Saturday, September 6, 2014

Vespero / Zone Six - The Split Thing. 2012 Russia/Germany


The next studio offering from Vespero is a split album with the German band Zone Six that is titled, appropriately enough, The Split Thing. Vespero contributes 3 new songs, totaling approximately 25 minutes. The sound is a continuation of By the Waters of Tomorrow and can be seen as a further move towards the 70s Krautrock scene. In particular, Can and Amon Duul II seem to have influenced the Russian band to a great extent. The steady rhythms hold everything in place, while the synthesizers float above and the shimmering psychedelic guitar provides the melody lines. There are distinct breaks in the music, giving it more of a progressive rock edge than its predecessor. Perhaps best of all is the addition of flute on the first two tracks, adding just the right spice to the overall dish. I found this a nice return to form for Vespero and is worthy of a 4.5 stars on its own. Personally I don't think Zone Six is a good fit as a complement to Vespero. They are of the modern variety of space rock - bordering stoner metal - where fuzz overload and static rhythms are the order of the day. At 24 minutes, their sole contribution begins to get long in the tooth after about 10 minutes. It's a fine track for the style, but perhaps misplaced with the much more kinetic, and exciting (IMO) Vespero.

Ownership: CD: 2012 Transubstans (Sweden)

9/6/14 (new entry)

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