''Book of Horizons'' is the fourth studio
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by
Secret Chiefs 3
Secret Chiefs 3 (or SC3) is an American avant-garde group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance (of Mr. Bungle and formerly, Faith No More). Their studio recordings and tours have featured different lineups, as the group performs a wide range ...
, released May 25, 2004.
Web of Mimicry: SC3
accessed June 22, 2018 ''Book of Horizons'' was the first Secret Chiefs 3 album to reveal the satellite bands that form the actual band under their own names. Out of the seven bands only one, NT Fan, was not heard on the album at all. The other six are The Electromagnetic Azoth, UR, Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists, Holy Vehm and FORMS. Since the release of ''Book of Horizons'' the satellite bands have seen several releases of their own.
Content
"The Owl in Daylight" is inspired by the final, unfinished novel of the same name by renowned science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
writer Philip K. Dick before his death. The song "Book T: Exodus" is the theme of the 1960 film ''The Exodus
The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the ...
'' composed by Ernest Gold.
Reception
The Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
review by William York stated "Secret Chiefs 3's first three studio albums were not exactly stripped-down affairs, but ''Book of Horizons'' is by far an ambitious release ... this is a frequently jaw-dropping album that should silence Spruance's anti-Bungle critics and, more importantly, challenge and entertain devoted fans of his past work". Daniel Lukes of ''Lollipop Magazine'' called the work "plaintive, harsh, witty, baffling, and thrillingly alien," saying "The overall effect is akin to the imaginary soundtrack to an uncanny, Burroughs-esque parallel universe where gumshoes mix with Arabian mystics, cowboys, and aliens in search for the Ultimate Truth."
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
contributor Jonathan Zwickel noted "Over three years in the making, ''Book of Horizons'' is Secret Chiefs' most expansive and coherent statement, an alchemical fusion of Morricone-esque cinematic grandeur, midnight surf guitar, traditional Middle Eastern rhythms and time signatures, demonic death metal, and electronic deviance that yields a work of undeniable force"[Zwickel, J]
Pitchfork Review
accessed June 22, 2018
The Scene Point Blank review warned "If you have a short attention span you are probably going to get lost mid-way through ''Book of Horizons''. If you're looking for something straightforward, this will be a waste of your time. This is experimental music at its finest".[Scene Point Blank Review](_blank)
accessed June 22, 2018
Track listing
Personnel
* Trey Spruance
Preston Lea "Trey" Spruance III (born August 14, 1969) is an American composer, producer, and musician who co-founded the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. He is also leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3. Originally a guitarist an ...
– guitars (electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
, bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, microtonal guitar, sympitar), keyboards (keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
, electric piano
An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...
, acoustic piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, tack piano
A tack piano (also known as a harpsipiano, jangle piano, and junk piano) is an altered version of an ordinary piano, in which objects such as thumbtacks or nails are placed on the felt-padded hammers of the instrument at the point where the ham ...
, clavinet
The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...
, organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
), percussion (dumbek
The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet- ...
, shaker, tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
, add'l daf, etc.), santur
The santur (also ''santūr'', ''santour'', ''santoor'') ( fa, سنتور), is a hammered dulcimer of Iranian origins.--- Rashid, Subhi Anwar (1989). ''Al-ʼĀlāt al-musīqīyya al-muṣāhiba lil-Maqām al-ʻIrāqī''. Baghdad: Matbaʻat al-ʻU ...
, rabab, banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
, saz, sheng, synthesizer, sampler, soundscape, Foley sound effects
In filmmaking, Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films, videos, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. These reproduced sounds, named after sound-effects artist Jack Foley, can be anyth ...
, electroacoustic treatment, vocals, producer, engineer
* Mike Bennewitz – layout design, illustrations
* Thom Canova – engineer
* Unhuman - Vocals
* Jennifer Cass – harp
* Rich Doucette – esraj
The (from the pa, ਇਸਰਾਜ) is an Indian stringed instrument found in two forms throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is a relatively recent instrument, being only about 300 years old. It is found in North India, primarily Punjab, whe ...
, sarangi
The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...
* Enemy – bass guitar, guitar, sampling
* Fatima – santur
* Jesse Greere – vocals
* Timb Harris – violin, viola
* Danny Heifetz
Danny Heifetz (born 1964 in New York City) is an American musician who is perhaps best known for being the drummer for American experimental rock group, Mr. Bungle from 1989, until their disbandment in 2000. Heifetz also plays trumpet, guitar, ...
– drums
* Shahzad Ismaily – percussion (dhol
Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...
, mridangam
The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...
, ghatam
The ghaṭam ( sa, घटं ''ghaṭaṁ'', kan, ಘಟ
''ghaṭah'', ta, கடம்
''ghatam'', te, ఘటం ''ghatam'', ml, ഘടം, ''ghatam'') is a percussion instrument used in various repertoires across India. It's a variant ...
, zil
OJSC AMO ZiL, known fully as the Public Joint-Stock Company – Likhachov Plant () and more commonly called ZiL (, was a major Russian automobile, truck, military vehicle, and heavy equipment manufacturer that was based in Moscow, Russia.
The la ...
, etc.)
* Eyvind Kang
Eyvindur Y. Kang (born 23 June 1971) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. His primary instrument is viola, but has also performed on violin, tuba, keyboards and others.
In addition to his solo work, Kang has worked extensively with ...
– viola
* Jai Young Kim – post producer
* Jessika Kenney – vocals
* Kevin Kmetz – shamisen
* Ursula Knudson – bowed saw
* John Merryman
John Merryman (August 9, 1824 – November 15, 1881) of Baltimore County, Maryland, was arrested in May 1861 and held prisoner in Fort McHenry in Baltimore and was the petitioner in the case ''"Ex parte Merryman"'' which was one of the best k ...
– drums
* Chris Parsons – engineer
* Jesse Quattro – vocals
* Jason Schimmel – acoustic guitar
* Ches Smith
Gordon McChesney "Ches" Smith is an American musician, whose primary instruments are drums, percussion, and vibraphone.
He recorded and performed an album of his own solo percussion pieces entitled ''Congs for Brums'' (2006). In 2010 he release ...
– drums
* Tim Smolens – bass, engineer
* William Winant
William Winant (born 1953) is an American percussionist.
In addition to his work in contemporary classical music—notably performing Lou Harrison's compositions—Winant has worked in a variety of genres, including noise rock, free improvisation ...
– drums, percussion (tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
, marimba
The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...
, shaker, glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone.
The glo ...
, gong
A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
, tubular bell
Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...
, timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...
, etc.)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2004 albums
Secret Chiefs 3 albums
Web of Mimicry albums
Albums produced by Trey Spruance