Leafing through the PR info when this album hit my inbox, I was thinking that I recognised the band name and sure enough suddenly saw the words stating that Ave Noctum described last album Spirituality as “a vaccine to life’s miseries”. Ah yes, so I did and everything clicked into gear. This group’s roots spread far further back than that particular album though and to 2010 when the Russian band members started out before uprooting somewhere down the line, moving to London and settling down here. ‘Bardo Thodol’ is in fact their eighth album and is named after what is more commonly known as The Tibetan Book Of The Dead. In line with this, we are informed that the album is going to bring “sustenance for the soul, the spirit, the heart and the mind.” Yes, this is quite a lot of fun and an album that will keep the listener on their toes. It does take you away from life’s miseries and like its predecessor makes you simply want to bounce up and down so as I dig into what is my first official released album of a new year, I actually have some music that is happy. It won’t last but its certainly something to enjoy for the time being.
As a ‘Hex’ is cast over some traditional sounding string instruments and chanting we are thrust into a groove-laden ride complete with thudding drums and barking vocals. Initially its going to have you thinking of tribal stompers from the likes of Sepultura and Soulfly as it lets its spirit fly but it is the merging of modern instruments and ethnic and traditional strings and pipes that transports you off into a completely different world here. Haywire and thrash laden ‘Purity’ stomps in like an angry beast and is guaranteed to go down as storm live but with a flourish the embedded strings sound like you have been caught amidst a Saharan sandstorm. There are patterns of drum tapping and its all expertly played as things whip off around the world leaving you more than a little giddy. I remember the likes of Equilibrium taking us off on a National Geographic trip in the past and that’s exactly what Concrete Age do here leaving you trying to work out their sources of inspiration. At one point you could be in the sort of place the much-missed Tengger Cavalry transported us to and the next some mad party in the midst of the Balkans. The latter is particularly important to the band judging from what I have discovered and apparently the whole album is dedicated to that style and region so it seems I got slightly lost attempting to travel my way around the nooks and crannies here Apparently, the mad snake-charm sounding piped mania that Trite Puti is actually a traditional Bulgarian folk song. Well, it certainly charmed me and like the rest of the album really makes you want to give into base urges and simply get up and dance.
Things simply don’t stand still here as inspiration is pulled in from everywhere amidst the thrash and world music motifs of a song such as ‘Lullaby for a Deadman’ there’s even some gnarly blackened vocal parts. As the dervish weave of the title track infects, I can’t help thinking this band deserve to be a hell of a lot more highly regarded. I’m surprised they have not been snapped up by a big label and that looking at past live performances that they have still managed to go completely under my radar and even suffered the fate of being support to a bloody SOAD tribute act! Concrete Age would certainly go down a storm at Warhorns Festival.
Galloping towards the finish line without breaking stride it’s almost impossible not to find yourself grinning from ear-to-ear as the band exuberantly give it their all. If you are looking for something to kick-start you into the new year and forget about all the ills in the world for the time being, this will do nicely. Hopefully it will bring the band some greater recognition, they certainly deserve it.
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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