01	Galois						02:03
	02	Code/Anticode						06:47
	03	Reflections						06:49
	04	Megrez						03:57
	05	Singularity						04:45
	06	Redemption's Way						06:59
	07	Komm susser Tod, Komm Sel'ge						02:21
	08	Rivers Dancing						07:36
	09	Srikara Tal						09:25
	10	[Grace]						07:25

Sean Malone, bass, Stick, keys;
Sean Reinert, drums;
Trey Gunn, touch guitar;
Ron Jarzombek, guitar;
Glenn Snelwar, guitar;
John Myung, Stick

Bob Eichler:
Actually, I'm not sure if Gordian Knot is the name of the band, or if this is considered a Sean Malone solo album entitled Gordian Knot. Not that it makes a lot of difference either way. The album is basically Malone's baby - he wrote or cowrote every track, and plays bass, stick, and keys. Helping him out on various tracks are Trey Gunn (of King Crimson) on touch guitar, John Myung (of Dream Theater) on stick, Sean Reinert on drums and Ron Jarzombek and Glenn Snelwar on guitar. These last three seem to be names from the field of prog-metal, but unfortunately I'm not familiar with their other work.
Speaking of prog-metal, I guess that's the category this album officially falls in, but it doesn't really sound like prog-metal to me. The album is entirely instrumental, and while there are several heavy, distorted guitar parts on the disc, for the most part the music is comprised of complex, interweaving parts played on the stringed instruments. The music reminds me more of Discipline-era King Crimson than anything else. As my friend Jim Robinson put it, the album is a good mix of complexity, crunch and groove.
I like the entire disc, but there are a few particular favorites that stand out. The short opening track is an ominous, atmospheric blend of droning keys and squealing notes that sound like metal scraping against metal. Harsh elements put together to make beautiful music. The driving percussion of track six, "Redemption's Way", lays down a nice bed for the bass and guitar lines that overlay it. Track seven, "Komm susser Tod, komm sel'ge", is an interesting take on a Bach piece, performed with reverb-drenched stick and floating feedback noises. The CD track listing only shows nine tracks, but there is also a very nice, mellow tenth track - the only clue that it exists is the composer credit "Grace" listed in the booklet, after the track nine credits. I'm guessing that the final track may be a solo stick piece by Malone.
Just about the only criticism I can make of this album is that the liner notes are too cryptic. Each performer is given a symbol to represent them on the first page of the notes, and then those symbols are used throughout the rest of the booklet instead of names. Annoying. Other than that, this is a very good album - not one that I'd get the urge to listen to every day, but a good disc to put on the headphones while I do some programming at work.

Brandon Wu:
This is probably the best all-star "supergroup" album I've heard, featuring Cynic Stick-man Sean Malone as chief composer and player. King Crimson's Trey Gunn (Warr guitar) and Watchtower/Spastic Ink's Ron Jarzombek (guitar) are some of the more notable names in the lineup. These guys have created a dark, moody masterpiece which sounds like a more ambient, space-rockish King Crimson. Borrowing from Frippian Soundscapes as well as Crimsonish precise instrumental picking, the music here is at times balls-to-the-wall heavy, at times ambient, at times ethnic and tribal. From the opener, a creepily engaging ambient track which sounds like whale calls underwater, you know this is something different. When the second track comes on, with its Crimson-influenced instrumental virtuosity, you know this is something really cool. What can I say? A must-listen for all fans of intelligent metal (though most of this is far, far from metal) and prog rock. My only real criticism is that the whole production has a slick, studio, digital feel, and that may turn off some listeners.


