Situation Dangerous 2000 Magna Carta 

1. Dangerous
2. Endless
3. Crash
4. Spiral
5. Melt
6. Tragic
7. Tziganne
8. Lost


Ubiquitous uber-players Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin and Steve "pipsqueak" Stevens return with their second instrumental trio release, Situation Dangerous, following 1997's Black Light Syndrome.

The label, Bozzio's pedigree (Zappa) and Levin's day job (King Crimson) made me fear that I was in for ponderously polyrhythmic prog poop, but the presence of Stevens, one of the most overrated "virtuosi" of the 80s, reassured me. As the guitar was undoubtedly to be the lead instrument, I suspected that Stevens would carve a safe niche for his handful of licks and rein in his colleagues' aspirations to complexity.

And indeed, there's nary a complex meter change on this record. What we have instead is a set of really solid, melodic, rocking compositions, permeated with the faux-flamenco flavor of Stevens' new persona. Metal numbers alternate with fully or partially acoustic pieces, with Levin grooving on all sorts of basses or leading on the cello and Bozzio kicking booty in the background. He also gets to display his tuned-drum soloing ("Tziganne," with a silly extra "n"). The metal-cum-flamenco-ish "Tragic" evokes a couple of Marc Bonilla's thoroughly enjoyable second solo CD American Matador. Stevens' soloing is adequate (considering the league he's playing in), and he plays melodies with conviction. My only beef is that the acoustic instruments were recorded direct and not miked, which always sounds like proboscis monkey dung.

In short, an excellent straight instrumental metal album, a pleasant departure from Magna Carta's notoriously overcooked output.

Review by Rog The Frog Billerey-Mosier

Review date: 09/2000


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