Elephant9 is a jazz-rock power trio featuring keyboardist
Ståle Storløkken of
Supersilent, National Bank bassist Nikolai Eilertsen, and
Shining drummer Torstein Lofthus. Though
Storløkken plays Hammond organ on much of the disc, this is no
Jimmy Smith or
Big John Patton-style exercise in bluesy grooves; these three are decidedly more influenced by '70s rock, as the solos routinely head into territory previously explored by
Deep Purple's
Jon Lord and
Keith Emerson (of
Emerson, Lake & Palmer infamy). Lofthus' drumming crosses
Ronald Shannon Jackson's avalanche-like polyrhythms with the crushing metal power of
Slayer's Dave Lombardo (no stranger to rhythmic intricacy himself), while bassist Eilertsen holds the groove down and drives the band forward in a way that's at-times reminiscent of
Yes'
Chris Squire, and also the
Moody Blues' John Lodge. It's not all headlong assault-prog, either; the ten-minute title track delivers an extremely psychedelic keyboard exploration atop a heavy, almost locked groove from Eilertsen and Lofthus. "Hardcore Orientale" is noisy punk funk (not in the
Red Hot Chili Peppers-circa-1985 sense, but in the sense of combining punk's single-mindedness with funk's unstoppable groove), while the near-15-minute "Habanera Rocket" is another adventurous journey that bridges the gap between
Larry Young's Lawrence of Newark and
Yes'
Relayer. This is not an album for the faint of heart, and it's definitely not jazz, but it's well worth a listen. ~ Phil Freeman