ALCHEMIST: Embryonics

Released: 2005

With 28 tracks spread across two discs that encompass over two and a half hours of music, Embryonics is the perfect representation of a band with a musical scope and vision that exceeds virtually all boundaries. There really isn't any other band that sounds like Alchemist, from the intricate pot pourri of musical styles to the broadly interesting and thought-provoking lyrical sense, and this collection showcases eight years' worth of recordings that shaped this great act.

As usual for an Alchemist album, the first thing that catches your attention is the striking artwork of guitarist Roy Torkington, a vivid, psychedlic dreamscape that captures the feel of the music within. Inside, the booklet features a gallery of archival photographs and gig flyers going back to the demo days, plus extensive liner notes on every track penned by the band members themselves. Such immaculate and careful packaging holds the promise of great things within and Embryonics does not disappoint. With so many fine songs to choose from, the hardest part of compiling this collection must have been deciding which tracks would miss out, yet in the final wash-up there could be no better representation of the Alchemist back catalogue than the list that made the cut.

Embryonics includes six tracks from each of the band's first three albums, plus six demo tracks and their version of "Eve of the War" from the long-deleated and much sought after 1999 EP of the same name. The local release also features three live cuts as bonuses: the version of "Chinese Whispers" from the EP and work outs of "Yoni Kunda" and "Closed Chapter" from a Three Hours of Power radio episode in 1996. Opening with the Spiritech version of "Chinese Whispers", the track that remains to this day as perhaps the finest example of Alchemist's work, Embryonics shows the progression and development of their sound. From the raw but magical 1990 demo version of "Jar of Kingdom", the truly off-the-wall arty-prog of "Imagination Flower" and "Found" with Michelle Klemke's strangely keening vocals to the fully-developed ethereal journeys of "Staying Conscious" and "Spiritechnology", there isn't a single moment where Alchemist's reputation as one of the most interesting and creative metal bands of all is in doubt.

This is a geniunely essential release not just for fans of Australian metal but for anyone who enjoys truly progressive rock music.

Disc One:

1. Chinese Whispers
2. Abstraction
3. Unfocused
4. Enhancing Enigma
5. Dancing to Life
6. Brumal: A View from Pluto
7. Lunation
8. Staying Conscious
9. Shell
10. Garden of Eroticism
11. Jar of Kingdom
12. Paisley Bieurr
13. Yoni Kunda (live)
14. Closed Chapter (live)

Disc Two:

1. Eve of the War
2. Beyond Genesis
3. Yoni Kunda
4. Purple
5. Imagination Flower
6. Spiritechnology
7. Soul Return
8. Road to Ubar
9. Found
10. Clot
11. Worlds Within Worlds
12. My Animated Truth
13. Closed Chapter
14. Chinese Whispers (live)

Rating: 100%

ALCHEMIST: Spiritech

Produced by Alchemist with DW Norton

Released: 1997

On Spiritech Alchemist continued to thumb their noses at current trends, setting off on a mystical journey where the rules of the road are their own, paving the way with a trademark melting pot of styles that belongs to no other band. With the previous album Lunasphere Alchemist had begun to show exactly what they were capable of but it took this release for them to truly nail all the divergent aspects of their sound.

While the two epic tracks which book-end this album, the indomitable 'Chinese Whispers', a vast cut that stands to this day as one of Alchemist's very best, and 'Figments', could quite easily have been at home on Lunasphere, the rest of the tracks contained mark something of a further progression from the surf-grind driven style that was at the very heart of that most excellent album.

Most noticeably, that surf guitar sound gave way to a good deal of pure death metal riffing, especially in 'Hermaphroditis', which was as close to a straight-forward metal song as the boys are ever likely to get. The predominantly Eastern sound which is at its strongest in 'Road To Ubar', wasn't lost however, nor was the intertwining dual slide guitars that are a hallmark of Alchemist's work. Some of the tracks also made good use of tribal rhythms, a facet of their music that became central to later recordings. 'Beyond Genesis' comes in with a huge jungle drum beat which 'Spiritechnology' takes up, weaving conspiracy theory samples into the framework.

Lyrically, Alchemist's focus here changed from issues of the spiritual as evidenced on Lunasphere and was now preoccupied with the disturbed balance between nature and technology, again something that would be carried across to the next two album. Adam Agius continued to extend his vocal abilities, best evidenced in the aforementioned 'Chinese Whispers', the album's true stand-out and one that remains a staple of their live set to this day. Here is where everything they do comes together in one place, grinding guitars, BM-like vocal shrieks and a long, almost ambient middle section featuring polyrhytmic drumming, squealing synths and trippy guitar lines. This is a true masterpiece.

