IAO Chant from the Cosmic Inferno is the fourth full-length effort from Acid Mothers Temple and their new subtitled entity, the Cosmic Inferno, since the Melting Paraiso and many of their members have disappeared into the ether to pursue their own destinies -- namely, one Cotton Casino. IAO Chant, like its predecessors, is almost entirely instrumental. Dedicated to the late Pierre Moerlen and with thanks to Daevid Allen -- both leaders at different times of the communal prog hippie jam band Gong -- the album cover even pays tribute to this underground legend. The lineup for the Acid Mothers/Cosmic Inferno date is founding guitarist and spiritual "speed guru" Kawabata Makoto on guitar, both Shimura Koji and Okano Futoshi on drums, bassist Tabata Mitsuru, and electronician (as well as dancing fool) Higashi Hiroshi. The disc is one long track, full of shapes and shifts from genres as opposite as space metal, prog, Celtic and Asian folk musics, and even drone moments. One can hear Makoto touch on Steve Hillage in the first 17 minutes in his Echoplexed repetitive riffing, and the band graces the stratosphere of Rainbow Dome Musick in places as well. The killer thing about having two drummers is how they play the same beat, but one plays about a quarter step behind the other, driving the the rest of the band in a continued propulsive thrust and keeping the entire proceeding just a little off the rails. But it goes off on its own, exploring the edges of each genre incorporated into the mix, making for an "assault with breaks" feel that offers listeners both punishment and the kiss of sublime formlessness in one sitting. This band is at its peak right now, taking its music to new places, spaces, and dimensions, and should be paid careful attention to before it completely lifts off. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi

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