FOREVER PLAYING CATCH UP (2023 EDITION) PART 3

(Our old friend and former NCS writer Austin Weber is returning to our page today with the third part of a multi-part series of reviews that we plan to run day after day until completed. You’ll find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)

Despite the incredible volume of music covered here at NCS, there remains a plethora of noteworthy releases yet to be shared in this space. Chalk it up to how much damn good stuff deserves the limelight and doesn’t get it because we all know this site already covers more than most as is.

As I’ve done in the past, join me for another multi-part feature that touches on music I strongly believe you should listen to—or at the very least, stuff worth checking out at a minimum. You be the judge. Onwards!

 

 

Mohini Dey – Mohini Dey

In line with many prior non-metal but metal-adjacent music that’s often “prog”-related that I’ve covered in years past, I wholeheartedly suggest you check out Mohini Dey – Mohini Dey which came out on August 6th.

Although I was only recently made aware of this artist recently, Mohini Dey is a world-renowned bass guitarist based out of Mumbai, India, and has been killing it as a professional musician from a young age. Now at the age of 27, her latest effort is the solo album I’m here to talk about with you today, Mohini Dey.

This one was brought to my attention by one of the best bassists I know, my homie Jeremy Tolle. Mohini Dey is an eclectic and proggy blend of jazz fusion, big band, rock, and metal. With a strong emphasis on creating a fun, groovy, and new form of jazz fusion (in my opinion).

Since she has put out a great statement about the release on her Bandcamp, I think it’s something worth sharing when discussing this release:

Mohini Dey is an eclectic album that has elements of rock, jazz, R&B, and funk, alongside Indian Carnatic rhythms and Konnakol vocals. Mohini has this to say in her own words, “This album was made to be listened to from start to finish. The order of the songs was intentionally designed to give listeners at home the sensation of attending my live show. I have played with some of the greatest musicians from many different genres so it was important to me to feature them on my album doing what they do best. This music represents my life’s journey and I hope that all of you will enjoy this musical adventure that I’ve curated. I am proud of this album and feel inspired to share more of my original music with the world.”

With virtuosic bass playing for days at the core of everything. Mohini Dey is fucking amazing as a bassist and I can see why some of rock and metal’s best musicians decided this was a release they wanted to be a part of. Beyond her considerable talents alone and as an equally skilled songwriter, this release is driven by a pretty deep list of impressive musicians I’ve shared in full below.

Drummers:
Narada Michael Walden- USA (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Jeff Beck, Journey)
Simon Phillips- UK/USA (Toto, Protocol)
Gergo Borlai- Hungary/USA (Scott Kinsey, European Mantra, K.L.B. Trio, Kaltenecker Trio)
Nishant Hagjer- India (Underside)

Guitarists:
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal USA (Sons of Apollo, Guns and Roses)
Rhythm Shaw- India (Gergo Borlai, Amit Trivedi, Vishal-Shekhar)

Keyboardists:
Daniel Szebenyi – Hungary (Gary Willis, Gergo Borlai)
Scott Kinsey- USA (Tribal Tech)

Saxophone and Aux Keyboards:
Mark Hartsuch-USA (AR Rahman)

Sometimes, all you need is a gentle recommendation from a reliable source that a release might be something worth taking a chance on and diving into. I’m thankful my friend is reason enough alone, and whether I have any credibility or not in a similar vein, it doesn’t matter. The music here is of such a high caliber, with its adventurous and expansive take on jazz-fusion-inspired music with a metallic and rock bent to it, that it will assuredly appeal to the nerds in some of our NCS readers out there.

This is a special release. Spread it like the funky plague that it is.

Social Media Links
https://mohinidey.bandcamp.com/album/mohini-dey
https://linktr.ee/mohini.dey662

 

Linus Klausenitzer – Tulpa

Even before Linus Klausenitzer joined Obscura on bass and made himself known globally starting in 2011, I’d heard of him through his other project at the time, Noneuclid. That group’s 2006 album, The Crawling Chaos, broke my brain with its very experimental and progressive blend of thrash interwoven within numerous forms of death metal from bestial and technical strains alike.

If you’ve never checked out that band, you owe it to yourself to jam both of their albums which also includes their last effort, 2014’s sophomore album, Metatheosis. In a way, it felt like a precursor to Alkaloid, not just because of its adventurous multi-genre focus but also because it included Morean (Dark Fortress), who wound up playing in Alkaloid later on, along with V. Santura, who has worked with many projects these same musicians are a part of, up to and including mixing and mastering the first Alkaloid album, The Malkuth Grimoire.

Despite my tendency to dork out and suggest that you also check out other releases beyond what I’m here to talk about, I guess we do need to talk about the album I’m here to talk about, which is the debut solo album entitled Tulpa from Linus Klausenitzer himself. It was released on October 6th through Art of Propaganda Records.

Although it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that naming your album Tulpa means it has some connection to Twin Peaks and its fixation on tulpas throughout the series, I can’t help but wonder if that was at play when naming this effort. Either way, the idea of what a tulpa can be makes for a very intriguing album concept. The definition of it is as follows: “Tulpa is a concept in Theosophy, mysticism, and the paranormal, of a materialized being or thought-form, typically in human form that is created through spiritual practice and intense concentration.”

Regardless of how tulpa as a concept with many different meanings impacts what the release is about, Tulpa is still every bit the accomplished progressive death metal release full of unexpected twists and turns you’d both expect and not expect from someone as skilled as Linus. Joining him on Tulpa is an eye-popping motley crew of collaborative friends found throughout the album, as listed below.

I do want to emphasize, though, that from a songwriting credits perspective, it’s made clear that despite the spirited and incredible performances from the other musicians listed below, Linus wrote the whole album.

The credits for Linus Klausenitzer – Tulpa are as follows

Linus Klausenitzer: (Obsidious, ex-Obscura, Noneuclid, etc.): Fretless Bass, Fretted Bass, Synths, all music & lyrics

Guests:
Javi Perera (Obsidious): Vocals
Ian Waye (Soreption): Lead and rhythm guitars in all songs
Aaron Homma (Annihilator, Killitorous): Lead & Rhythm Guitars in song 1, Acoustic Guitars
Vanesa Jalife: Piano
Hannes Grossmann (Alkaloid, Triptykon, Ex-Obscura, Ex-Necrophagist): Drums

Guitar Solos:
Roland Grapow (Masterplan, Ex-Helloween) in song 1
Phil Tougas (First Fragment, Chthe’ilist) in song 2
Ian Waye (Soreption) in song 3, 4, 7, 8
V. Santura (Triptykon) in song 5
Dee Dammers (U.D.O., Dirkschneider) in song 6
Chris Hermsdörfer (Beyond The Black, Serenity) in song 9
Nicolas Alberny (Gorod) in song

Musically, the album feels in line with all its collective musicians’ output to date, which is to say, if you dug Noneuclid, the second and third Obscura albums, the Hannes Grossman solo albums, and all the Alkaloid releases, Tulpa will be right up your alley. This album feels like a blissful and fun exploration of so many different kinds of death and prog metal, and I love everything it has to offer. Fun is the definitive descriptor I’ve taken away from listening to this album; it’s a collaborative effort where everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.

This is a really impressive progressive/technical death metal effort, and seeing as I’ve only had a few weeks to absorb it, I honestly need to spend more time with it to further unlock all it has to offer. Suffice it to say, I’m sure at this point that this is one of the better solo efforts by a well-known death metal musician I’ve heard in a while. I think many of you will agree. Check it out!

Social Media Links
https://www.facebook.com/linus.klausenitzer
https://artofpropaganda.bandcamp.com/album/tulpa