Spiritech is another excellent album from a supremely creative and interesting band, and remains perhaps their finest moment.

1. Chinese Whispers
2. Road to Ubar
3. Staying Conscious
4. Beyond Genesis
5. Spiritechnology
6. Inertia
7. Hermaphroditis
8. Dancing to Life
9. Figments

Rating: 96%

ALCHEMIST: Tripsis

Produced by DW Norton and Alchemist

Released: 2007

The four years since Austral Alien is the longest gap between albums of new material in Alchemist history. The double retrospective Embryonics garnered a lot of well-deserved and long-awaited interest in this most enduring of Australian metal bands but a follow-up to the 2003 release was essential to maintain the momentum that the compilation had built up.There was a bit of talk from the band in the lead-up to the release of this that they were aiming for something of a return to their early days here, but on first listen Tripsis sounds essentially and stylistically like a virtual continuation of Austral Alien, albeit a significantly heavier one. It is really only the opening track "Wrapped in Guilt" where this is really the case however, because on repeated spins the truth of Alchemist's claims begin to become apparent.

First of all, every song is simply driven by a ceaseless churning undercurrent of grinding guitars that pound like a monstrous surf. Alchemist has not been this heavy in a long time, or probably ever. For example, "Tongues & Knives" begins with a savage burst, briefly subsides into jangling guitars with an echo of an Eastern theme from ages past, and then plunges headlong towards a series of blood-curdling shrieks not heard since "Chinese Whispers" ten years ago. Later on, the gently pining intro of "CommunicHate" suddenly explodes into a ripping thrashy riff and Adam's growl is at its angriest its ever been before he unleashes an anguished howl that hasn't been heard from him in many a day.

The longer you listen, the more you notice that Tripsis is just as different from past Alchemist albums as every other one has been. "Nothing in No Time" has a truly catchy headbanging groove at a speed unlike any song this band has done before. "Anticipation of a High" keeps the pace going before gradually fading out over a suitably trippy guitar line. "Substance For Shadow" is built around an incredible bouncing riff underpinned by what is almost a marching beat. "God-Shaped Hole" is an really uncharacteristically dark track in which some seriously distorted vocals spit forth from a maelstrom where a relentlessly buzzing, droning riff on one side competes with a swirling motif on the other. True genius.

Throughout it all are the occasional keyboard flourishes, the moments of tribal rhythms and those distinctive twangy guitar sounds but on Tripsis they are much less prevalent than usual. Instead, Alchemist use the power of the riff like never before--this is the most riff-oriented volume of their career.Perhaps most striking of all however are the lyrical themes. Gone are the mystical hippy broodings, the transcendental excursions and the odes to nature of past Alchemist outings. These songs are about the dark side of humanity, betrayal and failings, and the surging heavy drive of each one ram home the point.

With Tripsis, Alchemist once again proves themselves to be a band like no other. Their brilliance is undeniable.

1. Wrapped in Guilt
2. Tongues & Knives
3. Nothing in No Time
4. Anticipation of a High
5. Grasp the Air
6. CommunicHate
7. Substance for Shadow
8. God Shaped Hole
9. Degenerative Breeding

Rating: 96%

ALCHEMIST: Lunasphere

Produced by John Hresc and Alchemist

Released: 1995

"We do not die! We only change!"

With this exhortation begins what is one of the finest and most legendary Australian metal albums of all. Lunasphere remains the favourite Alchemist album for many fans and ten years on it still hasn't lost its appeal. This is where Alchemist's musical vision really began to come together, where the somewhat haphazard experimentation of Jar of Kingdom coalesced into a more coherent but still remarkably inventive form.

"Soul Return" begins this eclectic journey with two and a half minutes of flat-out grind that suddenly veers into expansive, atmospheric ambience for five minutes or more before swerving back to grind again. It sets the scene for the journey to come, one where seemingly incongruous musical elements interact in a surprisingly effective way. Alchemist is often compared to Neurosis but on both "Soul Return" and the album's crowning glory, "Garden of Eroticism", they sound like no one more than diSEMBOWELMENT, though perhaps somewhat less evil and with more Middle Eastern stylings. Indeed, while Nile are renown for their use of Egyptian themes, most of the time they use them as little more than window-dressing. Alchemist, on the other hand, actually work Middle Eastern motifs into their songs.

