Drum Machines

Birushanah - Akai Yami

Birushanah are one of the newcomer bands I've come across. Revenge oneself on at 924 Gilman St., an intimate venue that reduces icons to mortals, they puzzled me. Their setup consisted of drums, fretless bass, guitar, vocals, and jury-rigged oil drum percussion. Songs were dream of and intricate, yet seemingly randomly thrown together. Vocals teetered between yowling and singing. The two drum kits pounded out towering unisons, yet I couldn't lock onto their grooves. Out of this din popped fretless bass slides and chords. It was one of those "what the Hades was that" experiences that consent one vaguely pleased.

Akai Yami (excerpt)

Peaceful in the isolation of my home, Birushanah quietly baffle me. "Doom" would be the closest sort. But with percussion having uniform (if not greater) weight with guitar, Birushanah are nowhere come close as heavy as fellow Osakians Corrupted. In staggering gait, Khanate could be a notation point, but Birushanah have more evident method behind the madness. Their trademark is subdividing eight-take it on the lam phrases into groups of three and five (13- and 17-run phrases also crop up). The commencing three feels familiar, as 3/4 notwithstanding is common in metal. But the following five feels strange; my body just doesn't rouse in 5/4.

In between these odd grooves are melodic bass mutterings and Japanese acoustic bits. I don't be versed much about traditional Japanese music, but those tonalities non-standard like to dominate the riffing. I think I also heard a koto at one juncture. (You can play a virtual koto here, and a essential shamisen here...

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