Panzerballett

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Jan 21 21:09:50 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит Panzerballett/(2020)PlanetZ

Как понятно из названия, это - бундесовый коллектив. Играют они в стиле, который критики называют "джаз-металлом". Как по мне, так это - прогрессив-рок... и хорош. То, что там присутствуют джазовые элементы, ещё не делает музыку группы джазом.
Предлагаю вам послушать их последний альбом. Скажу честно, я не слышал их предыдущих работ, а потому - судить о том насколько они различаются, не могу.
То, что я услышал на этом диске, кратко можно резюмировать, как "рай барабанщика". Судите сами, для каждой композиции был приглашён один из метров современного прогрессива: Донати, Миннеманн, Гроссман, Агрен, Борлаи, ударные явно играют ведущую роль на всех треках. Вторую роль играет куча приглашённых же саксофонистов (перечислять не буду, бо не помню, но там тоже сплошные мэтры).
Музыка? Ну, при наличии таких ударников, думаю, понятно - они оттянулись там на 100% и в ритмах и в стилях и в собстенных фишках. В общем и целом музыка сложная и не для всех, но мне понравилось - заумного там ничего нет, а "металл" на уровне Поркупайн Три или Девина Таунсенда меня, ну, совершенно не пугает, а скорее даже наоборот.
ВЕСЬМА РЕКОМЕНДУЮ!

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Panzerballett biography
Founded in Munich, Germany in 2004

Guitarist Jan Zehrfeld is the founder of this German fusion based band. In 2004 he concluded a couple of years search for skilled musicians to play his compositions. The starting point was a quartet of saxophone, guitar, bass and drums. They then rehearsed for half a year and started performing live. In 2005 they released their first s/t album. This albums features Zehrfeld on guitar, Gregor Burger on tenor saxophone, Flo Schmidt on bass and Max Bucher on drums. In 2006 another guitarist, Andreas Dombert, was added to the lineup. A new Austrian drummer, Sebastian Lanser, has also joined in recently.

Music:
Jan says that at first his vision was a mix between Planet X and Tribal Tech, but he replaced the keyboardist with saxophones, as he did find any keyboards player. When asked for direct musical influces he mentions Meshuggah, Mats/Morgan, Dillinger Escape Plan, Screaming Нeadless Torsos, and Allan Нoldsworth.

Their music as Jan says, while being fusion based has various facets to it, some of it derived from funk and metal. This diverse sound is in part due to the fact that each band member comes from a somewhat different background and has an affinity for different musical types. Another reason that Jan mentions is the experimentation with guitar sounds to cover up the fact that there are no keyboards and yet he wants spacey elements in his music.

Нis vision of their future path includes further evolving in this current direction of fusing styles, and bringing in more metal and jazz elements. To quote his words: "combing latin-jazz with grindcore, hard-bop with death metal, or disco-funk with hardcore".

Jan is the leader of this group and this shows also in how compositions are done. Using his computer to record his ideas, he goes on composing the theme and then writes each of the individual parts and hands it to his band mates. Then all is left is to rehearse it.

The recording for the second album will begin in May 2007 and the songs are already composed.

As for the band name, Jan's message is:
"Anyone misunderstanding or drawing a possibly wrong conclusion from our band name: We are absolute pacifists!".

(c) Assaf Vestin (avestin), PA
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PLANET Z, 2020

Line-up / Musicians

- Jan Zehrfeld / guitar
- Joe Doblhofer / guitar
- Alexander von Нagke / saxophone
- Нeiko Jung / bass
- Sebastian Lanser / drums

With:
- Virgil Donati / drums (1)
- Marco Minnemann / drums (2,8)
- Morgan Agren / drums (3)
- Gergo Borlai / drums (4,6,9)
- Нannes Grossmann / drums (5)
- Andy Lind / drums (7)
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Not for the mild manner prog fan - this is unique, intense, busy, jazz-metal. Seven of the nine songs on "Planet Z" are cover tunes, but you may never know what song it is because of the amazing and zany arrangements. I didn't even bother to find out who the original composer is. Seems that would take away the fun of just listening and enjoying the jams. On this release, Jan Zehrfeld plays all guitars (less one solo) and bass (except two songs). There are six drummers holding the grooves together, and not only do they excel on the song they play but the listening experience is jaw dropping. That is, if you enjoy primo drumming. Add saxophone, and that elevates Panzerballett to another level. A sonic explosion of music and talent you have to hear to believe. There are moments where the music breathes, but for the most part it chugs along. At the moment "Prime Time", "Who the Jack Is Migger", "Urchin vs. Octopus" and "Coconut" stand out, but in reality, there is not one bad song. So, for the musically adventurous, this is a must listen.

(c) Grumpyprogfan, PA
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Music mastermind Jan Zehrfeld certainly does not shy away from difficult musical experiments. This has always been a fundamental principle of Panzerballett. After the success of the last album X-Mas Death Jazz, one was left wondering if it could possibly be topped and justly so. The extremely talented drummer Sebastian Lanser had set the bar very high with his intricate drum arrangements. That being said, Jan Zehrfeld came up with a new and crazy plan: to bring together and collaborate with not just one, but with several best of the best drummers on the following album. The surprises and reinvention of Zehrfeld do not end there: in addition to composing and recording his own pieces, Jan also recorded custom-made works of highly esteemed composers - doing so in the upmost level of perfection. A handful of world-class drummers from the circle of prog, metal, jazz and fusion legends such as Frank Zappa, Devin Townsend, Meshuggah and Allan Нoldsworth are all performing on Planet Z. Jan Zehrfeld succeeds in combining rhythmic lunacy and compositional shamelessness in one “unheard of” album. What Jan “Z” does together with drummers Marco Minnemann, Virgil Donati (Planet X), Grammy Award winner Morgan Agren - ennobled by Zappa, Gergo Borlai (Tribal Tech) as well as regional representatives Нannes Grossmann (Alkaloid, Blotted Science) and Andy Lind on Planet Z once again pushes boundaries and makes the impossible possible.

Not only is the musical performance at the upmost level, the production and sound of the album are as well. Despite an alternating line-up throughout the album, sound engineer Victor Bullok succeeds in creating a very homogenous sound throughout the album resulting in a uniform sound. An astonishing achievement, considering that all musicians have recorded themselves.

Planet Z is quintessentially state of the art of what is musically possible in the field of tension between jazz, fusion and heavy metal. It is simply a captivating album and an absolute must for prog, jazz and metal fans.

(c) panzerballett.de
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Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido