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TOTEM>: Voices of Grain
by Budd Kopman
For those that have heard TOTEM>'s Solar Forge, Voices of Grain will be familiar territory as guitarist Bruce Eisenbeil, bassist Tom Blancarte, and drummer Andrew Drury deepen and extend their intensity and group empathy while expanding their range of expression. While Solar Forge is white hot through and through, Voices of Grain has pacing of sorts, in that translucent, spacious, and at times beautiful tracks, separate the denser, more frantic" tracks. It is in these tracks that TOTEM> ...
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by Glenn Astarita
The trio returns with a vengeance on its second album, where they delve into a boundary-less avant-garde foray, proffering an extension of sorts, to Solar Forge (ESP, 2008). And the musicians hop right into the thick of things on the opener Genosong," where electric guitarist Bruce Eisenbeil saws, slices, and seemingly hacks his way through a dense forest atop the powerful and popping asymmetrical pulse set forth by the rhythm section. But they switch gears on the otherworldly and somewhat ...
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by Eyal Hareuveni
It took five years for the New York-based trio ">TOTEM> to release its sophomore album (after Solar Forge ESP, 2008) but the waiting paid off. This leaderless trio--comprised of guitarist Bruce Eisenbeil, double bassist Tom Blancarte and drummer Andrew Drury--is more than the sum of its parts and stronger than ever. The trio alternates between experimental sonic exploration, and intense fiery free improvisations. On one hand, the sounds themselves, raw and brutal as they come, and ...
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