IKITAN - Shaping The Chaos (Album Review)

Release Date: March 07th 2025. Record Label: Taxi Driver Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Shaping The Chaos - Track Listing:

1.Chicxulub

2.Lahar

3.Darvaza

4.Sailing Stones

5.Natron

6.Bung Fai Phaya Nak

7.Brinicle

8.Blood Falls

9.52 Hz Whale

Members

Luca Nasciuti: guitars

Frik Et: bass

Enrico Meloni: drums and cowbell

Olmo Manzano: percussions on “Natron”

Roberto Izzo: violin on “Natron”

Review

Shaping The Chaos is the new album from Psych/Post-Stoner Rockers IKITAN and it’s a blend of Instrumental music is one built of many different levels of Prog Rock and Cosmic expeditions with the band drawing influences from Karma To Burn, Earthless, My Sleeping Karma and Russian Circles along the way. Sounds can be quite diverse, sparse and beautifully dynamic with an off-kilter Stop/Start melody developing when interlaced with overlapping areas of Space Rock and minimal Cosmic Doom.

With “Chaos” being part of the album title, IKITAN can be quite “CHAOTIC” on this record when developing the early building blocks of the record on tracks such as Chicxclub and Lahar. As the music develops more of Prog Rock and Post-Rock identity before the subtle Post-Stoner and Psychedelic passages appear. Everything is still buoyantly heavy with the band adding small amounts of Progressive Metal energy into the record especially on the later stages of second track Lahar.

IKITAN play fast and loose with the rules of Instrumental Stoner Rock once again employing an experimental attitude to the record. Sometimes quirky, rebellious and freakishly insane at times but never boring. This is a record built on improvisation and long drawn out instrumental sounds with a twinge of NEBULA and EARTHLESS behind these jamming sessions which almost becomes the central focus on tracks such as Darvaza, Sailing Stones and Natron. However, the Post-Rock element is a close second with IKITAN transitioning to a Post-Rock/Post-Metal outfit way before the album is finished. 

The record flourishes more when levels of Ambient Rock and Soundtrack style scores appear which adds another level of heaviness to the record. The sound can be quite claustrophobic at times with everything closing in especially on the ten minute plus epic track of Natron. With a healthy dose of apocalyptic surroundings, IKITAN settle for an Alternative Rock creative attitude before returning to their Post-Stoner/Post-Rock sound which allows the band to develop their music into a style of distorted melodic sessions which last until the very end.

Shaping The Chaos continues with the sonic and progressive journey that allows IKITAN to cross over to heavier metallic waters where they once dared to dream, especially on the later stages of the record where I can hear some TOOL-esque cinematic themes developing perhaps most on Natron, Bung Fai Phaya Nak and Blood Falls.

IKITAN maybe ready for the big time with Shaping The Chaos as it’s the type of album that can breakthrough into the higher levels of the Instrumental Psych/Stoner Rock scene. I say on this evidence that IKITAN have earned their reward for a longstanding and highly rewarding career and that’s down to this outstanding release.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to IKITAN for the promo.

Shaping The Chaos will be be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Taxi Driver Records from Friday 07th March 2025.

Links

LinkTree | BandCamp

IKITAN is proud to present "Darvaza y Brinicle", its first limited-edition cassette published by Taxi Driver Records.

IKITAN, a heavy post-rock trio, is proud to present "Darvaza y Brinicle", its first limited-edition cassette, published by Taxi Driver Records.

The cassette will be released on Friday 3rd December 2021 and the two new songs, titled “Darvaza” and “Brinicle”, will be available on Taxi Driver’s Bandcamp page as well as on all the band’s digital stores.

The tape contains the two singles on side A, and “Twenty-Twenty Live at Forte Geremia” on side B, which was released digitally and as a video in June 2021.

Only 30 copies of the cassette will be available, and each one comes with a digital download of the two singles… and a BIC pen.

The two songs will also be premiered on 666MRDoom’s YouTube channel on Thursday 2nd December 2021.

Listen to “Darvaza” and Pre-order the limited-edition cassette “Darvaza y Brinicle” (limited-edition: 30 copies).

“With a lot of new riffs under the belt since the release of “Twenty-Twenty”, and having had the opportunity to share “Live at Forte Geremia” with the world, it was the right time to publish some new music.

We’ve been rehearsing a lot as a consequence of the prolonged state of emergency in Italy, and “Darvaza” and “Brinicle” are the first products of this increased musical productivity in IKITAN’s headquarters”, says the band.

