Silberbart: 4 Times Sound Razing (1971)
The incomprehensible title -- 4 Times Sound Razing -- is your first warning to ... RUN!
Or stick around, if you don't fear the inexplicable, nor sounds esoteric and inscrutable, but I'd still suggest strapping on your helmet for a seriously unhinged sonic experience that's sure to rattle your brain, loosen your fillings, and challenge your receptivity to the unknown.
Here's what we DO know ...
Silberbart (German for "silverbeard") was an experimental Kraut-rock power trio based in the town of Varel, located roughly two hours west of Hamburg, and comprised of Hajo Teschner (vocals/guitar), Werner Klug (bass), and Peter Behrens (drums).
These four cuts (hence the title) were demoed live in April of 1971 (yes, almost 55 years ago), and for some reason Philips decided the world could handle an avant-garde freak show redolent of the Mothers of Invention with the deafening distortion holocaust of Blue Cheer.
The warning is clearly spelled out in this reissue's liner notes, helpfully printed in both English and German: "Unsere gruppe ist wirklich höllisch laut!"
Translation: "Our band is loud as hell!"
That they are: nonsensical opener "Chub Chub Cherry" introduces Teschner's trademark vocal schizophrenia, alternating child-like falsettos and lupine ravings, over pummeling power-psych, yet it only hints at the sanity-shaking experimental epics coming next.
Tipping the scale at a staggering 16 minutes, "Brain Brain" (said Technier, "the brain's brain, a scenario of absolute music") offers incongruent passages that juggle blasting distortion, folksy acoustics, tribal percussion, violin bow whale calls (!!!), and a metallic armageddon based on Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War."
The far more focused (but still ten-minute-long) "God" seems ready to wind down amid much kit-bashing, string-snapping, and amp-melting mayhem, before tearing everything down to spare minimalism and building it back up again to near-explosive levels.
And though it travels the sound-waves, from Hendrix to Floyd, and a dozen other detours in a dozen minutes, the closing, impenetrable "Head Tear of the Drunken Sun" bears the distinction of actually finding its way back to where it began.
That being said, at first listen (and second, and third, and fourth ...), all of these pieces appear to be largely improvised, bound to no structure whatsoever, and fit for no function other than to demonstrate high-end stereo equipment with its vast and sharp dynamic extremes.
But -- wouldn't you know? -- much to my surprise, repeat spins eventually revealed that Silberbart did, in fact, have some kind of compositional game-plan, even if it came heavily camouflaged behind a fearless (even reckless) and adventurous mindset.
And why not? Some mysteries are best left unsolved ...
More Obscure Early '70s Heavy Rock: A.K.A.âs Do What You Like, Alamoâs Alamo, Ancient Greaseâs Women and Children First, Asterixâs Asterix, Atleeâs Flying a Head, Bangâs Mother/Bow to the King, Birthaâs Birtha, Blackwater Parkâs Dirt Box, Bloodrockâs Bloodrock 2, Blues Creationâs Demon & Eleven Children, Bolder Damnâs Mourning, Boomerangâs Boomerang, Buffaloâs Volcanic Rock, Bull Angusâ Bull Angus, Cactusâ Cactus, Captain Beyondâs Captain Beyond, Charleeâs Charlee, Copperheadâs Copperhead, Cradleâs The History, Crushed Butlerâs Uncrushed, Curly Curveâs Curly Curve, Dies Irae's First, Fanny Adamsâ Fanny Adams, Flied Eggâs Dr. Siegelâs Fried Egg Shooting Machine, Flower Travellinâ Bandâs Satori, A Foot in Coldwaterâs A Foot in Coldwater, Fuseâs Fuse, Giftâs Gift, Hard Stuffâs Bulletproof, Haystacks Balboa's Haystacks Balboa, Head Over Heelsâ Head Over Heels, Heavy Cruiserâs Heavy CruiserâŠ
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