20 years on, and album number 11 for the instrumental band Black Sun Ensemble and I am really surprised that I had not come across this band before. Black Sun Ensemble cannot be categorized, which is exactly the way they want it. Mainly composed by guitar player Jesus Angel del Paz, needless to say a lot of solos slip into the compositions. The guitar sound is hugely complex, twisting and turning through riffs, solos and the love for other people's cultures. The music is a blend of several styles and you'd have to be deaf to find something that didn't interest you. There are so many layers to their sound.

“The mercurial incense of Melquiades ” and the best track “The shining one” are fuelled by ethnic percussion and swirling belzuki , the songs evolve giving way to saxophone and even sitar in order to become trance-like. In fact the long instrumental flavour of the songs contains a lot of middle-eastern beauty, coming close to raga themes combined with prog rock influences. During “Long days journey into tonight” the guitar playing tends to be in the footsteps of King Fripp , yet this happens only briefly.

It's one of the few instrumental albums I can play at home around the girlfriend where even she's belly dancing and enjoying herself.

89/100

Cosmicmasseur.