CD Review: Tomahawk - Anonymous

I cannot claim to have tried terribly hard, but it seems nearly impossible to keep up with all of the different projects that Mike Patton is or has been involved with over the years. The guy is, if nothing else, keeping himself busy. The ones I know of are Faith No More (obviously), Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, and now Tomahawk. I am also pretty sure that there are a couple of more. Besides keeping busy on all of these different projects, whichever ones find their way to my ears are always fascinating. They are not all great works of art, but there is always something that makes them stand out from a crowd, and Anonymous is no different. It is the third release from this trio, but the first I have heard, and it is a themed album that had so much potentially to go flying horribly off the tracks. Fortunately, it did not, and the result is a magical album that brings two worlds together in something that is wholly unique in my experience.

The project was born out of research being done by guitarist Duane Denison. During this period of research, he discovered books of transcribed Native American music. Denison, along with Patton, and drummer John Stanier took this music and interpreted it with a much more modern mindset, while respecting the origins of the music. Now, this is no New Agey Native American music, you know, the kinds of albums you find strewn throughout the New Age section that have about as much to do with Native American music and culture as Quentin Tarantino does with family movies. Rather, they took the darker compositions and worked them into a hard rock format while retaining all of which makes it Native American. This is not to be confused with a literal note for note, beat for beat replica of the music, it is truly interpreted and filtered through an imaginative and respectful, but distinctly off-kilter mind.

The Anonymous title comes as a show of respect to the original composers of the music, whose names are not known, lost to time. They may be making interpretations of the music, but they are not claiming ownership or creative credit for their origins.

The music is utterly immersive, and completely addictive. A collaborative effort, everything falls into place in a manner that I found it impossible to stop listening after just one time through. Duane Denison's guitar work is incredible, delivering heavily distorted sounds as well as clean vocal line doubles, and giving a wonderful atmosphere to the work. Likewise, John Stanier captures the drumming of a culture while also bringing in new textures to the mix. Then there is Mike Patton, love him or hate him, puts his fingerprints on the whole.

Simply put, this project is fascinating. It takes two worlds of music and bring them together in this union of the bizarre. It is the kind of album that you are either going to fall in love with, or hate, I do not see much of a middleground developing here. I am moving more and more into the love camp. There is an infectiousness to the music that gets under your skin and transports you into another world where music like this may be the norm rather than the exception. At no point did I feel bored of the idea, or left behind. It works as a beautiful whole that, as great as the parts are, the sum is that much better. Anonymous is a musical excursion that forges new ground.

I cannot say that any of the songs really standout. Although I love the atmospheric opening "War Song," and therather creepy "Cradle Song." "Ghost Dance" and "Red Fox" also deliver unique experiences. The album closes with a solo Duane Denison performance called "Long, Long Weary Day." It is completely different from the rest of tha album, due to its source not being Native American. I understand that it is another song from the same period, of American (non-Native origin).

Bottomline. This is one of the best albums I have heard this year. Completely unique, and gorgeous in its execution. I was caught off guard by just how fascinating the project was. It does not fall into the New Age traps, nor does it try to accurately replicate the music. It is respectful, and has the room to go in new directions. This is a wonderful album that deserves to be heard.

Highly Recommended.