Unusual natural phenomena and weird facts have always been fascinating for IKITAN; the name of the band itself represents the alleged Aztec god of the sound of the stones, as depicted in the cover of “Twenty-Twenty”.

The Darvaza is in Turkmenistan whilst the Brinicle occurs in the Antarctic Ocean.

“Darvaza (“Door to Hell”, an artificially-created crater that’s been burning since the 70es) and Brinicle (a finger-of-death ice stalactite that kills everything it encounters in the water) represent two different yet complementary sides of our nature, devastating and powerful but ethereal and dream-like at the same time”, says IKITAN.

The idea of releasing the two singles as a cassette comes from Massimo Perasso, owner of Taxi Driver Records, an independent music label based in Genoa and born in 2009.

“We’re very happy to partner with Maso, a true legend in Genoa when it comes to heavy music, stoner and all types of interesting and cool projects, and his label Taxi Driver Records. We’ve always been fans of the label and its releases, and to be among some of Genoa’s (and beyond) best acts makes us very proud”, concludes IKITAN.

IKITAN was formed in Genoa, Italy, in 2019. The band’s self-released debut “Twenty-Twenty” is a one-track instrumental EP lasting 20 minutes and 20 seconds, and it was published on 20th November 2020. The EP was well-received globally by the press and fans alike.

As it was impossible to play live due to the pandemic, IKITAN recorded its first live video, “Twenty-Twenty Live at Forte Geremia”, in March 2021. It was recorded on top of an old military fort (819 m asl) and it captures the band playing “Twenty-Twenty” live for the first time, in a dramatic scenery between sea and mountains, and with no audience. The video of the concert, a tribute to generator parties, is available on YouTube.

The artwork for both “Twenty-Twenty” and “Darvaza y Brinicle” is crafted by Luca Marcenaro.

Save the date! "Darvaza y Brinicle" will be published on 3rd December 2021 in a limited-edition cassette by Taxi Driver Records and it will be available on the label’s Bandcamp.

Listen to “Darvaza” and Pre-order the limited-edition cassette “Darvaza y Brinicle” (limited-edition: 30 copies).

“Twenty-Twenty Live at Forte Geremia” is available on IKITAN’s Bandcamp as a name-your-price digital download as well as a live video on YouTube.

IKITAN’s debut EP “Twenty-Twenty” is available as a limited-edition (200 copies) digipack with a free poster and sticker as well as a digital download on Bandcamp.

Find IKITAN on: Bandcamp - Facebook - YouTube - Instagram - Twitter - Spotify from https://linktr.ee/ikitan

They said about IKITAN:

"If Tool were a post-rock band, they might very well sound like IKITAN."
- The Progressive Aspect

“Twenty-Twenty is more about journey than destination, and IKITAN make the voyage enticing.”
- The Obelisk

"Together, the three-piece writes an earth-shattering blend of Hard Prog Rock, mixing equal parts of My Sleeping Karma, Karma to Burn, and Russian Circles into something that seems to transcend the world around us. "
- Monster Riff

"Twenty-Twenty is a superbly entertaining record that you should all check out now."
- Outlaws of the Sun

“IKITAN celebrate the mystical by delivering something that sounds like it’s capturing the enormousness of the universe. Simply stunning!”
- Stoner Hive

IKITAN:

Luca Nash Nasciuti: guitar
Frik Et: bass
Enrico Meloni: drums and cowbell

“Darvaza y Brinicle” was recorded at IKITAN’s Studios in October 2021.

“Twenty-Twenty Live at Forte Geremia” was recorded at Forte Geremia on 7th March 2021.

ORION - Builders of Cosmos (Album Review)

Release date: June 28^th 2016. Label: Taxi Driver Records. Format: CD/DD

Builders Of Cosmos – Tracklisting

1.Intro 06:53

2.Alone With You 04:44

3.Lucid Dreams 04:41

4.Builders Of Cosmos 06:45

5.Over & Over 05:00

6.Lost Again 04:32

Band Members:

Matteo Signanini: Guitar, Voice

Andrea Ricci: Guitar

Richard Silvaggio: Bass, Voice

Pietro Virgilio: Drum

Review:

Italian Stoner Rockers – Orion – play a vast psychedelic blend of spaced out stoner rock that allows the band to mix different noises and vibes to their heavy sound. Orion’s debut album – Builders Of Cosmos - is a thrilling spectacle from start to finish and one that should be appeal to fans such as Truckfighters, ENOS, Monster Magnet and Red Fang.

