Quest for Blood

As far as I'm aware this is the debut recording for the Japanese band that combines improvisation, progressive rock and black metal which sometimes sounds like death metal to me. It's quite an unusual recording in that it's basically a friendly if intense duel between a hyperactive twittering flute (most likely courtesty of Yukihiro Isso) on the one hand and on the other just about everything metal and rock can throw at that little piping thing and make it stick. The very idea of Flute taking on Metal and Rock with Jazz thrown into the mix can seem strange and gimmicky but quickly you realise that QFB mean business, and very technically proficient and intense business it is too. The flautist has so much energy and zest, and enjoys piping away so much that his instrument acquires a slightly crazed during its solo turn in the generally crazed and actually very strong opening track "Takasago" which combines columns of steel-edged guitars, passages of deathy BM that careen all over the joint, some lovely piano-tickling and solemn a cappella Japanese-style chanting.

From here on we go through seven songs, or rather seven rounds, of often lightning-fast technical black metal and sometimes very wacky singing and chanting pitted against shrill piping flute that flies about in skittery tweety-bird style in the upper end of its range. The jazz-influenced drumming is superb and energetic though the beats have a dull sound. The early tracks tend to fly by quickly and soon we come up against "Kosi No Emshiw" which stands out by having the flute adopt a lower spooky tone to do battle against a galloping metal rhythm and a rollicking piano melody. "Yayema" which follows is a tight little package of straight-faced solemn chanting, tootling woodwind and music that swings from grand and stately to super-fast and back again.

"Uchina" and "Rakuseki Kakugo" are the last two rounds where just about everything that can be flung at that flute is thrown hard and this includes some of weirdest singing and chanting you're likely to hear in your life. This makes for a highly schizophrenic and exhilarating last 16 minutes of the album. The drummer and lead guitarist find new talents they never knew they had and push everything they've got for all they're worth and still they keep up the energy levels! "Uchina" becomes a real roller coaster of jazzy improv. As for "Rakuseki ...", everyone seems to realise that Flute and Metal-Jazz-Rock are evenly matched and none can beat the other so now they just go hell for leather up hill and down dale and round and round in a truly inspired if deranged improv session that keeps on getting wilder and more excessive. Now the pianist goes completely berserk and the lead guitarist shreds his strings faster than a tweety-bird can fly into an electrical fan's blades and the flautist, who must by now be on a third pair of lungs, continues to toot away madly. It all goes mushroom-shaped at the end with the drummer in a blazing thunder all his own making and all of a sudden the music stops.

This is an incredibly original recording with very technical and precise playing. The musicians push their abilities and stamina to the utmost on most tracks. I can't see much wrong with this album although the constant high-pitched flute may cause headaches for some listeners. I do wish there had been more of that po-faced chanting in some tracks, especially the last two songs, but probably if my wish had been granted the album would have ended up sounding really kitsch. The addition of piano adds a welcome layer of melody and sonic contrast of the pure tones with the harsh buzzing strings, plus there is that ivory debauchery in "Rakuseki ..." where the guy all but destroyed his instrument with karate chops.

This is the sort of recording that fans of black metal, death metal and improv need to hear at least once in their lives: the energy in this record really pours out and the musicians are so focussed on what they do, you almost feel they are teetering on the edge of insanity and chaos.