siLLy puPPy The final chapter of the original three albums from Oakland, California’s SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM before they took an extended hiatus. Pretending they were Spinal Tap and losing a drummer every album, so too does the third album IN GLORIOUS TIMES find the arrival of drummer Mathias Bossi who replaced Frank Gau. Bossi, a seasoned drummer played in a series of challenging bands including The Book of Knots, Skeleton Key and Vic Thrill. Bossi also would marry Carla Kihlstedt, SGM’s amazing violinist / vocalist who returns for another stunning performance. Once again, the band delivered another hour plus worth of complex experimental avant-prog metal with a totally new direction.

While the band’s first two album’s were very theatrical in a demented Vaudville fashion with the music matching the wild performance art routines, on IN GLORIOUS TIMES the band streamlined its sound into a heavier avant-garde metal juggernaut with more inspiration from “Red” era King Crimson or the Swedish prog revival bands like Anekdoten, Sinkadus or Landberk only with a razor-sharp metal edge. If “Of Natural History” was SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM’s magnum opus to prove they were the worthy successors of the mighty Mr Bungle, then IN GLORIOUS TIMES was the answer to Mike Patton’s Fantômos, only SGM had a knack of keeping everything distinct and original no matter how many nods they dished out to past masters. In that regard album #3 delivers with abundance.

A noticeable more brash and metal oriented album from the very start, “The Companions” insinuates the band is back with fairy-tale dreams in avant-folk forests but in reality only stirs up brooding atmospheres that erupt into chaotic discord. Once again graced by Nils Frykdahl’s poetic prose set to a demented Gothic crooning persona, the opening track allows a bit of creepy melancholy to sink in but for the most part the album just let’s loose with more focus on the heavily distorted dissident guitar workouts than the myriad detours into a labyrinth of musical genres that the first two albums dished out unapologetically. “Helpless Corpses Enactment” jumps right to it with crazed chord progressions laced with brutal prog time signatures and a demented vocal tirade of Frykdahl proving his metal game is on par with any of the scariest screamers, growlers and rage against the machiners out there.

Carefully constructing the right gloom and doom is the name of the game before the volcanic eruption of metal mania detonates its might. “Puppet Show” almost begins as an avant-prog tribute to Magma with the entire band engaging in a vocal sing along but cedes to a demented dissonant piano that seduces the violin into a game of contrapuntal warfare. The strategy of IN GLORIOUS TIMES is to simplify the musical approach and let the creative music mojo manifest in other ways, in this case in contrapuntal instrumentation that weaves massive webs of avant-prog counterpoints and unusual syncopative approaches. While the guitar, bass, violin and drums almost completely dominate this album with an almost total abandonment of all those clever self-made tricks and trinkets that Dan Rathbun decorated the first two albums with, softer passages do allow some intricate percussion and lullaby effect sounds to be heard.

Unlike the previous two albums, IN GLORIOUS TIMES doesn’t flow perfectly with a few tracks like “Formicary” not jiving as it feels like a forced display of avant-prog technicalities without the melodic build up to justify it. The following “Angel Of Repose” finds Carla Kihlstedt in the vocalist’s seat and on this one she channels her inner Bjork and sounds like the Icelandic diva only set to an oddball mix of psycho-jig fiddle playing and avant-metal extremism. It’s a bizarre track but it only sets the stage for the most crazed and unhinged track of all, the heavyweight “Ossuary” which gives a glimpse as to what King Crimson’s “Red” might’ve sounded like if Gentle Giant was invited to join in. The track single-handedly conjures up the most haunting soundscapes of the entire release with jittery avant-prog guitar workouts working in opposition to equally nerve-wracking bass lines, brutal proggy percussion and Kihlstedt’s violin shredding.

The album is on a more even keel than the previous two with the same basic build ups and climaxes with the usual SGM trademarks thrown in for good reason therefore the rest of the album pretty much follows in the footsteps of what has already been established in the first half of the album. Frykdahl trades in his Vaudville persona for some sort of demented psychotic philosopher who tortures himself over some mighty peculiar subject matter. The album is overall more rhythmic although unabashed avant-prog workouts do take things into the wild west for moments of brutal prog orgasmia, the album more or less follows a more controlled musical flow which i find to remind me most of Anekdoten’s earliest albums. IN GLORIOUS TIMES also delivers an abundance of abrasive and grating sound effects like the grittiest industrial harsh noise album there are to be found. Unlike the previous albums that offered a bit of respite on the closing track, “The Putrid Refrain” ushers the album out with shrill sound effects.

SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM fans fall into two basic camps: those who love the diverse kaleidoscope effect of the Vaudville meets avant-prog metal of the first two releases and those who love this more streamlined heavy prog meets extreme metal approach of this one. Personally i fall into the first camp but i have to commend SGM for not just copying and pasting its excellence par none of the first two releases. This was a bold and daring experiment that although to my ears not quite as pleasing from beginning to end, nevertheless showcased the darker and more abrasive side of the band where every member was allowed to showcases their stunning virtuosity. This album is more equivalent to sonic terror as opposed to the Disneyland meets Devil Doll style of the early albums. This is one that never really stuck with me but as i’ve revisited it for the sake of this review, i’ve found i’ve been missing out on a very unique and intricately designed album that is quite fascinating in its own right. The more uniform approach allows the band to gel in a way that is absent on the earlier albums. It also allows the vocalists to excel in ways not possible before. An excellent album even if not quite as perfect.

