Search - Bruce Gilbert :: Oblivio Agitatum

Just when I thought it would never happen...

Said Head | MN, USA | 10/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bruce Gilbert delivers another incredible album. When I first got Ordier I learned that it actually was not new music, but rather a release of an old performance from '96; and with over a decade of no new music save for a few remixes I began to feel that Mr. Gilbert was through with his projects, something I dreaded greatly.



So, obviously, when I learned of this album I snatched it up without hesitation, and I couldn't be happier.



For fans of Ab Ovo/In Esse and Ordier this release is a definite purchase. Definitely more atmospheric than Ab Ovo, each piece of music is a tangible and well-layered soundscape. Gilbert's insane ability to make noise almost with melodic textures, developing a symphony per se of howls, screeching, humming, etc., is in full focus in this 3 track album ( but don't fret, it's around 40 minutes in total).



The first track, the title track, much like in the style of In Esse is a more typical drone of the genre, in that it literally is a drone, but again its layers and multitudes keep it interesting. The last track, Isopyre, is pretty similiar in style, though has a more howling ambience and more diverse in sound. The middle track, the core, is another trademark of Gilbert's solo career, a lengthy shifting, evolving, and seemingly self-generating opus; it's a lot like something John Duncan might do, but with a strange undertone of the occasional melody.



All in all the album as a whole is not a second too long or too short, and I couldn't be more satisfied with waiting and hoping for so long. I just hope that the wait for potential new releases won't be so long."