Илья Прутов: Компания, что и говорить, интересная - Шон Мэлоун и Шон Райнерт ранее были основателями группы Cynic, игравшей авангардный вариант флоридского дэс-метал, к сожалению, выпустившей один-единственный альбом и распавшейся. Рон Ярзомбек - бывший гитарист группы Watchtower, - не менее авангардной техно-трэш-металлической группы, и лидер ныне действующей группы Spastik Ink. Трей Ганн - c 1994 года постоянный участник King Crimson, а Джон Мьюн - басист Dream Theater Тем не менее, альбом этот - вовсе не банальная запись джем-сейшна музыкантов-виртуозов, раздражающая бесцельным "пилиловом", как, например, оба альбома Liquid Tension Experiment, и не ставший уже стандартным прог-метал. Нет - это тяжелый (иногда просто запредельно тяжелый), мощный гитарный арт-рок, энергичные и тяжелые композиции перемежаются медитативными, с явным влиянием Востока, пьесами, вызывающими ощущение бесконечной пустыни, безбрежного моря песка, караванов верблюдов, древних развалин и тому подобных вещей. Причем, что самое интересное - не дневной, раскаленной, как сковородка, пустыни, и не ночной - зябкой и неуютной, - а именно вечерней, когда жар утих, а ночной холод еще не наступил.

Вокала нет совсем - да он, честно говоря, вообще лишний в подобной музыке. Кстати, "Komm, Suesser Tod, Komm Sel'ge" - произведение Иоганна Себастьяна Баха, но сыгранное на... стике. Думаю, до этого еще никто и никогда не делал ничего подобного, а композиция эта - одна из самых мрачных и печальных на всем альбоме. Звучание группы причудливо меняется, не становясь однообразным - от мягкого и теплого, - до резкого, жесткого и пронзительного, - в таких композициях как Singularity и Rivers Dancing это особенно заметно. Довольно непредсказуемо, а иногда и заставляет слушателя зябко поежиться или даже подпрыгнуть в собственном кресле от неожиданности. Заметно и "металлическое" прошлое музыкантов - но элементы трэш-метал, иногда вдруг причудливо возникающие там и сям, только добавляют остроты и в без того весьма пряное и терпкое музыкальное варево. Кроме бас-гитар и стика Шон Мэлоун играет также и на клавишных - старые добрые переливы "Хаммонда" всегда хорошо звучат и никогда не бывают лишними. Мощный бас, прихотливые, умопомрачительные гитарные партии, виртуозные барабаны, кстати, замечу, что звук барабанов - отнюдь не стандартное металлическое щелканье и "трр-трр" басовыми барабанами! Напротив, Шон Райнерт играет очень мощно, осмысленно и без сверхскоростных излишеств (Хотя если бы и была на альбоме пара-тройка мест с диким бластбитом - то и она оказалась бы к месту, - ибо в пустынях бывают и ураганы!). Трей Ганн был продюсером альбома, а также сыграл на своих странных гитарообразных монстрах в двух композициях.
По моему мнению, этот альбом превосходит во всех отношениях опусы тех же Dream Theater, чей басист тоже принял участие в записи - может быть, отсутствием надоедливого вокала, а может быть просто неким мистическим, необъяснимым обаянием. Странный и причудливый шедевр, не имеющий явных аналогов.


Оценка: 10 из 10!




Gordian Knot - Gordian Knot

Released: 1999
Label: Sensory
Cat. No.: SR3005
Total Time: 58:07


Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, July 2000
I was expecting something quite different from Gordian Knot, the "supergroup" of sorts made up of Sean Malone, Trey Gunn, John Myung, Sean Reinert, Ron Jarzombek and Glenn Snelwar. I'll admit I've not heard either Cynic or Watchtower, two of the "source bands," but from what I have read about them, about all I was expecting was instrumental rock. And if this is the only review you've read, perhaps you are, too.

Am I disappointed? Far from. This is a mixture of instrumental rock, spacey textures, ambient moods and more. So, to the mix that would be inherent from the bands these guys normally play with, add a dash of Djam Karet, Tangerine Dream, and synthesist/ambient artist Steve Roach. Not suggesting influence, but if you like any one of those artists … leaning more towards Djam Karet than anything … you'll like this brew.

"Code/Anticode" is a guitar feast with both lyrical playing with a light touch and runs that'll make you wonder whether the guitarist has multiple hands. All the while managing to be a beautiful piece of music. On this track its Malone on stick and keys, Reinert on drums, Gunn on touch guitar, and Jarzombek on guitar. Did I say guitar feast? Should have been guitar fest.