Warthur Sleepytime Gorilla Museum's In Glorious Times finds the band in a slightly less theatrical mode than their preceding album, with the music seeming more real and immediate; if Of Natural History was a Vaudeville conception of avant-metal, this is more of a gritty and realistic movie soundtrack. Musically speaking, the band seem to be out to fuse the disturbing territories of Mr Bungle with the creepy chamber rock of Rock In Opposition legends Univers Zero, though the bizarre vocal approach is a 100% Sleepytime Gorilla original. Either way, the album is another successful experiment in balancing musical complexity and experimentation with way-out-there creepiness.

Phonebook Eater When I listened for the first time to "Of Natural History", I didn't like it. It then grew up on me. So when I picked up "In Glorious Times", and when I realized at my first listen that I didn't like it, I thought it was eventually going to grow up on me. I was wrong. Still today I can't enjoy this album much, probably because of it's excessive experimentation in some parts (don't get me wrong, I love experimentation in music, but at a certain point: when it starts to be barely tolerable, I can't stand it.), and also because of the growling of the singer, even though I never really mind this type of vocals.

Despite these things, there are some good moments: the first song, "The Companions", has some great haunting moments, "The Salt Crown" is another great piece that reminds me of "Babydoctor" a little. "Angel Of Repose" is excellent as well, since the melody is surprisingly cathcy and the experimentation is incredible.

These are the best moments. But the rest is easily forgettable, and, in my opinion, not really worth the whole 67 minute listen.

avestin The theatre of grotesque and bizarre delivers another heavy, creative and original sounding show

Theatrical: that would be the first attribution I'd give SGM and their music. Others would use the usual words like avant-garde and rock against rock pioneers etc. But in the end, this is a show. A show varied in musical styles, instrumentation and in approach to composition. Their albums are a show in which you travel through the different auditory acts. However, this particular release isn't a concept album as was Of Natural History, with its provoking and intelligent story line. Here every song stands by itself lyrically and the booklet has a short note on each. But, I would not want to compare this too much to its predecessor, as that album is a fantastic album that I feel is hard to surpass. This album follows in the tradition of SGM's sound and attitude, if I can call it that.

There are several facets to SGM's music and it's no different here; there's the more metal oriented as is heard on "Helpless Corpses Enactment" (growls, heavy distortion, fast riffs); there's the quirky avant-garde rock side (both in song structure, instrumentation and overall musical approach) in which they show another creative aspect in their music as is heard on "Puppet Show"; there's the more straight forward side such as in the opening song "The Companions" (and to a lesser degree in "Formicary"), where not much madness and quirkiness (in their standards) is portrayed and not much of the two aforementioned styles are prevalent. Just as a note, I'll mention that "Formicary" (aside from being similar to the song "The Creature" from Of Natural History) reminds me somewhat of U Totem's self-titled album (the female vocals, the slightly poppish sounding tune with the avant-garde edge, the type of playing).

SGM's previous release, Of Natural History, is one of my favourite albums, and though I don't think this one reaches the same peak as that one, it is a very strong and good album in its own right. In Glorious Times might not be, to me, as superior, compelling, heavy and boundary pushing as Of Natural History but this is only a relativistic issue, if you will. After all, I can't think of many (or any) bands composing and playing this type(s) of music, so powerful and creative, not afraid to go further on, experimenting, going wild, and bringing various styles into their music and creating their own new style and for that they deserve much respect and praise.

If you're an SGM fan, or simply liked their previous albums, then there's no question about it, go get this one! If you're not familiar with their music, this is actually a very good album to get acquainted with their music as I find it more accessible then the others; not as deterring as the previous albums might be to new listeners not used to their style. Either way, this is an album to experience; a show that is put on for you the listener to discover a different way to make music.

thellama73 Another unbelievably good record from Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. I had been anticipating this album for a long time, and I was terrified it wouldn't live up to my expectations. Thankfully, though, those fears have been put to bed. I must admit however, that on my first listen I was a little disappointed. This is because, as others have said, the album is denser and less accessible than "Of Natural History," but after a few repeat listens I realized my error.

I have seen the band live a number of times, and so I had heard a lot of these songs as they developed along the road. It is a treat to hear them so thoroughly fleshed out in a studio form. The only disappointment is that the percussion guitars don't sound quite as massive on record.

"The Companions" starts things off wonderfully, beginning slow and brooding and then exploding into chaos, concluding with a beautiful Spanish feel. Nils is in fine voice and Carla has never sounded better. In fact, her versatility is showcased in the stellar "Angel of Repose," my personal favorite track on the album, where she shows herself capable of both soft cooing and full on belting. I didn't know she had it in her.

The Greenless Wreath is another highlight, but really there's not a weak moment on the album, not even the full on death metal of Helpless Corpses Enactment or the twisted answering machine messages. On the whole, it's slower and more meditative than their previous outings, but it's as least as good as anything they've done to date. Let's hope they keep it up!