Secret Chiefs 3 | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Since Mr. Bungle is notorious for taking substantial amounts of time between albums (it took them four years to follow up their 1991 debut), its bandmembers are left with a lot of time on their hands. Hence the members of Mr. Bungle use their off time wisely, by writing, recording, and touring with other bands or, often, side projects. The best side project of the bunch, Secret Chiefs 3, features Mr. Bungle comrades Trey Spruance (guitar/vocals), Trevor Dunn (bass/vocals), and Danny Heifetz (drums). If there are any remaining who think that the musicians in Mr. Bungle are just a vehicle for vocalist Mike Pattons singing talents, Secret Chiefs 3 is the ultimate proof that this is not the case. Trey Spruance gets a chance to be the leader, as he wrote every track on their 1996 debut First Grand Constitution and Bylaws, and was the records producer as well. Before the full-length debut appeared, the group whet their fans appetites by including a Secret Chiefs 3 single with vinyl copies of Mr. Bungles 1995 magnum opus, Disco Volante, as well as recording a warped version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" for a Japanese Christmas compilation. They were also signed on to contribute a Beach Boys track to a Japanese Beach Boys tribute album, showing that they can tackle just about any musical form put in front of them. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 11 Title: First Grand Constitution and Bylaws Released: 1996 Tracks: 20 Duration: 47:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Anal Haqq (00:22) 2 Adept Chamber of the Magian Tavern (01:11) 3 Inn of 3 Doors (01:21) 4 Breeze of Dawn, Deaths Angel (02:19) 5 Assassins Blade (04:36) 6 Bare-faced Bazi (02:04) 7 Crossroads Through Crosshairs (02:19) 8 Borderland (01:21) 9 Borderland (02:03) 10 Killing of Kings (03:31) 11 Celestial Ship of the Corsairs (02:13) 12 Pointed and Weighty Arguments (00:18) 13 Zulkifar (01:15) 14 The QaIm Deliberates (01:15) 15 Drunk at the Gates (02:08) 16 Resurrection Day Soundtrack: Hot Pursuit in Eagles Nest (05:04) 17 From Night the Morning Draught of Wine (02:30) 18 Crosswinds (00:35) 19 Borderland (02:30) 20 White as They Come (08:01) |
| First Grand Constitution and Bylaws : Allmusic album Review : Fans of Mr. Bungle, this album is for you -- Secret Chiefs 3 is essentially Mr. Bungles rhythm section (bassist Trevor Dunn & drummer Danny Heifetz), joined by fellow Mr. Bungle/brief Faith No More guitarist Trey Spruance. What makes Secret Chiefs 3 different from Mr. Bungle is that there is no lead vocalist present (Spruance and Dunn sing on a few of the tracks), and the trio somehow manages to concoct even more mysterious and demented compositions than Bungle. There is also a more prominent Middle Eastern flavor to the music, which Mr. Bungle has only lightly touched upon in the past. What the two groups have in common are abrupt, unbearable noise bursts, tape sound effects, and plenty of inside jokes. Just about every type of music rears its ugly head at some point on First Grand Constitution and Bylaws, and the band has pulled off the damn near impossible by condensing almost all of these musical forms into one single track, "Resurrection Day Soundtrack." Other highlights include the Devo-like closer "White As They Come," the foreign marching sounds of both "Assassins Blade" and "Zulkifar," and the classic 1960s sound of "Inn of Three Doors." Music for those weary of the mainstream. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 11 Title: Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws: Hurqalya Released: 1998 Tracks: 10 Duration: 50:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Rose Garden of Mystery (02:37) 2 Book T: Waves of Blood (02:29) 3 Book T: Broken Glass Hearse (02:28) 4 Renunciation (04:31) 5 Jãbalqã (04:30) 6 Book T: Orbital Ballroom in the Hall of Resurrection (02:14) 7 Mera Pyar Shalimar (04:54) 8 Jãbarsã (04:24) 9 Beyond the Mountain Qaf (05:58) 10 Hurqalya (16:41) |
