Having listened to this album a fair few times I had assumed that Tribazik were French, perhaps that was due to the accent of Jerry Kandiah who actually hails originally from the Cayman Islands. It is only now looking at their MySpace page that I see they are classed as being from London. I also note that Blaise Merino whose eclectic compositions give the band a lot of their distinction is from Paris so I am not completely wrong. It is odd though how I have never seen their name listed in London gig guides. Also I should really have encountered them as they have undertaken two tours with the mighty Killing Joke, obviously not shows I have managed to get to though.
Lets make the Joke comparison very clear, it is evident that Tribazik worship and take inspiration from them, more precisely their comeback self titled album of 2003. Just listening to opening track ‘False Flag’ you are transported into the jesters realm. The bass sticks out nicely thick and the tribal pound has that maddening bounce to it commanding you to pogo. Vocals are, clean and harmonious and have more than a hint of Jaz Coleman about them. What does make the band that bit different is that they pepper their songs with weird noises. On this track it is a siren and on others it could be pulses, whooshes or anything pretty much at hand, all triggered from pads around the drum kit apparently.
‘Small Are We’ reminds a bit of The Young Gods as it gets going and then of Prong. This lot certainly have the style pretty much nailed and to hell with unoriginality they have made things distinctive and are good at what they do. I can actually imagine them going down really well as a support to Killing Joke who are a band that are very difficult to open for. The sound on ‘Smokescreen’ is really amusing, the song has what can only be described as a squelching noise going through it and the vocals here are spot on, subtle but raising and soaring above the instrumentation.
As October File made very clear on their own brand of ‘Extremities’ era Killing Joke worship there is no better seal of approval than getting the real thing to join in. Cue the mighty roar of Jaz Coleman guesting on ‘Molten.’ Christ that voice can really bowl you over and is one of the most dangerous in the business. Also lets face it ‘Molten’ is surely the name of a song that Killing Joke somehow overlooked using! I have to admit I got a bit naughty with this and started playing ‘the which Killing Joke song does this one most resemble’ game. You play like this, ‘Freefall’ = ‘Loose Cannon’ easy! Mind you the chorus of ‘As If’ could almost be Voivod clashing with Gojira so there is perhaps a bit more to Tribazik as one would first warrant. The strong ecological warning on the lyrics would also have been something Gojira would no doubt approve of.
Last track ‘Speak Through Us’ is a slow fader with lengthy ambient passages to lay the CD to rest. Not a lot else to say to this. Obviously if you are a fan of Killing Joke you should get this especially when you consider the fact that their next studio album could arrive anytime or never? Personally I would like to see this lot live sometime for sure.
www.myspace.com/tribazik
