Reviews 2097
Bushman's Revenge is, in the purest sense, a power trio: Even Helte Hermansen on guitar, Rune Nergaard on bass, and Gard Nilssen on drums. They are joined on two tracks by Stale Storlokken's Hammond organ. They are from Norway. They crush. As much with the fury of their homeland's black metal as with the angst of 1960s American free jazz, they crush. They play instrumentals. The instruments do all the singing — there may be no vocalist who can endure the band's fire, though a prime Abbey Lincoln or Linda Sharrock might suffice. In Bushman's more introspective moments, you'll hear shades of Jeff Beck's emotion, but the band puts Beck's commotion to shame. You will not hear them cover “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” that's for damn sure. Nor will you hear an aria from Turandot, though you will hear a blistering, razor-sharp version of Motorhead's “Damage Case.” And from this album's earliest moments, you'll know that Jitterbug is everything a “Recording of the Month” should be — an exciting and moving performance of outstanding material, exquisitely captured .... Throughout, the sound is stunning. Roughly 90% of Jitterbug was recorded live in the studio over just three days, with minimal acoustic guitar, percussion, organ, and dobro overdubs captured three weeks later. Initial takes were produced using Pro Tools HD3, though all drum sub-mixes and most guitar sub-mixes were transferred to 2 ”tape, then back into Pro Tools before mastering. The mixing process saw judicious application of spring reverb and tape delay, minor EQ adjustments, and extremely careful use of a Vintage Design CL1 Mk.II compression unit. On my system, the CD edition provided a cleaner, more immediate sound, while the LP was meatier and imparted instruments, especially acoustic ones, with greater truth of timbre. Pick your pleasure. Every hard-rock record should be this explosive. Enthusiastically recommended, obviously.
Stereophile (US), Recording Of The Month
The second album by Bushman's Revenge, Jitterbug (Rune Grammofon), includes two tracks that should be all the sales pitch you need to decide if the instrumental trio's heavy, improvised and often rhythmically-free rock is right for you. The first 10 minutes of the record, with the Yoda-speak title "Always in Motion the Future Is," is guitarist Even Helte Hermansen (also in the Norwegian jazz-metal ensemble Shining) spinning out, in tangled swirls and long free falls fattened with distortion, like Jimi Hendrix in "Machine Gun" but cut free of straight time. Bassist Rune Nergaard and drummer Gard Nilssen chase Hermansen's impulses as if Jitterbug was a Marshall-amp version of John Coltrane's Interstellar Space. Then there is the Motörhead cover, "Damage Case," which comes without the lyrics (the band dubs this a "happy go lucky karaoke version" - get the words and try it yourself). Everything proceeds according to the original until a minute and a half in, when the Revenge take off for twenty seconds of no-beat-or-chord-change blowout, from which they swing back, on their idea of a dime, into the main hook. It's all over in three minutes, but it's enough to reassure that everything here (like the battered blues with organist Ståle Stroløkken, "While My Guitar Gently Breaks," and the dark march "Personal Poltergeist") is rock first, made with fierce proficient connection - then free flight. when the Revenge take off for twenty seconds of no-beat-or-chord-change blowout, from which they swing back, on their idea of a dime, into the main hook. It's all over in three minutes, but it's enough to reassure that everything here (like the battered blues with organist Ståle Stroløkken, "While My Guitar Gently Breaks," and the dark march "Personal Poltergeist") is rock first, made with fierce proficient connection - then free flight. when the Revenge take off for twenty seconds of no-beat-or-chord-change blowout, from which they swing back, on their idea of a dime, into the main hook. It's all over in three minutes, but it's enough to reassure that everything here (like the battered blues with organist Ståle Stroløkken, "While My Guitar Gently Breaks," and the dark march "Personal Poltergeist") is rock first, made with fierce proficient connection - then free flight.
David Fricke, Rolling Stone (US)
Formed six years ago by guitarist Even Helte Hermansen and bass player Rune Negaard in their hometown of Skien in Norway, Bushman's Revenge is a powerful trio (here with guest organ player Stale Storlokken) whose influences range from hard rock acts such as Kiss and Pantera to free jazz gods Albert Ayler and Interstellar Space era John Coltrane. This latest helping from Bushman's Revenge (named after a particularly fiery brand of chilli sauce), however, is more angled in the direction of rock improvisation than straightahead jazz chorusing, with plenty guitar chord riffing and fret board flaying emerging from the beating, pumping heart of jitterbug. This especially leaps out on their rendition of Motörhead's 'Damage Case', a lethal blast of hot Metal action that is further enhanced with brutalized hammerings of energetic free jazz stomp. The less hectic side of Bushman's Revenge surfaces on 'Personal Poltergeist', a spacious lope that slowly escalates into a spiritualized jam session. The closing 'Waltz For My Good Man' is a beautifully paced ballad that cools the heat and displays the musical versatility of this exciting group.
