Or is it a disappointment? Not for hardcore fans of Zeuhl like me. You give me 2 tracks of over 50 minutes of pure Zeuhl, I'm going nowhere. They definitely moved closer to the center of the movement, that of Magma. It's more plodding than the mothership though, and could be called "dense" at times. I was struggling with comparisons throughout my multiple listens. It doesn't have the brass or groove of a Weidorje, but it does have that type of gravitas. And it's certainly not noisy like Shub Niggurath, though again the heavy atmosphere is there. Maybe Jean-Paul Prat is the closest I can get here. So... even though they moved back to the main tree stump of Magma, I think VAK have indeed continued to create something unique.
Ingredients of their sound include the usual Rhodes, synthesizers, and pounding drums. The bass is more foundational than driving, so that's one departure from the norm. There's also wordless female vocals, not abrasive, but also not distinctive enough to move the needle. 'Hquark' does possess a few moments of that familiar Eskaton groove, so they haven't completely given up on their initial direction. And that leads us to 'Au Fond des Creuses', the "short" track at 8 minutes, where they reintroduce the guitar and flute, and brings us back to the greatness of Aedividea. So yes, a 4 star album for certain. And I'm sure future listens will reveal more.
At this point, VAK are one of the leading lights of the current Zeuhl movement, a tad behind Corima perhaps, but ahead of the rest of the pack by a good mile.
Ownership: CD: 2018 Soleil Zeuhl
2/16/19 (new entry)
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