"Reflections" is another beautifully played, evolving track that reminded me at times of Craig Chaquico - that openness that makes you think of the open road. This is Malone, Reinert and Jarzombek, with Jarzombek getting the guitar solo spot. "Megrez" is moody and dark…atmospheric as hell, with a cinematic feel. I immediately thought of a dreary, overcast day…something is brewing in that storm. Bass churns while a guitar cries out in tentative, but lengthy notes. "Singularity" is growly, grungy…as in dirt, not as in Seattle…metallic and cold. Guitars grind, drums pound, … while a guitar rides overhead playing notes that could have been out of the "Theme From S.W.A.T"… (I think that belong to the one I'm thinking of).

"Redemption's Way" has ethnic-like percussion that made me think of Steve Roach, add in stick, guitar, and touch guitar (Malone and Myung, and Snelwar and Gunn) and you get also a touch of latter day Tangerine Dream. I know TD are getting their lumps for the style they are pursuing, but I mean this as a compliment.

After a brief interlude of Malone alone on stick on a Bach score called "Komm Susser Tod, Komm Sel'ge" we get "Rivers Dancing," which is a mix of both scorching rock and pastoral sections along with some more terrific and beautiful solos.

"Srikara Tal" is the closest to world music on the album. Warm and steady percussion provides a bed for layered stick notes that dart in and out. Keyboard-like sounds (no keys here) undulate here and there … heard out of context, I'd swear this was Steve Roach or Robert Rich, but it's just (ha!) Malone and Myung on stick, Reinert on percussion, and Gunn on touch guitar… I am almost tempted to say "groovy, man," but that implies something other than what is heard here.

"Grace," as its name implies, is an understated, beautiful piece. A gentle guitar ruminates on many things, perhaps thankful. No credits on this one, and I'm unfortunately not that familiar with the guitarists here to pick out their style… but, as was Malone's project, I would venture to say it is he. Sound washes undulate…more so than in "Srikara" and yet less so… longer waves is what I mean.

More about Gordian Knot:

Track Listing: Galois (2:03) / Code/Anticode (6:47) / Reflections (6:49) / Megrez (3:57) / Singularity (4:45) / Redemption's Way (6:59) / Komm Susser TRod, Komm Sel'ge (2:21) / Rivers Dancing (7:36) / Srikara Tal (9:25) / Grace (7:25)

Musicians:
Sean Malone - bass, stick, and keys
Sean Reinert - drums
Trey Gunn - touch guitar
Ron Jarzombek - guitar
Glenn Snelwar - guitar
John Myung - stick




Gordian Knot - Gordian Knot

Track Listing
1) Galois
2) Code/Anticode
3) Reflections
4) Megrez
5) Singularity
6) Redemption's Way
7) Komm Susser Tod, Komm Sel'ge
8) Rivers Dancing
9) Srikara Tal
10) Grace (Hidden Track)

Member: notallwhowander

Let me preface this review by saying that I knew nothing of Sean Malone before I picked up Gordian Knot. What attracted me to the record was the fact that it featured the Chapman Stick as the primary instrument, and the hubub regarding it on the Progressive Ears discussion board. So I ordered the CD from my local record store and found I've had no regrets.

In overview, the music of Gordian Knot seems to explore that area of progressive rock that was pioneered by King Crimson's Discipline album. The compositions are tightly wrought and executed with technically demanding parts that interlock Sticks, basses, guitars and drums. The Stick players on the album include Malone himself (the mastermind of the Gordian Knot project), John Myung, and Trey Gunn (who does not technically play a Stick but a Warr touch guitar). Gunn also shares the producer's credit with Malone.

The music itself really shows off the diversity of the Stick. There is no end to complex rhythms being tapped out over alternately fluid and savage bass lines, which in turn support simply searing guitar leads. Besides the quality of the playing, which is virtuosic, the composition of the songs is excellent. The range of emotion expressed is quite diverse and subtle. Gordian Knot blends aspects of speed metal, classical, South Asia, and for lack of a better word "Discipline", into a thoroughly listenable and enjoyable musical tapestry.