Lunasphere is awash with them, from mere sprinklings in the likes of "Unfocused" to the distinctly Middle Eastern flavour apparent in "Yoni Kunda", featuring the most tasteful use of the word "vagina" in any song ever written. These elements, the ethnic and the ethereal, weaved so effortlessly and effectively into the fabric of the sound, are what makes this band and this album such a special one. Without them, Lunasphere would have been just another grind album, albeit one with some remarkable lyrics.

Like the music, this also offers something different from a lyrical perspective. Even with grind as a musical base, you would have to suspect that a band using Eastern scales would incorporate some metaphysical philosophy into their songwriting. On Lunasphere, songs discuss reincarnation and spiritual rebirth, along with mysticising female genitalia in "Yoni Kunda" and "Garden of Eroticism" with made-up words like "salacrophobia" (a fear of marihuana, according to the band) and "testrodelia". Again like the music, Alchemist goes places lyrically where few others dare.

With its combination of diverse musical elements and esoteric lyrics, Lunasphere cemented Alchemist's place in Australian metal music and reaffirmed their reputation as a wildly creative and interesting act.

1. Soul Return


2. Lunation


3. Unfocused


4. Luminous


5. Clot


6. Yoni Kunda


7. My Animated Truth


8. Garden of Eroticism


9. Closed Chapter

Rating: 97%

ALCHEMIST: Jar of Kingdom

Produced by Alchemist and Brett Stanton

Released: 1993

Alchemist's Jar of Kingdom is one of the most tripped-out metal albums one is likely to hear. At the start of the 1990s, Australia's metal scene was really still in its infancy. Without the Internet or the benefit of the few metal-specific record labels like Modern Invasion and Warhead that would surface in subsequent years, the scene was far more underground than it is today. Very few bands had recorded or released full-length albums and most weren't well known outside of their hometowns as only the most well-established could be guaranteed crowds of a size that would make touring worthwhile. Despite this, it's unlikely that a band as strange as Alchemist could have remain undiscovered for very long.

No other metal band in the world was doing anything as remotely weird as this Canberra four-piece, and few do so even today. Jar of Kingdom is, succinctly described, rather like what a death metal album by Pink Floyd would sound like if Frank Zappa was their musical director. The arrangements are angular and virtually disjointed at times; the music is almost confusing in its quirkiness and the effect is sometimes harsh and otherworldly. At times, it's not like listening to a metal album at all.

Jar of Kingdom is a very strange album with some very strange elements. "Whale", for example, is the sound of a whale accompanied by some rather peculiar instrumentation. "Shell" contains some ethereal, slightly off-key keening by female vocalist Michelle Klemke, a strident counterpoint to Adam Agius' still-undeveloped death growls. The slide guitars and keyboards that dominate later Alchemist albums aren't as prevailing here but the grinding death metal undercurrent of the tracks are offset by abrupt, jarring, discordant guitar notes, strange psychedelic passages and swirling acoustic interludes. This is Alchemist at their rawest and most experimentally bizarre, a band pushing the envelope of creativity to such a point that even through the diabolical sound quality of the recording it remains clear that a dauntingly inventive musical outift has emerged. The ten tracks here marked Alchemist, then and now, as a band that plays by nobody's rules but their own. Jar of Kingdom is a journey that begins looking down on the world from the Moon, travels through the planes of the human psyche, conception and perception and ends far out beyond the reaches of the Solar System. It's a trip that is as wild and uncanny as it sounds and some may find it a just a little bit too odd to comprehend.

Jar of Kingdom was a groundbreaking album, not just for Alchemist but for the Australian metal scene. The original Lethal version is a rarity now, but the sound quality is so poor that only the most rabid collector would want to track it down. Fortunately, Alchemist remixed this album in late 1998 and reissued it the following year so that everyone could finally experience it the way it was meant to sound. Not only that, but they included tracks from their 91 demo as well, one of which, "Womb Syndromb", exceeds even Jar of Kingdom itself in weirdness.
Abstraction

1. Shell
2. Purple
3. Jar of Kingdom
4. Wandering and Wondering
5. Found
6. Enhancing Enigma
7. Whale
8. Bruma: A View From Pluto
9. World Within Worlds

Rating: 78%