Secret Chiefs 3 - Book of Horizons (2004)

Book of Horizons is the fourth studio album by Secret Chiefs 3, released May 25th 2004. Book of Horizons was the first Secret Chiefs 3 album to reveal the satellite bands that form the actual band under their own names. Out of the seven bands only one, NT Fan, was not heard on the album at all. The other six are The Electromagnetic Azoth, UR, Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists, Holy Vehm and FORMS. Since the release of Book of Horizons the satellite bands have seen several releases of their own.It features the song The Owl in Daylight, inspired by the final unfinished novel written by renowned science fiction writer Philip K. Dick before his death, and is also the title of an upcoming biopic about him. The song Book T: Exodus is the theme of the 1960 film The Exodus composed by Ernest Gold.

This is, essentially, my absolute most favorite SC3 album- and that's saying something. SC3, for those who don't know, are project of weirdo/bearded Californian genius Trey Spruance. They have a bizarre combination of oriental music and instrumentation, with electronica, surf rock, death metal, and anything else really.This album here, "Book Of Horizons", in my opinion, really has Secret Chiefs 3 taking a bit from here and a bit from there, and meshing it in ultimate way. No album, can produce beautiful, epic compositions like "The Exile", and at the same time, have two of the greatest death metal songs I have ever heard, particularly with "Hypostasis of the Archons". The band don't only display variety, but also near-perfect song-writing. Additionally, no album does ambient and thick instrumental compositions like SC3 did on this album.So yeah. Best album of the 21st century and one of the greatest ever? Hmmm. Yeah pretty much.
This is the first album Spruance has done with the idea of the "satellite bands"- seven different bands all under one banner. All different and interesting- yet strongly unified by Spruance's unforgettable songwriting. This man is such a genius it makes me pissy. The dude just knows how to write tunes! Strange tunes, beautiful tunes, epic tunes, dissonant tunes, he can just do it, and he has the right musicians to do it. Guys like Ches Smith (drummer awesome), and Eyvind Kang (one of my favorite composers), along with a million billion absolutely brilliant musicians who pretty much play every note as right as humanly possible. I honestly wouldn't change a thing about the musicians- they just deliver the tunes the way they should be.
May I just add, again, that "Hypostasis of the Archons", is the greatest metal song I've heard in my life. Jumping over from manic guitars and screams and godly drums over and over and over. I just want to nuke Antarctica when I listen to this cutie pie.
I'm sorry, not much more to add. Listen to this album.




Tracklist:

1. The End Times (4:58)
2. The 4 (Great Ishraqi Sun) (3:36)
3. The Indestructible Drop (1:09)
4. Exterminating Angel (3:14)
5. The Owl in Daylight (3:58)
6. The Exile (3:06)
7. On the Wings of the Haoma (5:08)
8. Book T: Exodus (3:56)
9. Hypostasis of the Archons (4:20)
10. The Electrotheonic Grail Dove (0:44)
11. The 3 (4:00)
12. DJ Revisionist (4:06)
13. Anthropomorphosis: Boxleitner (5:23)
14. Welcome to the Theatron Animatronique (5:11)



Personnel

-Trey Spruance / rabab, saz, bass, sitar guitar, clavinet, synth, add'l daf, electric and acoustic piano, organ, vocals, antur, electric guitar, banjo, tack piano, keyboards, soundscapes, cheng, shakers, dumbeks, microtonal guitar, extra percussion, tambourines, foley sounds and electoacoustic treatments
- Shahzad Ismaily / percussion (dhol, mridangam, ghatam, zil, etc)
- Eyving Kang / viola
- Rich Doucette / esraj, saranji
- Danny Heifetz / drums
- Kevin Kmetz / shamaisen
- Timb Harris / violin, viola
- Fatima / santur
- Tim Smolens - bass
- William Winant / Chinese and Tibatan gongs, percussion (marimba, glockenspiel, timpani, tube bells, cymbals, bass & snare drums, shakers, tablas, gongs, timpani, etc)
- Jennifer Cass / harp
- Jesse Greere / vocals
- Ches Smith / drums
- Ursula Knudson / bowed saw
- Jason Schimmel / acoutsic guitar
- Unhuman / vocals
- John Merriman / drums
- Jesse Quattro / vocals
- Kessica Kinney / vocals
- The Enemy / guitars, bass, samples

All thanks to tatuk