BOBBY PREVITE - Mass
Rare Noise
Jamie Saft, Mike Gamble, Don McGreevey, Stephen O'Malley: guitars; The Rose Ensemble directed by Jordan Sramek; Reed Mathis: electric bass; Marco Benavento: pipe organ, Rheem organ; Bobby Previte: drums; Farfisa organ
Combinations of music not usually explored together, like the late 90’s hybrids of hip hop and metal by bands popular in the era as KoRn and Limp Bizkit are novel, and faded from the public eye pretty quickly. Drummer Bobby Previte’s “Mass”, twelve years in the making blending metal and sacred music two forms seemingly diametrically opposed, is at turns novel and serious, and begs that this particular fusion of styles to be explored more often.
Previte, who has been an in demand drummer for years on both the avant garde jazz scenes, as well as more rockish settings first performed the recasting of Guillame Dufay’s large scale choral work Missa Sancti Jacoby in 2007 aided by his wife, the writer and choreographer Andrea Kleine. In the early 2000’s an attempt at tackling this work by the drummer was deemed a failure and he started from scratch realizing the very real core shaking emotional power the music had on him. Here he has scored the music in an uninterrupted hour plus long suite for instrumentation ranging from four electric guitarists including RareNoise label mate Jamie Saft, Stephen O'Malley, Mike Gamble, and Don McGreevey, the rhythm section of Marco Benavento on pipe and Rheem organs, Reed Mathis on electric bass, Previte on skins, and the 11 voice Rose Ensemble choir and the results are incredible, puzzling and every emotion in between. The sense of intrigue of hearing sacred music with secular leanings is on par with the strange disconnect found in Enigma’s smash single “Sadeness” from the groundbreaking Eurodance album “MCMXC A.D.(Virgin, 1990) dissonant pipe organ and droning moans from guitars frame the opening salvo of “Introit”, atop the pile driving force of Previte’s drums with his thunderous ratamacues conjuring memories of Elvin Jones as the villain Job Cain in the movie “Zachariah” (1971). Metal a genre mistakenly commonly thought of as lacking morality, and standing against anything sacred is the perfect counterpoint to the monochromatic calm of voices in prayer, and smoldering guitars. “Agnus Dei” is solemn, a churning ride cymbal pulse and assymetrical organ line transforms into a dreamy pipe organ meditation interrupted by the uncertainty of jagged dissonance. “Sanctus” builds upon placid voices, giving way to a section with pounding guitars, and 60’s rock organ fills from Benavento. Previte makes explicitly clear the challenge in materials accompanying the album of the choir and the metal group meeting on harmonious grounds: while the choir is doing one thing, the band is doing another, but it all works. “Communion” closes the intense epic work by hanging on an eerie dissonant chord heard at the end of “Agnus Dei”. As the piece winds from a waltz time excursion amongst a wall of squealing guitars, the dissonant chord returns and hangs in the atmosphere for 2 and a half minutes before the piece being brought to an abrupt conclusion with confused, screaming voices.
“Mass” is a thoroughly engaging and creative project that brings together the secular and sacred in a manner that draws the listener into an auditory novella of sorts. One of the best and most unique releases at the tail end of 2016. Previte’s John Zorn like curiosity for creating a blend not previously explored at length is refreshing, and those with adventurous tastes will be well served by this concoction, those with narrower tastes and strict definitions of what constitutes music, perhaps less so on this thrilling ride.
Reviewed by C J Shearn
Rare Noise
Jamie Saft, Mike Gamble, Don McGreevey, Stephen O'Malley: guitars; The Rose Ensemble directed by Jordan Sramek; Reed Mathis: electric bass; Marco Benavento: pipe organ, Rheem organ; Bobby Previte: drums; Farfisa organ
Combinations of music not usually explored together, like the late 90’s hybrids of hip hop and metal by bands popular in the era as KoRn and Limp Bizkit are novel, and faded from the public eye pretty quickly. Drummer Bobby Previte’s “Mass”, twelve years in the making blending metal and sacred music two forms seemingly diametrically opposed, is at turns novel and serious, and begs that this particular fusion of styles to be explored more often.
Previte, who has been an in demand drummer for years on both the avant garde jazz scenes, as well as more rockish settings first performed the recasting of Guillame Dufay’s large scale choral work Missa Sancti Jacoby in 2007 aided by his wife, the writer and choreographer Andrea Kleine. In the early 2000’s an attempt at tackling this work by the drummer was deemed a failure and he started from scratch realizing the very real core shaking emotional power the music had on him. Here he has scored the music in an uninterrupted hour plus long suite for instrumentation ranging from four electric guitarists including RareNoise label mate Jamie Saft, Stephen O'Malley, Mike Gamble, and Don McGreevey, the rhythm section of Marco Benavento on pipe and Rheem organs, Reed Mathis on electric bass, Previte on skins, and the 11 voice Rose Ensemble choir and the results are incredible, puzzling and every emotion in between. The sense of intrigue of hearing sacred music with secular leanings is on par with the strange disconnect found in Enigma’s smash single “Sadeness” from the groundbreaking Eurodance album “MCMXC A.D.(Virgin, 1990) dissonant pipe organ and droning moans from guitars frame the opening salvo of “Introit”, atop the pile driving force of Previte’s drums with his thunderous ratamacues conjuring memories of Elvin Jones as the villain Job Cain in the movie “Zachariah” (1971). Metal a genre mistakenly commonly thought of as lacking morality, and standing against anything sacred is the perfect counterpoint to the monochromatic calm of voices in prayer, and smoldering guitars. “Agnus Dei” is solemn, a churning ride cymbal pulse and assymetrical organ line transforms into a dreamy pipe organ meditation interrupted by the uncertainty of jagged dissonance. “Sanctus” builds upon placid voices, giving way to a section with pounding guitars, and 60’s rock organ fills from Benavento. Previte makes explicitly clear the challenge in materials accompanying the album of the choir and the metal group meeting on harmonious grounds: while the choir is doing one thing, the band is doing another, but it all works. “Communion” closes the intense epic work by hanging on an eerie dissonant chord heard at the end of “Agnus Dei”. As the piece winds from a waltz time excursion amongst a wall of squealing guitars, the dissonant chord returns and hangs in the atmosphere for 2 and a half minutes before the piece being brought to an abrupt conclusion with confused, screaming voices.
“Mass” is a thoroughly engaging and creative project that brings together the secular and sacred in a manner that draws the listener into an auditory novella of sorts. One of the best and most unique releases at the tail end of 2016. Previte’s John Zorn like curiosity for creating a blend not previously explored at length is refreshing, and those with adventurous tastes will be well served by this concoction, those with narrower tastes and strict definitions of what constitutes music, perhaps less so on this thrilling ride.
Reviewed by C J Shearn
