Secret Chiefs 3
Book Of Horizons

What a great band the Mr. Bungle were! Capable of churning out one masterpiece after another, offering a uniquely zornian-inspired mix of styles, supported by great instrumental skills, superb songwriting able to combine sound terrorism and experimentation with a taste for melody and a never-enough-appreciated dose of (self) irony and boisterous silliness.

Unfortunately for all of us, after just 3 albums (but what albums, ladies and gentlemen!), the Mr. Bungle adventure came to an end, and the group split, with Patton on one side, who from then on would experiment with a thousand projects, often very good and interesting, but whose sonic extremism sometimes made us miss the catchy faithnomorian/bunglean melodies.

But do not despair because the remaining members of the group did not sit idle, but under the guidance of guitarist Trey Spruance gave birth to Secret Chiefs 3, an instrumental band that partially picks up the thread where it was left off, enriching it, however, with new sounds and moving mainly towards a mix of exotic-oriental sounds, surf music, electronics, tributes to Morricone, and death metal outbursts. This "Book of Horizons" probably represents the most varied and mature work, besides presenting a fairly original and interesting underlying concept. Indeed, for this album, an infinity of guests was called upon, so much so that in this case, it is more appropriate to speak of a musical collective than a band in the strict sense; such variety of musicians is also reflected in the innumerable instruments used, ranging from the most classic ones to the banjo, viola, and harp, as well as a multitude of ethnic instruments (saz, esraj, rabab, sarangi, Chinese and Tibetan gongs just to name a couple at random). Well, now these musicians have been assembled time and again to create 6 fictional bands (Forms, Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists; The Electromagnetic Azoth, Holy Vehm, Ur) that share the CD, each creating a couple of tracks that highlight in turn a particular musical component of the Chiefs (without abandoning the others, of course), so for example the Traditionalists are the most distinctly Morriconian, while the Holy Vehm churn out a fierce oriental-themed death metal that can easily compete with Nile’s (their tracks are also the only ones featuring sung parts, but given the blatant use of growl in these, one can consider the voice more as an added instrument since it’s hard to understand any lyrics).

The artwork is also very well cared for, featuring a page for each band with images depicting their style and many mystical references. In short, a great discovery and an album that leaves no room for complaints, although I cannot quiet the little voice in my head that keeps wondering if this almost perfect CD wouldn't have been a bit more perfect with good old Mike behind the microphone.

Ps: Give us back the Mr. Bungle!