Opening track – Intro – is an almost seven minute instrumental track that crackles with distorted fuzz. Orion add distorted layers of noise that maybe too jarring for some. Short soundclips appear now and again but it’s the heavy thumping riffs that shows where the bands talent and vision lies.

Second track – Alone With You – sees Orion add vocals to the album and they are almost drowned out by the heavy distorted riffs but you can fully understand what is being sung. Alone With You is one of the standout tracks on the album.

One of the best things about this album is the speed Orion plays their music at. This is a very fast-paced album as Orion play at such an exciting pace you can be forgiven for missing some of the music the first time you listen to the album. Third track – Lucid Dreams – offers a harder edged Desert/Stoner Rock sound but matched with a more psychedelic spaced out sound. The vocals impress yet again as they have a distinctive vintage feel. Maybe the vocals could have done with more volume so they’re not completely drowned out by the instrumental work.

Fourth track – Builders Of Cosmos – is where Orion finally starts to create their own sound by offering a heavier style of fuzz/spaced out riffs. The vocals take centre stage as for once they’re not drowned out by superb riffs. Maybe that’s Orion’s style but I find this is where the band finds the perfect balance between the vocals and riffs. They work in almost perfect Stoner Rock harmony.

The final two tracks – Over & Over and Lost Again – offer ten minutes of two final rounds of spaced out psychedelic stoner magic. Both songs have a more manic energy compared to the earlier tracks. I don’t know if the band are speeding things up as they know the end is almost upon us. The final ten minutes do feel a little rushed at times but it shouldn’t spoil your overall enjoyment of the album.

I’m a huge fan of the  Italian Stoner Rock/Metal scene and Orion is another example why the Italian scene is thriving at the moment. Orion may not bring anything new to the genre but which band does. What Orion do bring is a keen talent for writing great songs you will be listening to for a long time to come. Builders Of Cosmos is a fantastic album. Check it out. You won’t be sorry.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Sonic Wolves - Before The End Comes (Album Review)

Release date: July 2016. Label: Taxi Driver Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Before The End Comes – Tracklisting

1.Winds Of War

2.Geronimo

3.Obscured

4.He Said

5.Wolfwitch

6.Lamia

7.Freedom Is The Devil

8.Before The End Comes

Band Members:

Kayt Vigil - Bass/Vocals

Vita - Drum

Paolo Melotto - Guitar/Vocals

Diniz - Guitar

Review:

Some of the songs on Sonic Wolves debut album – Before The End Comes – has been released before back in 2015 when the band released most of them on their debut demo release. I missed it first time round. The album has been re-recorded for this as their official debut album release and it sounds a whole lot different. So what can you expect…

Well if you dig Garage style Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal then Sonic Wolves new album will appeal to you in a big way. The album has quite a raw and rebellious feel with fast-paced riffs matched against frantic drumming courtesy of Ufomammat drummer – Vita. Vocal duties are handled between Kayt and Paolo. It’s an intriguing dynamic as they both have different styles which offer a stark contrast to each other.

Songs such as Geronimo, He Said…, Obscured, Lamia, Freedom Is The Devil and Before The End Comes shows the band have a real flair for old-school doom metal theatrics with a more modern psych garage/stoner metal feel. The lyrical content could have done with more work here and there but it shouldn’t distract you from enjoying this album. Sonic Wolves do have a quite an original sound of their own. The production is raw, loud and most of all it sounds very real. People may complain the production could have done with more work. You won’t hear that from me as this is the kind of sound I would expect from a band such as Sonic Wolves.

It’s too the bands credit they’re not afraid to take risks with their music. They could have easily went down the more straightforward Doom/Stoner Metal route but it’s when the band explore their Noise/Garage Rock sounds where the album becomes more exciting to listen to. He Said… is perhaps the standout song on the album as Sonic Wolves opt for a more stripped back approach with Kayt being sultry, dangerous and mysterious throughout. The riffs veer from slow-paced psychedelic rock to a harder style of rock/metal.

Before The End Comes has quite a gloomy fuzz-laiden atmosphere appearing on the album that offers a sinister and exciting doom metal experience. If you’ve heard this album in its previous raw as hell form then I urge you check out this version as everything sounds much better. Sonic Wolves sound has a more powerful and dynamic range. My final thoughts on Before The End Comes is that this is an album you will be listening to over and over again. A truly stunning record. Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Taxi Driver Records for the promo. Before The End Comes will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Taxi Driver Records from July 2016.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp