Bushman's Fire is one of two simultaneous releases by the Oslo power trio
Bushman's Revenge. Unlike its companion,
Jazz, Fritt Etter Hukommelsen, this date was recorded live in concert at the famed Cafe Mono in their hometown and showcases an expanded version of the group: Guitarist Even Helte Hermansen, bassist Rune Nergaard, and drummer Gard Nilsen are augmented here by saxophone heavyweight
Kjetil Møster and David Wallumrød on B-3 and clavinet. Consisting of three long tracks. Opener "Yoga" is a more intense reworking of "Baklengs Inn I Fuglekassa," from 2014's
Thou Shalt Boogie. It staggers along the musical tightrope between
Soft Machine and
King Crimson-esque prog and hard rock -- at least initially. Its opening vamp -- played by sax, organ, and bass -- is almost obnoxiously repetitive for the first ten of its 20 minutes, but it's so gnarly, heavy, and infectious, the listener has to ride it out. Hermansen starts to solo near the end of the sequence before the entire band breaks it down and gets trippy.
Møster's out solo transcends it and the rest of the quintet eventually abandon restraint and build it out into a space rocker with sax honking and spiky guitar breaks piercing the rhythm section. "Total Fucking Marmalade" is a new piece. Its heavy prog vamp compresses an intensely knotty vamp. Wallumrød's massive organ recalls
Deep Purple's mighty
Jon Lord at his peak. Nilsen's triple-time drumming sends the jam into the red before a wompy, funky groove takes it out. It gives way -- without stopping -- to
Sonny Sharrock's "As We Used to Sing," a number that's been part of the band's live set from the very beginning. The addition of
Møster's saxophones is fantastic as it evokes
Pharoah Sanders, and counters Hermansen's fiery playing as the full band get their avant rock swagger on here. While 2013's
Electric Komle: Live was an excellent concert offering, the quintet edition on
Bushman's Fire is on an entirely different level. [
Bushman's Fire was also released on LP.] ~ Thom Jurek