FULL EARTH: Cloud Sculptors (PROGRESSIVE ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Full Earth is a name that will mean nothing to most of you, which is hardly surprising given that "Cloud Sculptors" marks its discographic birth. The name Kanaan, on the other hand, means a lot more. The mere mention of this Norwegian power trio, who in the space of just six years have established themselves as masters of psychedelic rock, is enough to arouse interest and whet the appetite. So what does Full Earth have to do with it? Well, this project is simply a kind of outgrowth of Kanaan, whose three members are supported here by bassist Simen Wie and keyboardist Øystein Aadland, no stranger to progressive fans (he plays on the latest Ihsahn and Avkrvst's "The Approbation").

And so it was that all these people embarked on this new adventure, whose first steps on stage in Oslo in 2022 were promising, to say the least. "Cloud Sculptors" seals this exciting collaboration. A clue to its content is provided by the album's pantagruelic form. The fact that only six tracks fill the 85 minutes of listening time immediately heralds a marathon as epic as it is virtuosic.

There's a lot of Kanaan in this album, not least because it's built around drummer Ingvald Vassbø, whose demented drumming is instantly recognizable. He imbues the whole with a hard, yet delicate groove inherited from his jazz roots, which propels the gigantic (in every respect) 'Emanation' to pulsating heights. Together with their faithful companions Ask Vatn Strøm and Eskild Myrvoll, they form the fuzzy bedrock of Full Earth, to which the addition of a second guitar and multi-faceted synthesizers inject sometimes heavier features, but above all a more experimental dimension that at times ties "Cloud Sculptors" to musique concrète (the hermetic 'Wellgeist'). It's easy to see why the band cites the work of Terry Ryler, a pioneer of the minimalist avant-garde, as an influence. German cosmic rock of the '70s is not far away either, as illustrated by the repetitive 'Echo Tears', with its obvious mandarin reminiscences.

Somewhere between progressive rock, contemporary music, stoner and jazz, this debut album is something of a sonic monster, massive yet ethereal. That it kicks off with two tracks of around twenty minutes each sets the tone and doesn't help its discovery. "Cloud Sculptors" has to be earned. But at the end, the ecstasy rises. The aforementioned 'Emanation', with its hypnotic power, is a veritable monument, a cauldron where the genius of musicians totally connected to each other boils in an orgiastic maelstrom. Its second half literally borders on a form of cataclysmic trance.

'Disintegration', a hallucinatory behemoth that hovers on the brink of breakdown, is the final word. And right in the middle is the emotional 'The Collective Unconscious', whose eighteen tender, tragic minutes, ginned up by an antediluvian organ and pointillist guitars against a back of sprawling drums, bring tears to our eyes. For good measure, let's not forget the colossal energy of the title track, a long, hyper-technical piece that boasts the most metal and accessible side of the whole.

Following in the footsteps of Kanaan, but in a more experimental vein, Full Earth's "Cloud Sculptors" is a titanic debut that we hope will not go unnoticed. - Official website

FULL EARTH

CLOUD SCULPTORS

AUTRE LABEL

PROGRESSIVE ROCK