 | Album: 3 of 11 Title: Eyes of Flesh Eyes of Flame Released: 1998 Tracks: 7 Duration: 50:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Set Two: Adept Chamber of the Magian Tavern / Inn of Three Doors / Theme From 23d Nade / Inn of Three Doors / 1/41/41/41/41/4 / Combat for the Angel / Theory of the Supreme Ones / Mary of Magdalen (20:57) 2 Renunciation (04:53) 3 Jabalqa/Jabarsa (07:07) 4 The Rose Garden of Mystery (02:57) 5 Assassins Blade (05:11) 6 Zulfikar (06:08) 7 Ciocarlia (03:05) |
 | Album: 4 of 11 Title: Book M Released: 2001 Tracks: 13 Duration: 54:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Knights of Damcar (02:58) 2 Hagia Sophia (04:07) 3 Vajra (03:33) 4 Ship of Fools (Stone of Exile) (03:35) 5 Horsemen of the Invisible (03:36) 6 Combat for the Angel (06:02) 7 Zulfiqar III (05:13) 8 Siege Perilous (05:41) 9 Dolorous Stroke (02:35) 10 Blaze of the Grail (03:57) 11 Lapsit Exillis (01:37) 12 Lapis Baitulous (02:23) 13 Safina (09:34) |
| Book M : Allmusic album Review : A third installment in the series of Secret Chiefs 3 records, known by many as Mr. Bungle minus Mike Patton. Once again, the band proves that they command an amazing grip on their musical reigns, executing flawlessly tight arrangements, even if they are extremely peculiar. Book M is mostly the brainchild of masterful guitarist Trey Spruance, as bassist Trevor Dunn was absent for a great deal of the project, probably having something to do with his involvement in the wickedly genius Fantomas. Book M is mostly made up of Indian/Asian-sounding melodies overlayed with wildly cavorting techno rhythms and a tiny bit of metal, infused with a sense of mystery and paranoia from the thematic artwork based on number theory and assumedly Hindu belief systems. The production and musicianship here is top-notch; the question is: Just how many people are interested in listening to a skewed version of Indo-Pak music? | ||
 | Album: 5 of 11 Title: Book of Horizons Released: 2004-05-25 Tracks: 14 Duration: 52:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The End Times (04:53) 2 The 4 (Great Ishraqi Sun) (03:36) 3 The Indestructible Drop (01:09) 4 Exterminating Angel (03:14) 5 The Owl in Daylight (03:56) 6 The Exile (03:08) 7 On the Wings of the Haoma (05:08) 8 Book T: Exodus (03:56) 9 Hypostasis of the Archons (04:20) 10 The Electrotheonic Grail Dove (00:44) 11 The 3 (Afghan Song) (04:00) 12 DJ Revisionist (The Spin Masta, Kultur Killa, With da Mad Crypto-Colonial Skillz) (04:06) 13 Anthropomorphosis: Boxleitner (05:23) 14 Welcome to the Theatron Animatronique (05:11) |
| Book of Horizons : Allmusic album Review : Secret Chiefs 3s first three studio albums were not exactly stripped-down affairs, but Book of Horizons is by far an ambitious release. The first volume of a planned three-part series of albums, Horizons is set up to resemble a compilation of bands, the catch being that all of these bands are headed by SC3 leader Trey Spruance. The six bands, which have two or three songs each on this album, encompass pretty much the full range of SC3s previous stylistic forays, including the funeral ballads and marches of the Forms; the orchestral, Persian-themed rock hybrids of Ishraqiyun; the time-traveling surf-rock of UR; the electro-acoustic collages of Electromagnetic Azoth; the extreme death metal band Holy Vehm; and the sweeping film music homages of Traditionalists. These "bands" are not physically separate entities so much as they are distinct concepts, since musicians overlap from one band to the next, and can change from song to song within each band. In any case, this separation of SC3s many diverse elements into distinct bands has led to more extreme song-to-song contrasts than on any earlier SC3 release. The two Holy Vehm songs are heavier than anything Spruance has ever released, while the more linear, melodic numbers (Traditionalists Morricone-esque "The Exile," the Forms "The End Times," URs surf-tinged cover of the Exodus theme) rank as his most lavishly orchestrated productions. In between these extremes lies the Devo-esque surf-rock of URs "Anthropomorphosis: Boxleitner" (a