krautrock / psychedelic rock / post rock
The Insektlife Cycle is no stranger to Merchants Of Air. This instrumental rock band from Manila has been featured a few times in the past several years. In 2015 I was quite amazed by their post rock influenced music, especially since the band members have a history in death metal and mathcore.
So that was rather surprising but perhaps even more remarkable: the band is already evolving away from the post rock scene. With 'Temple Of The Soul', this quartet jams itself into the world of krautrock and psychedelic anthemization (if that is a word).
The four lengthy tracks on this album have been recorded during a 150 minutes lasting jam session and recorded live on a four track cassette player. With that, it might be rather normal to be catapulted back into the sixties and seventies. Pretty much everything on this record breathes that vintage air, from the cover to the elaborate guitar solos and the overall sound quality. So no, this is no longer a post rock band, this is a psychedelic jam act that will rock your socks off if you're into this kind of stuff.
The music on the record has been cut from the original tape recording, which is quite noticeable in opener 'Unmentioned Motions'. This track does not feature an intro or anything, it just starts rocking rather suddenly. From the very beginning the drums and bass guitar provide a steady foundation over which the guitar players seem to enjoy absolute freedom. 'Sonic Sermons' is my personal favorite, mostly because of its doomy blues feel. Title track 'Temple of Our Soul' would make a neat sixties movie soundtrack.
The closer is up to you to discover. If you are a fan of long jam sessions, inspired by everything between Hendrix and Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, this album deserves a shot. Perhaps it needs some time to grow on you, but once inside, you'll never want to get out of there.
Serge
So that was rather surprising but perhaps even more remarkable: the band is already evolving away from the post rock scene. With 'Temple Of The Soul', this quartet jams itself into the world of krautrock and psychedelic anthemization (if that is a word).
The four lengthy tracks on this album have been recorded during a 150 minutes lasting jam session and recorded live on a four track cassette player. With that, it might be rather normal to be catapulted back into the sixties and seventies. Pretty much everything on this record breathes that vintage air, from the cover to the elaborate guitar solos and the overall sound quality. So no, this is no longer a post rock band, this is a psychedelic jam act that will rock your socks off if you're into this kind of stuff.
The music on the record has been cut from the original tape recording, which is quite noticeable in opener 'Unmentioned Motions'. This track does not feature an intro or anything, it just starts rocking rather suddenly. From the very beginning the drums and bass guitar provide a steady foundation over which the guitar players seem to enjoy absolute freedom. 'Sonic Sermons' is my personal favorite, mostly because of its doomy blues feel. Title track 'Temple of Our Soul' would make a neat sixties movie soundtrack.
The closer is up to you to discover. If you are a fan of long jam sessions, inspired by everything between Hendrix and Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, this album deserves a shot. Perhaps it needs some time to grow on you, but once inside, you'll never want to get out of there.
Serge
