Search - Steve Roach, Byron Metclaf :: Serpent's Lair

A rich and pleasing experience

G-Dexter | Lakewood, NY United States | 04/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I never cease to be amazed by the many ways Steve Roach can weave a web. I mean, in how many different directions can one man go with long, ambient, atmospheric pieces almost totally devoid of melody? Evidently, in more ways than I can count. In collaboration with Byron Metcalf and a host of others, the list of which reads like a veritable Who's Who of prominent ambient musicians, Roach provides a sense of tribal mysticism with those long ethereal passages we've come to associate with his work. THE SERPENT'S LAIR is a rich blend of soothing tones, hypnotic tribal beats and some lovely vocal passages (a rarity in Roach compositions). Although I am a huge Steve Roach fan, owning most of his CD's -I was hesitant to purchase this Disc; now I'm sorry I waited so long to buy it. My fear was an overemphasis of the percussion aspects of the compositions over the soothing atmospherics and the sense of exploration I associate with his music. (I've been disappointed with these collaborations before, namely with DUST TO DUST, an album that I've never really liked.) I need not have worried - this double CD is rich and complex, and is a brilliant example of Steve Roach's ever evolving talent. In some ways, it reminds me a bit of Michael Stearns THE LOST WORLD, another brilliant work and artist that I highly recommend."

Great Trance Tape

K. N. Nelson | California, USA | 08/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yet, I for one am a little tired of the continued use of long synthesizer washes that go on and on and sound, after a while, a bit like almost every other album this wonderful artist has created. Without a doubt, Steve Roach is one of my favorites and I always find myself willing to spend the money on one of his CDs. But, again, I do wish he would head in a different direction for awhile and show us his chops in new and more lyrical ways. For me the best Steve Roach album is "Strata" which he did with Robert Rich whose keyboard skills added a lot of energy to that album. Steve's catalog is significant and one can be hard pressed to choose from such a vast body of work. For me, "The Serpent's Lair" does remind me of "Dreamtime Revisited" and of the two CDs in this collection, I prefer the second one titled "Offerings from the Underworld". There is more much more of interest here with vocal tracks adding a lot of "presence" to the percussive and synth washes. The contributing musicians are very much attuned to the spirit of this music, especially Jorge Reyes. As a psychologist myself, I respect Dr. Metcalf's research in the Shamanic historical use of trance inducing percussion to facilitate the process of guiding a person toward deeper inner awareness and, hopefully, the exquisite beauty of personal transformation into a more balanced being. This album certainly is perfect for those types of inner explorations. Personally, as a musician (my other hat)I did not find his drumming "processed" although I can bet it was edited and looped. But then, I could be wrong and Steve may have quantized during mixdown for he is so great at the mixing board. He never overdoes reverb and yet there is such depth to his music in this collection that one can imagine being in a huge cavern with others dancing around a firepit and casting shadow pictures onto the cave walls for that is how visual these songs actually are while being driven by percussive repetition that is so important in maintaining consistent trance levels to reach the height of the transformative experience. This body of work is so hypnotic that I really wouldn't mind what Steve did while mastering this CD. The sounds are crystal clear and one suspects he recorded directly to hard disc for there is zero tape noise or other distracting artifacts. All in all I like this album and enjoy playing it before bedtime to relax and mellow out."

Exceptional

D.M.K | Las Vegas, Nevada United States | 10/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a longtime Steve Roach fan and owning all his releases I must say this is one of the best of the recent releases. I find this Cd being listened to over and over and it creates a great trance. Each track is differnt and exciting"