Long Distance Trip

I came across Samsara Blues Experiment accidentally while roaming on Google and Youtube looking for something else, and was intrigued by the name enough to want to find out what kind of band SBE are. These guys are based in Berlin, Germany, and play a mix of mostly instrumental and long psychedelic-space metal-prog rock that harks back to the glory days of Kosmische Musik in the early 1970s when bands like Can, Amon Duul 2, Neu!, Faust and Tangerine Dream reigned supreme. Unfortunately SBE's albums are hard to get in Australia and even Aquarius Records in San Francisco hadn't heard of the band when I contacted them so this review is based on what I have been able to find on the Internet. "Long Distance Trip" was SBE's debut release in 2007.

"Double Freedom" is the longest track on the album at 22 minutes and it begins with a melody in which sitar and guitar entwine over a thudding beat and a vocal that together remind me of old Amon Duul 2 albums stashed somewhere deep in my collection (a bit strange really, because AD2's primary vocalist was female). The intro is soon swamped by a blistering wave of rough noisy electric guitar that lapses into a more peaceful atmospheric blues rock journey. This builds up into huge towers of abrasive guitar skree over which vocals drenched in watery reverb intone. The lyrics are of ecstatic transformation and transcendence into a different realm of existence. By the halfway mark all necessary instruments are busy travelling together, building in intensity and towards a far-off goal: wah-wah lead guitar is put to work weaving long wobbling tone threads around your head and surging crumbly rhythm guitar push on and on to the edge of their range while drums provide consistent support. Towards the end, the track changes to something cleaner and a bit more intimate with a clear vocal and a resonant melodic guitar swirling about. The sound is very sharp and two guitar melodies duel for your attention. With a change of key, the track starts to really sound like the old Amon Duul 2 from around their "Yeti" album period (in 1970) and continues in a fairly poppy vein with what sounds a little like organ backing for the rest of the piece.

"Center of the Sun" is a trancey, mostly instrumental piece of guitar melody exploration and brisk, efficient drumming. Vocals come about the 4th minute and their surprising deep quality might remind some people of The Doors. A sharper, more hard-edged metal aggression comes halfway through and pushes the song to a more intense level. Guitars begin howling and bubbling close to boiling point and start to choke and stutter as the track progresses. The track comes to a quick climax and finishes just as speedily in contrast with the rest of the song.

"Singata Mystic Queen" falls into a by-now familiar template of beginning quietly and slowly and ascending to a plateau of tuneful guitar meandering, this time with some organ accompaniment. The track sends you into a world deep within its wah-wah string embrace, one that takes you to a sometimes serene blues resting-place where you can relax and let the material world pass you by. The pinnacle when reached is ecstatic and exhilarating, as though the musicians have stumbled on the meaning of human existence in the universe and everyone is rejoicing.

Just when I thought I had SBE figured out here, "Wheel of Life" is a pleasant surprise, starting with some near-experimental space ambient effects that lead into a gentle and repetitive acoustic guitar melody. Field recordings of surging waves up and down a beach round out the track. "For the Lost Souls" includes an unexpectedly chuggy and almost hardcore punk section from which lead guitar flies forth with urgent force and vocals roar with uncharacteristic brutality. There are also moments of epic, almost sky-high emotion in amongst the near-thrash parts. "Army of Ignorance" initially starts off as a faux doom metal track before morphing into something more melodic but still a little on the Sabbathy side.

The tracks are all self-contained and can be heard on their own and/or out of sequence. All the music is good and consistent but to be honest very few of the tracks really stand out for originality or distinctiveness: "Wheel of Life" is the only very different piece while the others, especially the longer tracks, tend to be variations on a theme. With "Double Freedom" being such a long track, coming as the final track on the album as well, listeners may be forgiven for expecting a monumental climax of explosive guitar noise pyrotechnics display but alas this never eventuates. I know it's a trite stereotype but gosh, this is one album where a trite stereotype not only could have been done by SBE (and forgiven by listeners) but done extremely well so as to redefine it.

I have the feeling SBE are playing a bit safe and is cautious about really letting fly with long and trancey improvisations. They need not be as audiences for this kind of music can be very forgiving and want to be fully immersed in the music, no matter how long it is: SBE should not be afraid to take risks and allow the music to escape their control and lead them to wherever it may flow.