The concept behind the CD is that of numbers expressing themselves as music, so while the groove of things is often understated for the sake of technical complexity, one comes away thinking that Sean Malone can take the rhythm from an algorithm and lay it on tape. Also there are no vocals to be found anywhere on the disc. I've come to believe that part of the project was an attempt to move beyond language to something more purely notional and less ambiguous (but I tend to read into things).

Highlights include "Reflections" that features a sublime balance of heavy bass and acoustic guitar, "Redemption's Way" which has a great South Asian groove, "Rivers Dancing" which careens between hard driving metal and delicate dark melodies, and a surprisingly gentle and lovely "hidden" track called "Grace".

All in all, I give Gordian Knot a A-/A. While a thoroughly excellent album in composition and execution, it has the slight edge of being produced as a project, and subtly lacks the йlan of a band jamming for the sheer joy of music that marks out a true masterpiece recording. Still, this is one small thing made clear to a guy who has listened to it time and time again on headphones. The sheer quality of the recording brings it under such a close scrutiny. I definitely recommend it, especially to those who enjoy the music of Belew Era King Crimson.




Gordian Knot

An all-instrumental group that mixed prog metal and jazz fusion with the more ethereal sounds of King Crimson, Gordian Knot was the project of bassist/stick player/keyboardist Sean Malone with several collaborators including guitarist Trey Gunn of King Crimson and former Cynic drummer Sean Reinert. Gordian Knot also included guitarists Ron Jarzombek and Glenn Snelwar. As well as playing atmospheric and heavy progressive music, the group also experimented on their eponymous debut with Eastern-influenced pieces. Malone soon began working on a sequel with a whole new roster of prog rock guests, including former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett and former Yes drummer Bill Bruford. - Geoff Orens


1999 Gordian Knot Sensory
2003 Emergent Sensory



Gordian Knot
Date of Release Mar 9, 1999

Star-studded projects often add up to very little, but Gordian Knot's eponymous debut turns out to be one of the best progressive rock albums released in the last years of the second millennium. And that's thanks to the fact that Sean Malone held on to the reins, guiding the project to its goal of finely crafted guitar-driven instrumental songs. Malone has a prog metal background, so do most of his guests (Cynic drummer Sean Reinert, King Crimson guitarist Trey Gunn, Dream Theater guitarist John Myung, along with Ron Jarzombek and Glenn Snelwar). And yet the album only has a couple of tracks that can be qualified as "metal" ("Rivers Dancing," "Singularity"). Everything else falls into the guitar craft of the likes of David Torn and Robert Fripp. "Galois" opens the set with a seductive soundscape. "Code/Anticode" is the album's main showcase, an intelligent prog rocker with a solid rhythm section and a catchy modal melody. "Reflections" manages to make a menacing metal verse and a classical guitar chorus walk hand in hand like two lovers. "Srikara Tal" and "Redemption's Way" work as a soloing frame over a slightly North African percussion backdrop. They feel a bit overstretched, but the guitar work adorning them is worth the extended durations. The album ends with "Grace," a delicate ballad played on the Chapman stick that dissolves into soundscapes to take listeners back to where they started. If it weren't for a couple of overlong or self-indulgent tracks, this album would be a masterpiece. As it is, it still deserves the attention of any guitar fan. - Franзois Couture

1. Galois (Malone) - 2:03
2. Code/Anticode (Malone) - 6:47
3. Reflections (Malone/Reinert/Snelwar) - 6:49
4. Megrez (Gunn/Malone) - 3:57
5. Singularity (Malone/Reinert/Snelwar) - 4:45
6. Redemption's Way (Malone) - 6:59
7. Komm Susser Tod, Komm Sel'ge (Bach) - 2:21
8. Rivers Dancing performed by Gordain Knot - 7:36
9. Srikara Tal (Malone) - 9:25
10. Grace - 7:25

Trey Gunn - Guitar, Producer, Mixing
Bob Katz - Mastering
John Myung - Stick
Mark Prator - Mixing
Sean Malone - Bass, Keyboards, Stick, Producer
Tim Spear - Design

1999 CD Sensory 3005