Secret Chiefs 3 - Book of Horizons

[Hunter33]

There comes a time when words fail to describe, such as now. Partly due to my inability to cover so may genres in one post. But all I want to say is if you have not heard of these guys yet, you should check them out.

They are an army of musicians carrying lethal and potent weapons derived from multi cultural sound-scapes.
Do not seek them for lyrical inspiration, their leads are derived from instrumental chaos. There are little if any human vocals to be heard but you will not feel a lack of it. IF you have any cross cultural awareness then I bid you to seek these guys out now or forever remain ignorant to the wonders of the SC3.

When I first came upon their sounds I found it hard to believe a western band could make such wonderful eastern sounding music. But it does not end there. They, as I mentioned, are an army. They have several regiments each dedicated to a style. The Holy Vehm brandish a potent mix of Death Metal whilst the Ishraquiyun use traditional weaponry that is rarely heard in this age of technological wonders. There are more. Do not dare think of them as a metal band, they are too diverse to be stuck in such a genre.

Musicians and composers take note, this is the way of musical unification.

Secret Chiefs 3 Bio
Myspace

Official Website

Their latest album release I have is the 'Book of Horizons' (2004).

This release boasts years of work, orchestral-scale compositions, huge laborious production with intricate counterpoint as well as beautiful, simple monophonic texturings, tons and tons of instruments from all over the world, and the corresponding musicians who go with them...

They have released a new album in 2007 called 'Path of most Resistance' which is an amalgamation of various stuff already released on different albums with some bonus material. OKay I guess if you want a general idea of their sound but the 2 main albums I listen to are 'Book M' and 'Book of Horizons' which are equally impressive in their own rights.

*Seriously though, check them out they're really cool!

[The Late Great Libido]

Trey Spruance is a god-like guitarist. Not like EVH or Hendrix, he blends in perfectly and compliments whatever music is being played.

I was fortunate enough to see a couple Mr. Bungle shows before they broke up and they were both amazing concerts. In a world of safe, vomit-inducing pop music, Mike Patton and folks like him (Spruance) are a breath of fresh air.

Great review

[Hunter33]

I've not been fortunate enough to witness a SC3 gig yet, but I did catch Mr.Bungle myself once in London (Disco Volante tour).
I was amazed as the stage was crammed full of instruments and they had to cancel the support band as setting it all up just took too long.

Mike Patton had about 5 different mics (each with a different sound setup) and a whole backline rack to play with on stage aswell as a couple of samplers.
Was a very inspiring gig to watch.

For those that don't know, Trey Spruance (founder of SC3) used to be in Mr.Bungle.