Gazpacho: Demon

Nine years and six albums after I witnessed Gazpacho impress while opening for Marillion and I finally turn the mental note to check out the music of this Norwegian sextet more closely, into reality. The only conclusion I can come to is that I've been a fool to leave it so long - for Demon, the band's eighth album, is nothing short of excellent. This is an outfit who have dabbled quite deeply in conceptual and indeed short story based releases before, however the basis of Demon is formed round manuscripts, discovered in a flat and written by an unknown ex-tenant, which recount the writer's centuries tracking and hunting of a Demon which stalks the earth. The, verging on crazed, writing refers to long defunct branches of mathematics, unknown Pagan religions and a firsthand account of the bubonic plague... That Demon manages to be every bit as interesting, confusing, engrossing and fanciful than the (supposedly true....) story it is based round is impressive indeed.

Four songs make up this tale and they do so in a deep, melancholic, intricate manner, throwing out barren string sections, plaintive piano and vocals which run the gamut from crazed to sweet. Combine that to occasional bursts of threatening guitars, harmony voices, vocal tones which sound like vintage gramophone recordings and stabs of keyboards which bring colour, drama and theatricality and the sheer focused diversity becomes completely captivating. Each of the four tracks winds through varied passages which alter mood and atmosphere, while remaining, with a few notably exceptional moments, reserved and contained. All the while still somehow achieving the goal of recounting the casual madness of the subject matter and to gather together the varied strands of conceptual and musical thought into sounds which hold the interest while challenging the listener to keep up.

"I've Been Walking (Part 2)" fuses dreamy meanders of violin to upliftingly sparse keys and soaring, beautiful vocals (think Steve Hogarth at his most atmospheric), via the gramophone vocal strains and chiming piano strikes. "...Walking (Part 1)" provides the introductory scene setting, acoustic guitar moving front and centre, before jostling with washes of keyboard and vocals. "The Wizard Of Altai Mountain" winds up almost like a Prog-Rock music box, bizarrely and joyously morphing into leg kicks of Cossack accordion, while the closing (unless you buy the limited version carrying a bonus track) "Death Room" lives up to its threatening name but without the need to crank up the volume or suddenly throw distorted antics into the mix, instead heightening the intensity by reinforcing the musical themes created elsewhere on this release.

An album which engages on a variety of levels Gazpacho have with Demon delivered something of power, emotion and beauty and one which sets you thinking on a variety of different levels. More importantly it's a cracking good listen (especially through headphones) and one which familiarity only continues to improve.

Track Listing
1. I've Been Walking (Part 1)
2. The Wizard Of Altai Mountain
3. I've Been Walking (Part 2)
4. Death Room

Added: May 4th 2014
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Gazpacho Online
Hits: 2649
Language: english

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