King Of Agogik is in fact a solo project from the German drummer, guitar player, keyboardist and bassist Hans Jorg Schmitz. He has already released four solo albums. Exlex Beats is his latest one! On Exlex Beats he is assisted by no less than ten other musicians. This new album is almost a prog rock quiz as the eleven songs contain 88 well-known musical fragments from bands like King Crimson, The Beatles, Jethro Tull, ELP, AC/DC, Black Sabbath and many more. I immediately recognised Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo from Jump and Dave Brubeck's Take Five, but the rest is quite difficult in fact. But, the main question is: is this a serious rock album or is it a prank? Most of the songs are symphonic progressive rock tracks and offer a lot of variety. You can hear great guitar solos, Mellotron sounds, acoustic guitar parts and even lots of violins and oboe. The entire album is instrumental and it is kind of hard to digest this album in one take as it lasts more than 77 minutes, but for fans of experimental, instrumental symphonic rock there is a lot to enjoy. Highlights: The Chasteness, Lick Me and the Jethro Tull-like Thin As A Skin; play it loud! *** Martien Koolen (edited by Robert James Pashman) Where to buy? |
