楽・ベルの響きより始まる本作は、しかしその落ち着いた導入部とは裏腹にスタジオライブの録音となっており、更に２曲目「Rite of Goetic Evocation」からはデス声・サックス混じりのメタルと化します。 この両極端な流れから何が見えてくるか？ というと、kayo dotが今までやっていた音楽はつくづくライブ＝生演奏には向いていなかったんだな、ということ。 一つの曲中で美から醜へ、ローからハイへと目まぐるしく変わるその音像はとても一元的な音響処理で整理できるものでなく、よっぽど優秀なPAが何人かでバックアップするならばともかく、ノイズや揺らぎさえも構成に組まれたその音楽はやはりライブ音源には向いていないのだという事実を浮き彫りにさせます。（もちろん生で見れるんだったら、そりゃ別格ですけどね） ５曲中、３曲が前述の通り、メタル寄りの激しい音楽となっており、この偏り方は最終的に次作――七作目にして十年目の変態的シリアス・メタルの傑作――『Hubardo』へ実を結びます。

Compositionally somewhat short of the not stylistically dissimilar "Coyote" and also not aided by the murky sound. (Perhaps a reversion to the more crystalline sound of Maudlin of the Well or early KD would help clear the mists.) So: reservations, but this is Kayo Dot and therefore more interesting than 99.9% of music out there.