Burning the Hard City

Burning the Hard City Artist: Djam Karet
Label: Cuneiform
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 045775012827
EAN: 0045775012827
ASIN: B0000488SE


Release Date: 2000-01-18

Burning the Hard City


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Tracks:

  1. At The Mountians Of Madness
  2. Province 19: The Visage Of War
  3. Feast Of Ashes
  4. Grooming The Psychosis
  5. Topanga Safari
  6. Ten Days To The Sand
  7. Burning The Hard City

Similar Items:

  1. Suspension and Displacement
  2. New Dark Age
  3. Reflections from the Firepool
  4. Devouring
  5. Recollection Harvest

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Great Twin Guitar Instrumental Rock.......2007-01-22

Djam Karet is an all instrumental outfit from California who have been around now for going on two decades. They have never gotten huge, but have developed a solid following especially in the progressive rock world. This album was released simultaneously with its sister album "Suspension And Displacement". The two discs are polar opposite with "Suspension" featuring mostly ambient soundscapes while "Burning" rocks harder than anything else the band has done. "Burning The Hard City" may be my favorite Djam Karet release. The twin lead guitars soar throughout the album. Although this is definitely prog rock, the band gets quite close to metal on several of the tracks. King Crimson is a big influence here, but I also hear a significant amount of heritage from 70's harmony guitar classic rock bands, especially Wishbone Ash. Highlights include the opener "At The Mountains Of Madness", "Grooming The Psychosis", "Ten Days To The Sand" and the title track "Burning The Hard City". If you are a fan of instrumental twin guitar rock, you should love this album.

3 out of 5 stars My least favorite.......2004-04-18

I read a couple of reviews that said this was Djam sounding hard like Metallica. I thought hmmm... a instrumental Metallica-ish CD. I hadn't heard any Djam before. I was diappointed. It's not instrumental Metallica. I'd just call it hard rock instrumental. Unfortunately, the guitar is kind of shrill getting in the way. There are some good tracks on it. I have since got a couple other Djam CDs. Burning The Hard City is my least favorite Djam CD. Get the other Djam CDs. Then get this one.

3 out of 5 stars A backwards step,in comparison to "Devouring",but it's good!.......2003-03-25

Well the atmospheric soundscapes of this album contrast the presence of distorted guitars, even though here you find some repetitive themes and a certain lack of a precise direction ... for this reason to me it's a backwards step, in comparison for instance to the splendid "Devouring";nevertheless the solid drumming and the excellent bass guitar work as well, along with the intensity of their performance in general, make this album quite captivating!! However "Feast of Ashes" and "Ten Days to the Sand" are the best tracks of the album. In particular the guitar solos, always soaring, and also the varied mood of such ambient atmosphere, make the compositions of Djam Karet a good modern art rock stuff, which is worth checking out!!

4 out of 5 stars Gutsy, Guitar Based Prog-Rock.......2000-01-25

Djam Karet are a Los Angeles progressive rock quartet who formed in 1984. "Burning the Hard City" and its companion album "Suspension and Displacement" were simultaneously released in 1991 on the band's own "HC Productions" label. But as with most private prog-rock releases, these two albums were very difficult to come by and could be obtained only through a handful of sources. However, in 1996, Djam Karet signed to the specialist progressive rock label Cuneiform Records. Their subsequent releases for that company "The Devouring" (1997) and "Live at Orion" (1999) received much better distribution and brought the band to a wider audience.

And now Cuneiform Records have decided to reissue the band's back catalogue. I certainly applaud the move; Djam Karet are one of very few post-1990 bands who are interested in making nusic that quite literally is progressive. (Porcupine Tree and Ozric Tentacles are other such examples.) Djam Karet's willingness to bridge the gap between the old 70's progressive rock bands and the contemporary sounds of the 90's have resulted in some highly original and fascinating music.

"Burning the Hard City" is an instrumental album that showcases the band's diverse influences. Pink Floyd and Yes influences rear their heads during the middle section of "Feast of Ashes." Stylistic quirks from U2's guitarist are evident in the closing sections of "Grooming the Psychosis." The keyboard sequences and sampling on many of these tracks suggest that Djam Karet had been listening with some interest to Nine Inch Nails. Henry Osbourne's bass is reminiscent of Jeff Berlin circa Bill Bruford's "One of a Kind." Things even get a little funky on "Topanga Safari" which boasts a catchy bassline.

But more than any other band, it is definitely King Crimson who dominate proceedings on this album. The intense guitar interplay between Gayle Ellett and Mike Henderson on "Grooming the Psychosis" and "At the Mountains of Madness" can be strongly linked to the Fripp/Belew duels of "Discipline" era King Crimson. On the other hand, the strong, metallic blasts on the title track and "Province 19 - The Visage of War" recall the savage energy of King Crimson's 1972-74 incarnation.

But although Djam Karet are not afraid to showcase their influences, the distillation of the above bands is in no way derivative. Amongst other things, you have to admire a prog-rock band that decides to give keyboards a back seat! Make no mistake, "Burning the Hard City" is definitely a guitar album. It's a pity that Liquid Tension Experiment did not hear this album before recording their second release.

Perhaps my only criticism of this album would be the somewhat patchy songwriting. On some tracks, such as "Grooming the Psychosis" Djam Karet tend to move haphazardly from one idea to the next without building up much intensity. Their songwriting was certainly top-notch for "Suspension and Displacement" but I think they let their hair down for this album.

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