ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE - IN SEARCH OF LOST DIVINE ARC (Important 2013)

I am a huge fan of AMT. In fact, I would go so far as to say that they're probably my 'favourite band' (or at least certainly my favourite contemporary band). I currently have about 20 of their C.Ds, and am regularly buying more. On top of this, I have listened to dozens more of their albums on Youtube. searching for the next one I want to buy.
While there are certainly some I like more than others. until this C.D, I haven't hear one I would describe as 'bad'. I bought this C.D without managing to hear it all first, and was extremely disappointed by it (& numerous subsequent listenings haven't changed my opinion). This is the very first AMT C.D I would put in the 'bad' category, and for me to describe an AMT C.D as 'bad' is something I never expected I would have to do.
The problem with this C.D can be summed up in one word - 'clutter' (a word I'm going to have to try to restrain myself from repeatedly using throughout this review).
First of all, the playing is extremely cluttered. On each track, everybody is playing their instruments (or singing) relentlessly at the same intensity from start to finish. No instruments ever 'drop out', or take a back seat, and nobody gets a chance at a solo. Tracks don't develop, change or grow. Each track just sounds like a relentless & monotonous wall of noise, with almost no variation in texture.

Presuming that these were one-take improvised recordings, a lot of this clutter problem could have sorted out in the mixing & production (making instruments fade in & fade out, or even 'dropping out' entirely) - an approach which sees to be common on AMT recordings. However, the mix here just seems lazy. The levels for each instrument  remain constant throughout each track - as if, once they were set, the 'producer' nipped out for a sandwich while the mixdown was being recorded to the master.  I can't help feeling that there might even be a good album in here, had a different approach been taken to the final mixing.
Normally I like the way AMT mix their tracks - drums, bass (& often vocals) being low in the mix. That's what gives them their unique sound. However, on this album, that approach just doesn't seem to work. Drums & bass are so low in the mix (almost inaudible) that it seems impossible to discern any rhythm in each track, and the lack of variety of texture just makes every track dull,

The first track - 'Space Speed Suicide' (5.00) is a promising start, but is really let down by the mix & production/ There's a great Led Zeppelin style rhythm guitar lick, topped with some good lead guitar  by Makoto. However, it just doesn't sound right. In order for this track to really rock, that rhythm guitar lick needs to be a lot louder,but instead it's just too quiet, & buried under too much clutter.

The second track - 'Soulful Grinning Skull' (16.48) features some really nice flute playing (reminiscent of Brainticket or Nik Turner's Sphynx). However, this just gets lost in the clutter & bad mixing. There's also a layer of 'goofy' vocals, which add nothing (except more clutter). Throughout this track, there's a hideous electric guitar clanging away sounding very 'dry' & untreated.  I presume it's trying to sound like Can, but it just ends up sounding like someone playing a really cheap electric guitar through a cheap & nasty tinny amp.The word 'chang' sums up this sound, and 16 minutes of this relentless 'chang' gave me a headache.
Had this track been mixed so that it was a showcase for the flute, it might have been a pleasant track. However, like every track on this C.D, it's ruined by clutter, clutter, and more bloody clutter.

The third track - ' Born Free Stone Free' (4.57) has a good Led Zeppelin style riff, and some strong rocking vocals, which are far too quiet in the mix. Once again, the dreadful muddy mixing & production spoil what had the potential to be a decent track.

The fourth track - 'Escape Horoscope (2,55) is a rubbish piece of filler (that sounds like the band plugging in their instruments & testing their levels) & the less said about it the better.

The fifth track - 'Babe I'm Gonna Reave You' (7.24) has a guitar sound that's as if the guitars on 'Trout Mask Replica' are trying to 'rock out'. Maybe that sounds like a good idea 'on paper', but in reality it;s just a dreadful din. As a lover of Makoto's guitar playing (even at it's wildest & noisiest) this is the very first time I've heard him playing something I don't like.  There's something about the tone of the guitar on this that is just horrible & grating.

The final track - 'In Search Of Lost Divine Arc' (19.32) starts off relatively relaxing for the first few  minutes (probably only noticeable though because of all the horrid noise that's proceeded it) before getting into some strong rock riffing. All I can say in this track's favour is that at least it contains some changes in texture that are lacking from the proceeding tracks, making it slightly more interesting & less monotonous. However, I still wouldn't count this as a 'good' track'. It's just less annoying than the tracks that have gone before.

The sticker on the sleeve says this is one of AMT's 'most written' albums (presumably meaning as opposed to being improvised). It doesn't sound like that to me. It sounds instead like the only degree of 'writing' that's gone into this is Makoto turning up to the session with a riff for each track, & him instructing the band to just relentlessly scrape, clatter & 'chang' away on their individual instruments, while he bangs out that riff for the duration of the track.

Finally, a special mention has to be made of the dreadful cover  art. Who the hell designed this ? What the hell is that image ? (It looks like a blurry grey photo of the contents of a bag of skunk in front of a tiny photo of a mountain). It looks even worse full size & it's still no clearer what it is.Given that AMT are renowned for gorgeous, colourful psychedelic cover art, what idiot thought that this horrible GREY (emphasis needed) cover picture would make a good AMT C.D cover ? Not only is this the worst AMT cover I've ever seen. It's the worst cover art I've seen by anybody ever. I doubt if even googling 'Least Inspiring Image' could come up with something as depressing & cheerless as this. The track listing  & info on the back cover is printed in tiny dark grey lettering on black, which meant I had to get out my double magnification reading glasses & strain to make out anything (& I'm still not sure I've got the track titles right)..The spine is the ugliest C.D spine ever - more of that horrible greyness, with a black bar running down it, which appears to have some writing on it (though I can't be bothered getting out my microscope to read it). I stacked this next to my other AMT C.Ds, and it didn't even look like a C.D spine. It just looked like some piece of shelf bracketing. Ugh !

As I said, I'm a huge AMT fan, but I just don't 'get' this album. It;s the worst thing I've heard by them, and it's a sad day when I have to give an AMT album a negative review

Reviews are ultimately subjective. I noticed that on Amazon, this C.D got universally great reviews (apart from the one dissenting voice from yours truly). I do sometimes wonder about the AMT fans  who review their C.Ds on Amazon, where every AMT C.D is given five star ratings, & described as 'essential' . Given that AMT have released an astonishing amount of C'Ds, it just can't be possible that every album they make is worthy of five stars  (though their 'success' rate is very high, which is why, out of the forty or so albums I've heard by them, this is the first one I've heard that falls beneath the three star- 'average' rating).
Either people are falling for some 'King's New Clothes' syndrome ('they're hip, they're obscure, they're Japanese - therefore every album they make must be  the greatest thing ever') or else - given that AMT's fan base sees to fall between fans of old school psychedelic rock & fans of 'noise' music -  maybe there's a proportion of their fans who think that 56 minutes of monotonous clanging clutter constitutes a 'great album'.

My advice is - There are dozens of fantastic AMT C.Ds out ther. Don't waste your money on this rubbish.