worthy sequel to "White As They Come" from First Grand Constitution and Bylaws), the reverb-drenched Afghani folk-metal of Ishraqiyuns "The 3," and Forms stunning closer "Welcome to the Theatron Animatrique" -- which sounds like the sort of orchestral film music that should be coming out of Hollywood circa 2004. Remarkably, given the huge orchestrations on so many of the tracks, there are only two samples on the entire record; all of the string sections, choirs, and such were the result of marathon overdub sessions à la Mr. Bungles California. Even so, the album doesnt sound like it was labored over or artificially assembled, with the exception of the intentionally cut-and-pasted tracks by Electromagnetic Azoth and a few of the harsher edits on Holy Vehms "Hypostasis of the Archon." And unlike Book M, which felt stiff and mechanical in spots, and California, which occasionally lacked the songwriting material to match the lavish production, Horizons comes through with soulful performances and top-shelf material on nearly every track (Ishraqiyuns "The Four" doesnt quite get off the ground like the other songs). The jarring juxtapositions between a few of the songs here disrupt the flow of the album here and there, a side effect of the compilation approach. Minor quibbles aside, this is a frequently jaw-dropping album that should silence Spruances anti-Bungle critics and, more importantly, challenge and entertain devoted fans of his past work. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 11 Title: Path of Most Resistance Released: 2007-05-07 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:01:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Book T: Exodus (03:56) 2 The 4 (Great Ishraqi Sun) (03:36) 3 Ship of Fools (Stone of Exile) (03:35) 4 Renunciation (04:31) 5 The Owl in Daylight (03:56) 6 Combat for the Angel (06:02) 7 Zulfiqar III (05:13) 8 The End Times (04:53) 9 Jabalqa / Jabarsa (live) (06:19) 10 Mera Pyar Shalimar (04:54) 11 Ciocarlia (03:05) 12 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (02:35) 13 Good Vibrations (04:00) 14 Heroes and Villains (04:46) |
 | Album: 7 of 11 Title: Xaphan: Book of Angels, Volume 9 Released: 2008-04-15 Tracks: 11 Duration: 55:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Sheburiel (05:43) 2 Akramachamarei (05:46) 3 Shoel (06:19) 4 Barakiel (05:49) 5 Bezriel (04:36) 6 Kemuel (04:23) 7 Labbiel (04:22) 8 Asron (03:32) 9 Balberith (06:31) 10 Omael (04:01) 11 Hamaya (04:20) |
 | Album: 8 of 11 Title: Satellite Supersonic, Volume 1 Released: 2010-05-25 Tracks: 8 Duration: 47:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Circumambulation (05:30) 2 Balance of the 19 (04:06) 3 Ubik (05:41) 4 Kulturvultur (08:02) 5 Balthassar : Melchior : Kaspar (06:30) 6 The Left Hand of Nothingness (05:54) 7 Anthropomorphisis: Boxleitner (05:39) 8 The Secret Mausoleum of Mankind: Fetish Miniatures of the Suicided Races (06:05) |
 | Album: 9 of 11 Title: Book of Souls: Folio A Released: 2013-11-19 Tracks: 13 Duration: 39:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Balance of the 19 (04:00) 2 Nova IHVH (00:19) 3 Potestas Clavium (05:33) 4 Post-Identity Hour (AMS World Newscorp) (01:58) 5 Personae: Halloween (03:47) 6 Utopian Weekly Update (HVHI Public Access) (00:35) 7 Scorched Earth Saturnalia (07:03) 8 Full Spectrum Anamnesis (00:06) 9 Drive (04:28) 10 Barzakh ID Markers (AIO Radio Narcissus) (00:44) 11 La Chanson de Jacky (03:37) 12 Toy Soldiers Frontline Report (Faust Journal, DodecSMA Corp) (01:15) 13 Tistrya (05:41) |
 | Album: 10 of 11 Title: Perichoresis Released: 2014-10-21 Tracks: 6 Duration: 41:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The 15 (04:11) 2 The 7 (07:21) 3 Base Phive Futur-Cossacks (03:49) 4 Spiritus Intelligentiae: Jophiel (04:28) 5 Perichoresis (16:47) 6 Saptarshi (04:47) |
 | Album: 11 of 11 Title: Personnae: Halloween EP Released: 2018-10-26 Tracks: 3 Duration: 12:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Personnae: Halloween Mix III (Season of the Glitch) (04:58) 2 Personae: Halloween (03:47) 3 Personnae: Halloween (03:17) |