Guapo

Black Oni [VINYL]

Label: Hlava Country: Germany

"Black Oni is the second part of an epic trilogy that started with 2004's highly acclaimed Five Suns. Like that album, it is composed of one track separated into five parts. It shares the same lineup as Five Suns, too (not always the case with Guapo): Daniel O'Sullivan on keyboards and guitar, Matt Thompson on bass, and Dave Smith on drums. Black Oni is filled with organ clusters and electronic tones that give way to heavy progressive rock peppered with electric piano, Mellotron, and a slew of other brilliant excesses. The album is filled with complex miniatures -- like the Philip Glass-style minimalist piano introducing the third section -- that work well, as they never really veer too far from the foreboding feel of the whole album. Anyone who likes Olivier Messiaen, Magma, or Dark Magus-era Miles Davis will find something to like here, but if you like all three, Black Oni is essential."-Wade Kergan, All Music

"The album has been given a makeover with doctored artwork strategies, sonic treatments and revised mastering. The result is absolutely exhilarating."-Hlava

"Guapo is a British trio that plays an intense music that straddles the boundaries of progressive, noise, minimalism and avant-rock. Their sound has been compared to such artists as Magma, Boredoms, King Crimson, Univers Zero, This Heat, Ruins, Sun Ra and Terry Riley. As Sound Projector put it, "Guapo come on like all the hellhounds of Magma, Eskaton and Ruins were after them...on a par with MagmaÕs Kohntarkosz or Univers ZeroÕs Ceux Du Dehors"."-Cuneiform Records