The accompanying press release sagely notes that Dave Lombardo needs no introduction. This is something of an understatement. He is the drummer that, almost without exception, fans name as leading the way among the “Big Four” of thrash; he is the deranged, multi-armed iconoclast who provides Fantomas with their pulverising rhythms; and he is the technically-accomplished artist who has paired his skills with acclaimed composer/saxophonist John Zorn. He is an incomparable talent and it should come as no surprise, therefore, that he would dedicate himself to creating an album that focuses exclusively on rhythm. Perhaps the only aspect that is a surprise is just how long it has all taken to gestate. Mike Patton apparently gave Lombardo the idea as far back as 1988, when he introduced him to Tito Puente’s Top Percuassion album. That said, for a drummer who has worked with everyone from Testament to Dead Cross, the simple act of finding time is no easy feat and it took a pandemic to allow Dave the opportunity to finally pursue something uniquely his.
And so to Rites Of Percussion. In an interview, Killing Joke drummer Big Paul argued that there is something elemental about percussion. Rhythms, he argue, are innate to humans, and there is something of that primal urge to be found in Rites Of Percussion. A short, endlessly inventive record, it features thirteen tracks that focus almost entirely on Dave’s exceptional work behind the kit. Influences vary, and on rare moments other elements creep in (such as the flaming guitars on Inner Sanctum), but these always serve to add texture, rather than detract from the carefully built-up rhythms on display. This may, on paper, sound somewhat uninspiring, but Dave’s skill is to play the drums with rare musicality, and the result is an album that effortlessly flows from one piece to the next, each piece seeking to inspire the imagination.
It opens with Initiatory Madness, a scene-setter that finds us lost in the dark jungles of South America. It’s instantly noticeable that this is a beautifully recorded album, the various percussive elements enveloping the listener and oh, what a record this would be if mixed in surround sound. Suspenseful and unnerving, you could easily imagine this soundtracking the epic conclusion to a horror movie, and Dave keeps things moving with such fluid skill that you barely notice its near-five-minute run time. It truly is a remarkable album opener, and it’s easy to see why the ever-open-minded Mike Patton (on whose Ipecac label the record is released) would be such a strong supporter. It is music of the imagination and it raises the drum solo to an art form. Next up, the tribal groove of Separation From The Sacred, opens up the soundscape, the various percussive devices Dave employs clustered around some heavy, double-kick work that drives the piece forwards with relentless momentum. An album highlight, the equally-svelte Inner Sanctum adds just a touch of guitar for texture, edging into industrial territory with its slower pace and eerie soundscapes reminiscent of Steven Wilson’s work with Bass Communion. With Inner Sanctum already having built towards it, Journey Of The Host draws on the genre-fluid works of Fantomas circa Suspended Animation, making you realise just how integral Lombardo is to that band’s endlessly inventive digressions.
Having explored a more schizophrenic set of sounds, the dark, slow-paced Maunder In Liminality takes a doomy turn, with layers of guitars and stabbing bass underpinning Dave’s taut, suspenseful percussion. That sense of suspense is retained on Despojo, a track that makes use of electronic elements amidst the clattering noise, sounding for all the world like Aphex Twin going head-to-head with Les Tambours du Bronx.
Dave’s incredible range of influences is on full display as he drops much of the percussion on the deeply disturbing Interfearium. Built around layers of synth and off-kilter piano, it plays like the soundtrack to some long-lost Silent Hill movie, and it is incredibly unsettling. Like his friend Mike Patton, Dave Lombardo understands that the most harrowing sounds are often the most subtle, and here we find him engaged in a piece of work that invokes a genially visceral sense of horror. Over the course of three, sweat-soaked minutes, it takes the listener to the edge, before pushing them over with the skittering noise of Blood Let. Fortunately, the brutal Warpath is a heavier number, and it helps to dispel at least some of the tension built up in the preceding tracks.
The final third of the album takes no prisoners and the remarkable Guerrero, with its neo-industrial soundscapes and pulse-raising percussion is surely one of the album’s most intense pieces. In contrast, Vicissitude allows the pace to quicken, making the listener think of escape as they race towards the album’s conclusion. Fast paced and dynamic, it leads directly into the calmer waters of Omiero, another eerie, Fantomas-esque piece, complete with oblique noises and a sense of the unknown. It leaves Animismo to bring this truly adventurous album to a mesmerising conclusion.
Dave Lombardo demonstrates true artistry throughout Rites Of Percussion. It is a testament to his skill that, for all that he is a virtuoso, he never lets this interfere with the musical journey upon which he wishes to take his listener and it is hard to imagine anyone actually listening to this record and seeing it as “a drum album”. Rather, it is an album that plays out as a soundtrack to an imaginary film, and while the tension inherent in certain pieces suggest a direction, the beauty of the record is that each listener will place their own interpretation upon it. On opening the promo, I honestly did not know what to expect. Certain elements, such as the Fantomas influences scattered across certain tracks, were perhaps more predictable, but I never anticipated so richly a textured a work, nor did I expect to find myself so frequently on the edge of my seat, anticipating what sound may come next. Put simply, Rites Of Percussion is a very special album indeed from a drummer who, while feted, has not received nearly the credit he deserves for his compositional skills. 9/10
