Warrior
Despite its martial title, this is not an aggressive record. Instead, these nine tracks move with the muscular power of a trained fighter and tell tales of wisdom, not war. Their power is always kept safely under a veneer of powerful bass lines, futuristic leads and metallic stabs and driven onward by the force of simple, but deceivingly effective tribal beats. Much more than on any other Steve Jolliffe release, grooves fuel the action and just as some of the titles indicate, these are ritual dances, meant to induce a trance or a different state of awreness. The explosion, therefore, never really occurs, but there is a mencacing aura surrounding most pieces, an implied danger lurking from under each stone and behind each shadow on the wall - this warrior roams the vast spaces of forgotten lands and takes the astral journey. The majestically black "Sorcerer" slows things down in the eye of the album's storm, but "Desert Plains", a transcendental hymn, lifts the listener weightlessly up into the sky again. A breathtaking trip, full of metaphors and veiled allusions.
Tracklisting:
1. Wilderness 4'27
2. Ghostdancers 6'18
3. Brother 6'11
4. Sorcerer 5'27
5. Desert plains 7'05
6. Wardance 5'20
7. Eagle 3'52
8. Indian 6'09