01	Night of the Mexican goat sucker						07:07
	02	Forbidden by rule						05:57
	03	Lost, but not forgotten						07:46
	04	Lights over Roswell						06:48
	05	Myth of a white Jesus						04:21
	06	The river of no return						08:51
	07	Room 40						08:41
	08	The indian problem						05:37
	09	The pinzler method						04:52
	10	Old soldiers disease						11:06

THE DEVOURING (1997)


1. Night Of The Mexican Goat Sucker (7.04)
2. Forbidden By Rule (5.55)
3. Lost, But Not Forgotten (7.45)
4. Lights Over Roswell (6.44)
5. Myth Of A White Jesus (4.19)
6. The River Of No Return (8.47)
7. Room 40 (8.36)
8. The Indian Problem (5.30)
9. The Pinzler Method (4.48)
10. Old Soldiers' Disease (11.04)

Gayle Ellett - Electric 7 & 6 String Guitars, Acoustic 12 String Guitar, 24 String Steel Guitar, Guitar Synth, E-Bow, Organ, Analog/Digital & Sampling Keyboards, Mellotrons, Theremin, Wind Talker, Koto, Birds & Percussion
Mike Henderson - Electric 12 and 6 String Guitar (Tracks 1-3, 5)
Chuck Oken, Jr. - Drums, Keyboard Sequencing
Henry J. Osborne - Electric Bass, Bottled Bass, Rhythm, Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Programming

Additional Musicians:
Judy Garp - Rhythm Violin (Track 4)

Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Djam Karet

(c) 1997 Cuneiform Records






Djam Karet - The Devouring

Released: 1997
Label: Cuneiform
Cat. No.: Rune 99
Total Time: 70:28


Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, August 1998
If you are looking for cool, jazzy instrumental rock, then you need look no further than Djam Karet. The first half of The Devouring would fit the bill. And if you are looking for tight, precise, guitar playing, you've found that here, too. Each individual composition is worth an examination in its own right.

The Devouring is Djam Karet's latest release and thematically it owes a lot to The X-Files. Whether this was intentional or coincidental, I'm not sure, but with track titles like "Night of the Mexican Goat Sucker," and "Lights Over Roswell" there has to have been some thought of the cult series.

Regardless, The Devouring is a great album, and can truly be called progressive - both in execution and in spirit. "Forbidden By Rule," the second track in, features some stellar guitar work, but that is really true for the whole album. There is a freedom in not having to following the pop formula and Djam Karet make good use of that freedom - each track here (and on their previous albums) is expressive - almost bigger than can be contained in the song format. There's a feeling of movement in Djam Karet music, as if somewhere there are visuals to accompany the music - whether a movie or a PBS nature special. Therefore, listening to this, you need merely close your eyes to be transported where Djam Karet want you to go.

In both "The River of No Return" and "The Indian Problem" a dry Southwestern feeling is evoked. In the first, you can almost see and feel, towards the end of the track, sandstone canyons towering high overhead as you float along the...well, "The River of No Return" (I suppose, too, depending on your mood, you might think of the river Styx, or be reminded of Conrad's The Heart of Darkness).

While guitars (Gayle Ellett and Mike Henderson) dominate this album - the sultriness of "Lost, But Not Forgotten," or the elegant etherealness of "Myth of a White Jesus", for example - the bass and drums (Henry J Osborne and Chuck Oken, respectively) provide a solid base from which the guitars can take flight. Even still, Osborne and Oken get chances to show their mettle, most strongly in "The River of No Return" and "Old Soldiers' Disease".

While stand out tracks are hard to pick out, at any one moment any of them would apply, as of this review, the ones that have stuck with me are "Lights Over Roswell," which starts out atmospheric - not unlike Steve Roach, with whom they collaborated with on...um,... Collaborator, and strangely reminiscent of the Babylon 5 theme music - but soon morphs in to a rollicking, funky, bouncy sci-fi tune with just enough otherworldliness to earn its title.

The bottom line is this: go out and buy this album. It is the best thing to come out thus far for the 1997-1998 music year.

More about The Devouring:

Track Listing: Night Of The Mexican Goat Sucker (7:04) / Forbidden By Rule (5:55) / Lost, But Not Forgotten (7:45) / Lights Over Roswell (6:44) / Myth Of A White Jesus (4:19) / The River Of No Return (8:47) / Room 40 (8:36) / The Indian Problem (5:30) / The Pinzler Method (4:48) / Old Soldier's Disease (11:04)

Musicians:
Gayle Ellett - Guitars, E-Bow, Organ, Keyboards, Mellotrons, Theremin, Wind Talker, Koto, Birds, and Percussion
Henry J Osbourne - Basses, Guitars, Keyboards, and Percussion
Chuck Oken, Jr - Drums and Keyboard Sequencing
Mike Henderson - Guitars (#1, #2, #3 & #5)
Judy Garf - Rhythm Violin (#4)




Devouring
Date of Release Sep 16, 1997


You like Floyd and King Crimson? Add a dash of vintage Blue Oyster Cult and Captain Beyond tradin' extended jams without distracting vocals.
"Night of the Mexican Goat Suckers" clears out your head's slow lane and cements a brick to the accelerator while cutting the brake lines. Next, "Forbidden By Rule" unleashes warrior cyborgs bursting through the asphalt to decimate oncoming traffic with a monster bass line. The earth falls away beneath you as a Gilmour-ic lead break splits the stratosphere. All about you mellotrons careen across the great chasm of Time, lifting the spirits of Nostalgia up from the Abyss. This band shows what the mellotron is really capable of. King Crimson's walls of noise bury you in black velvety repose. "Lost But Not Forgotten" gets back to the '70s roots of prog-rock with Tangerine Dreamy, Yes-ish passages gilded with crisp Floyd riffs and leads. "Lights Over Roswell" is what end-of-the-millennia 1990s polished rock is all about. I heard Stu Hamm and Michael Manring bass precision with UK jazz-rock fusion packaging by Eddie Jobson.

"Myth of a White Jesus," "River of No Return," "Room 40," "The Indian Problem," "The Pinzler Method" and "Old Soldier's Disease" finish out over 70 minutes of well-honed prog-rock that explores the realms of Dreamtime. File Devouring between Pink Floyd and King Crimson. Djam Karet is Gayle Ellet on a massive myriad of guitars, various keys, and other eclectic items, Henry J. Osborne on bass, guitars, keys and more, Chuck Oken Jr. on drums and keys, with Mike Henderson guest guitars on assorted tracks. Judy Garf does rhythm violin on the smokin' "Roswell" cut. - John W. Patterson