Band: Pneu
Title: Highway To Health
Label: Head Records
Distribution: Mandaï Distribution
Release date: April 2011
Review: MCD

French (instrumental) duo Pneu (guitars + drums and just a very limited couple of mad screams and yells) did release one full length (Prince Monseigneur) and two splits before, and they did hundreds of shows in Europe and North America. Still they aren’t that well-known within the Metal-milieu, but they do have an enormous fanbase within the underground Prog / Math / Noise-scene.
This time, Pneu entered the famous Godcity Studio with Converge‘s Kurt Ballou (think Trap Them, Adai, Buried Inside, Kruger, I Hate Sally a.m.m.) for the registration of Highway To Health, which has duration of twenty six minutes (nine titles, clocking between one-and-a-half and four minutes).
Highway To Health stands for an experimental combination of influences from somewhat related styles: Postcore, Noise, Sludge, Drone, Alternative, Jazz, Psychedelica, Mathcore, Avant-Garde, D-Beat Grind and Power-Violence, even Groove, Funk, Punk and Acid. The mainly instrumental songs are enormously energetic (one might consider them annoyingly enervating), yet it’s unique how these two musicians know to combine melody with aggression, and structure with chaos.
I think most fans of legendary Don Caballero, Hella, Lightning Bolt or No Means No will appreciate these mad orchestrations…

Additional note: Mandaï Distribution is a strongly growing distribution label in our countries, taking care of smaller yet not-uninteresting labels within the more experimental and psychedelic areas of (Rock) Music. Last month, about ten releases have been reviewed, two individually (one posted on May 22nd, one on June 3rd, both done by (it)), and twice as a ‘special’-package by colleague Tony, both of them posted on June 13th. Not ignorable, even obliged in case you like it the alternative way!

71/100

Ivan Tibos.