Edwin Pouncy, Jazzwise (UK)
The Norwegian trio of Even Helte Hermansen (guitar, also of Shining), Rune Nergaard (bass) and Gard Nilssen (drums, percussion) begin their latest effort with a slow bluesy crawl which sounds an awful lot like something from a King Crimson bootleg circa 1972 before gradually spiraling upward into a cyclon of free rock fury. "Always In Motion The Future Is" serves as a fair summation of the group´s modus operandi, the three musicians chasing each other around the stereo picture with maniacal determination, Hermansen´s wah-wah guitar emerging from the cartoonish clamor like an angry anime dragon. At the other end of the spectrum, slower numbers such as "Wind And Fire" and "Waltz For My Good Man" luxuriate in a ragged melancholia comparable to Peter Green´s 1970 free blues one-off, "The End Of The Game" .
Wire (UK)
Combining the muscled meatiness of classic blues-infused hard rock with a frenetic prog-style dynamic and the restless anything-goes blurt of jazz, this latest full-lenght from Bushman´s Revenge is one rambunctious ride. Veering between extended excursions into red-eyed blues (Waltz For My Good Man), plodding heaviness and wild abandonment (Always In Motion The Future Is), manic gear-changing (Kill Your Jitterbug Darlings) and even a revved-up re-working of one of Motorhead´s best (Damage Case), the end result is a molten mix of musics that rarely sticks with any one course for long. If you want something that offers Pink Floyd one minute, King Crimson-meets-The Groundhogs the next, plus a host of gutsy jazz-wise eruptions and clamorous jams, the Jitterbug should tick more than a few boxes.
Rock-a-Rolla (UK)
Hot! Hot! Extra hot! You almost want to believe in guitar gods again. In any case, Hermansen plays like someone who has made a pact on the Crossroad to Asgard, so Bushman's Revenge can get involved in a Champions League with the Scorch Trio, Massacre, Brewed By Noon. After the divinely rocking 'Always in motion the future is', 'Kill Your Jitterbug Darlings' grows so much that it sounds almost post-punk. For that comes 'While My Guitar Gently Breaks', hammondorgorgelt by Ståle Storløkken, wide and deep like the Mississippi. 'Too Old To Die Young' remains slow, but swings from the muddy brown to the airy, dreamy and weightless. This change of elements also determines 'Wind and Fire', if only as a premonition, but the disaster control sometimes pulls on the boots and strides, how only true heroes stride. With 'Professor Chaos' you are already in the middle of the turmoil to hop and mosh in the rapid 'Damage Case' with the forces of confusion. With 'Personal Poltergeist', Hermansen first feels alone before the whole trio, again with Storløkken at their side, slowly but confidently advances into the realm of spirits. For 'Waltz For My Good Man' Hermansen and his double, which sounds as if it were plucking banjo, are folklore, but also a little melancholic, in 3/4 time. True heroes can do that. again with Storløkken by the side, slowly but confidently advancing into the realm of spirits. For 'Waltz For My Good Man' Hermansen and his double, which sounds as if it were plucking banjo, are folklore, but also a little melancholic, in 3/4 time. True heroes can do that. again with Storløkken by the side, slowly but confidently advancing into the realm of spirits. For 'Waltz For My Good Man' Hermansen and his double, which sounds as if it were plucking banjo, are folklore, but also a little melancholic, in 3/4 time. True heroes can do that.
Bad Alchemy (DE)
Like the mushrooms, guitarists seem to be growing up there in the Norwegian forests. As is the case with spongers: only when the first is noticed do you gradually see all the others. Even Helte Hermansen is one of them, namely one of the younger ones. Together with Rune Nergaard & Gard Nilssen, he pays homage to the songs of his / her heart on "Jitterbug" - named after a US dance of the 1930s, which means "fidget" in German. This is not infrequently reflected in the title of this record: great, for example, "While my guitar gently breaks" based on George Harrison - and downright brilliant "Too old to die young", the old nerve saws by Jethro Tull upside down. The mood of dark blues rock dominates over large areas. Usually charged with a lot of atmosphere, selectively using a bit of a lot of tones. Everything on “Jitterbug” was composed by drummer Gard Nilssen, who can also be heard as part of the band Puma (see above). Star guest Stale Storlokken from Supersilent has been hymnized here often enough. Oh yes, a piece did not flow from Nilssen's pen: "Damage case" from Motörhead-Kilmister, to be admired here in the "Happy go lucky karaoke version". Funny mushrooms. to be admired here in the "Happy go lucky karaoke version". Funny mushrooms. to be admired here in the "Happy go lucky karaoke version". Funny mushrooms.
Freestyle (AT)
Musikken er vilter, fuzz-holdig og riffrik, men også avdempet blålig og følsom. In gjennomløpende grov tråd holder de stylishly varied låtene together. Bushman´s Revenge he ikke stilskapere, men de løfter foreign tradisjoner og vitaliserer meningsinnholdet i dem. 5/6.
Aftenposten (NO)
Bushman´s Revenge rör seg från psykedeliskt stroboskopjam, över snabbvågad surfmusic, någon sorts speedad metall, hårdsmäld fusion, perverterad country eller friform, för att så borra ner sig i Regelrätt, stilla blues på "Jitterbug". Det luktar sent, experiments 60-tall om inspirationskällorna. Det he som att Höra Grateful Dead Möta Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Sharrock and James Blood Ulmer på Fillmore East. Type. En av de tyngsta samtidigt lyhörda plattor jag listens to på år och dag!
Jazznytt (NO)
http://forestgospel.blogspot.com
http://www.ragazzi-music.de (german)