PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Levin Minnemann Rudess is the new power trio studio project featuring instrumental virtuosos Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel), Marco Minnemann (Necrophagist, Paul Gilbert, The Aristocrats), and Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater, solo). On this eponymous 14-track debut opus, released in 2013, you’ll hear ample reason to appreciate the skillful depth of the songs and the fluid motion of their playing.
The album, co-produced by Tony Levin and Scott Schorr, is well-balanced, crisp, clear, and very well mixed and mastered. One instrument never dominates the others. It’s weird and jaunty: both whimsical and playful at times. It’s more ‘rock’ then say, The Aristocrats latest disc, which was more ‘fusion’. This adventurous album touches more on pure rock and pure jazz themes. Near-impossible to firmly place in any one genre, the record dabbles in everything from cocktail jazz, to industrial (“Afa Vulu”) to ‘near heavy metal’. If you’re looking for music that’s quirky without it being ‘100% jazz’ or ‘100% contemporary fusion’, you’ll love this.
Levin’s bass work is excellent throughout: understated when it needs to be, at the forefront when it needs to be. It’s never overbearing, and doesn’t intrude in to dangerous “lead bass as guitar” territory. Tackling everything from classical jazz string bass to pounding electrified metal licks, Levin grooves: he knows exactly when and where to shine. Minnemann’s adept percussion drives a band unafraid to explore and experiment across genres, time, and key signatures. Check out how dynamic his drum sound is, throughout. While you might expect complex fills and mastery of odd time when he’s on drums (and you’ll get that), it’s his guitar work that will pleasantly surprise. Many of the songs are enhanced with heavy riffs, and blissful, near-shred styled solos. Rudess shines most brightly in the ‘cocktail jazz licks’ department, in that those phrases sound most effortless and/or least contrived of his legion of ideas on this disc. Each song features many of his tasteful leads, and they’re thoroughly enjoyable. The keyboard parts can get a little campy at times, but it seems like that’s the intent, so it’s not really a criticism, just something to be noted. The keyboard in place of lead guitar on some tunes, especially “Marcopolis” and “Fruminous Banderfunk”, keeps the album from going all out metal: it brings a maturity or restraint to the album that might not otherwise be present.
Like many other instrumental discs, this is filled with dexterous ideas and limber twists, like the band tried to cram every idea in to their tunes. Most of the songs are four-plus minutes long, but you wouldn’t hear this on mainstream radio to begin with. Musicians of this impressive caliber seem to pride themselves in to writing idea-dense, layered, note-dense songs. It’s a wonderful aural treat for musicians, and appreciators of top-notch talent on show. That said, the album does not have the flow of a vocal rock record: the songs are unashamed instrumentals, making no effort to be “everything to everyone”. Ideas aren’t as simplistic as ‘regular rock’ or even regular heavy metal or industrial. What you’ll hear are songs that meander through many ideas, oftentimes possessing multiple heads.
A few of the tunes, such as “Enter The Core” and “The Blizzard” have very mellow, relaxing, ambient or moody moments. Some of the keyboard parts, as in “Dancing Feet” and “The Twitch”, have vocal samples embedded. Delightfully, “Mew” has some ‘instrumental beeps’ that sound like a continuation of an Aristocrats tune theme.
Criticism: The album stream had delivery errors, in that the ‘play all’ sequence was out of order to the ‘play track by track’ (track listing), and there were several silent or skippy moments. In this day and age where any sold music is a ‘premium’ product, perfection is a near-necessity. If you opt for a digital download purchase, make sure it is error free.
This Levin Minnemann Rudess is a mammoth project release from a power trio who have earned their stripes. Since this is a very progressive instrumental disc, it’s not as accessible as your typical rock or vocal album. A certain open-minded, quirky mood might be needed to fully appreciate the depth of the tunes. Once you get them in your ears though, they’ll blow your mind.
Track Listing:
Marcopolis
The Twitch
Frumious Banderfunk
The Blizzard
Mew
Afa Vulu
Descent
Scrod
Orbiter
Enter the Core
Ignorant Elephant
Lakeshore Lights
Dancing Feet
Service Engine
Band Lineup:
Tony Levin: Bass Guitars, Chapman Stick, and Cello
Marco Minnemann: Drums and Guitar
Jordan Rudess: Keyboards-Continuum-Wizardly Noises and Seaboard
