Schnellertollermeier- X (2015)

Schnellertollermeier- X (2015)

“Many voices saw Frost as the same band with just a name-change. The lack of musical quality in HH made it almost impossible for us to get an unbiased reaction for Frost. To make a long story short, it almost killed all our work and dreams”

Tom G. Warrior

By: Ghost Writer

Yes, as many of us know, Switzerland is the most competitive country in the world according to the OCDE, a dream place where black metal was partially born, one can imagine how a couple of kids in one of the most advanced places on earth ended up creating one of the most terrific primitive metal band in the world by the name of Hellhammer? Well Switzerland was not always the “paradise” it looks like today, but decisions were taken at the right time and were followed the right way, and Hellhammer, well it existed like a curse, as bandleader Tom G, Warrior said, and it mutated into de more interesting and ambitious Celtic Frost, but Switzerland is not just about Black Metal, although Coroner are form there too.

By listening to the first few notes of X's self-titled opening track one could think "Fela Kuti" from the future, but thus band quickly transform that small mantra into an important mechanism of a whole complex apparatus as thus Swiss band with a tongue twisting name known as Schnellertollermeier is not a bit shy when it comes to intricate and elaborated musical and unmusical passages, this band musical creative output from the beginning sounds boundless as they don't seem to adjust at any genre in particular, going from free jazz, heavy rock, noise, concrete music and whatever else you can detect in their amazing mix of sounds, as the cosmic guitar pyrotechnics of Manuel Troller are put on display in this song that also puts in evidence his taste for creating intriguing guitar loops that serve as basis for the other two musicians, drummer David Meier and bassist Andi Schnellman to really bring the noise, as Meier and Schnellman really bring out a hell of a sonic chaos into the mix, all this while Troller comes in and out if action and then ends up wailing all over it.

Backyard Lipstick is a sinister almost military march that resembles the swagger of early Battles with its almost minimalistic whistling, but the band keeps the best for Riot in which Triller shows a great playfulness in his instrument in a really complicated interplay with the monumental drumming of Meier, as the band wastes no time in engaging in some minimalistic passages and sudden explosions of dissonant sound, as the band's next movement is going for a more introspective approach for Sing for Me with Schnellman and his bass taking the spotlight and displaying a passionate and dissonant base for the whole tune, as well as taking us into a really deep fascinating trip into a darkness filled underground, next, we get the propulsive bets of Meier in Massacre Du Printemps, another interesting piece with another intricate interplay between Meier and Troller, both linking their instruments in an almost mechanic way, while Meier fights to give the song an explosive nature creating a complete tornado within the composition, which starts transforming right in the middle, with Meier slowing down and Troller applying an almost minimal approach and Schnellman creating the perfect bottom for the actions to explode at different times.

X is an impressive recording coming from a trio of Swiss musicians that arrive at a time when math rock idols Battles seem to be reimagining themselves in order to survive the loss of key member Tyondai Braxton, in the meantime, although Schnellertollermeier may never achieve similar mass success as Battles, they will obviously appear attractive to those eager to hear the harder edge of the first Battles records, Schnellertollermeier are building a reputation all of their own, creating a very interesting universe where avant garde, classical, improvisation and heavy rock come together into a single interesting mass of sound, it might not be as groundbreaking as what Hellhammer or Celtic Frost did in the early 80s, but without a doubt is one of the best things to come musically speaking from a country we have a lot to learn from.