Imagine for a moment that The Mars Volta were fronted by Miles Kennedy and delighted in playing King Crimson covers – got that unsettling thought in mind? Good, you have just imagined the spacey, progressive, deeply unconventional vibe of the mighty Titan, a band who may just become one of your favourites if you delight in the obscure, the challenging and the fascinating. This is not a band to compartmentalise – there’s far too much going on from far too many genres for that – rather this is a band whom you will learn to cherish if you like your music to be both addictive and cerebral at the same time, a trick few acts pull off successfully.
Take opening track ‘answer’ – mixing up heavy guitars with wild rolling drums, unpredictable time changes apt to leave you gasping and the melodicism of Supertramp (no, really!) not to mention a hint of funk – this is perhaps where a post progressive-revival Jane’s addiction may have gone, and Titan certainly bear similarities to those addled rock gods with their strangely hypnotic insanity. ‘Arrogance’ is a short burst of cyclical riffs and mind-blowing percussion, not to mention wild vocal harmonies and occasional metal roars, whilst ‘create’ segues directly out of it, introducing layers of organ and a distorted vocal that is part Jeff Buckley, part cyborg over a fluid backdrop that never stays still long enough for the listener to fully get a handle on quite what is happening despite the fact that the overall impression is one of contiguity and logical progression, contradictory though that may seem. The instrumental ‘Whales are heavy (especially in the daytime)’ has a swaggering groove to it, showing that you can have both pop melodies and an unconventional time-signature, recalling hints of Rush and Mastadon before the whole thing subsides into the Queen-esque pomp of the middle section which throws in grand piano, interwoven lead guitar and furious percussion with the effect that the song take on the grandiosity of ELP at their most overblown – something that few artists attempt and at which even fewer succeed.
After so intense a musical monstrosity, the band calm things a touch with the shorter, sharper rock of ‘The dialectic’ – a track which sounds like Muse attempting to cover King Crimson. Another surprise lies in store, however, as the band switch to acoustics for the unutterably gorgeous ‘broken hands’, a delicate piece of artistry that slowly builds out of its sublime opening once again recalling The Mars Volta at their most accessible and beatific. ‘The brothers Karamazov’ would appear to be a prog epic with its four-part structure, and yet it is packed into a mere four minutes (the band bucking convention once more) with yet more stunning acoustic work introducing a subtle Flamenco feel into proceedings and yet, whilst there is an element of technicality on display, its woven into the album in a way that does not feel forced or needlessly virtuoso and it says much of the band’s ability as song-writers that they are able to introduce such disparate material and yet make it sound entirely natural to the flow of the record. ‘MIDU’, in the wake of such gentle beauty, sounds altogether shocking with its high-pitched vocal and sudden guitar assault. The emphasis is on angular guitar riffs drawn from the alternative and progressive end of rock, rather than a full on metallic assault, and with the insane, multi-part vocals on the chorus offering everything from Queen-esque harmonies and full-on death metal growls it is clear that ambition is something that Titan have in large supply. The band finally reach the peak of their potential with ‘Hekatonkheires I: Gyges’ (part of a trilogy), a song which opens to the sound of pouring rain and grand piano in true atmospheric style, and proves to be a subtle, understated piece that showcases the soaring power of Cameron Fitzpatrick’s voice in full with the full band only appearing around the three minute mark. It’s a hell of a performance piece and one that requires a degree of courage to pull off, but the band have more than the skill to do so successfully. ‘Hekatonkheires II: Cottus’ continues the trilogy with a heavier, more progressive feel before the brief segue, ‘the chase’, links the mid-section and the conclusion together with a rather beautiful piece of piano work. ‘Hekatonkheires III: Briareus’ closes this stunningly constructed showpiece with crunchy riffs and utterly demented percussive work that builds to a stunning conclusion filled with deviant time signatures and deathly roars and you are once more reminded that no one sounds like titan. The band round out the album with the monumental ‘Titan’, a track which only just arrives shy of ten minutes and which tops everything with its sheer sense of theatrical excess. Opening with hints of Pink Floyd and Queen, you’ll hear the piano of Mercury, the guitars of Gilmour and the crescendo loving insanity of Lloyd Webber before the band shift radically into a kind of insane Waltz, danced by straight-jacketed loons in a ball-room filled with blood. It’s a furiously intelligent piece of work and the band inspire awe in no small measures with their terrifying dexterity and musical prowess.
Titan clearly worship at the ELP school of prog. No riff is too huge, no percussive element too wild and no musical instrument unwelcome – their rule is excess and their excess rules – particularly as it flies in the face of the tedious musical conservatism that makes up the mainstream. Utterly individual, one can only imagine how many hours were spent perfecting these epic mini-symphonies and then sequencing them into an album that somehow manages to sound cogent, seemingly in spite of its contents. It is easy to imagine Titan inspiring hatred and love in equal measure – they’re certainly not a band who will inspire a mere shrug – but for those who love progressive music and genuinely want to hear something that will challenge and invigorate the senses, then Titan are a must.
Tragically Titan split up in April of this year, meaning that this release is liable to become increasingly difficult to track down – grab it whilst you can.
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