Dragon Ritual Drummers Volume 2 by Dragon Ritual Drummers
(www.dragonritualdrummers.com) $20.00
This wasn't going to be a reviewed CD. I had already done two discs by
this
group earlier this year ("The Epic" and "Passage"). This one was supposed
to be for personal listening pleasure. It is the second CD released by
this
group and is bit more "raw" and, in some ways, less polished than their
more
recent efforts. Regardless, as soon as I put this CD in my player and
heard
the familiar rhythms calling Papa Legba I knew I had to review this disc.
If you are one of those people who thinks that all drumming sounds the
same,
I urge you to pick up any CD by this wonderful group and begin your
education in the wide world of drumming. These musicians take you from
the
Afro-Caribbean world of the lwa ("Papa Legba," "Brazil," and "Bamboula")
to
the world of the Native Americans ("Summoning the Dragon, Intro") and into
other worlds as well - and that's just on this CD.
The group need not apologize for the "rawness" of this work. There is
power
and emotion, energy and strength in quantities enough to spare. Their
music
is drawn from human-powered expression and produces songs which reach down
into your psyche and stirs things up. With the exception of the final
track
(#9 is unlisted), which I won't attempt to describe, you will hear nothing
but drums, other percussion instruments and human voices.
There is something to be said for instrumental music. And within that
narrow field percussion music must occupy a particularly powerful
position.
While strings and horns can evoke strong emotions through their interplay,
percussion occupies, and always has occupied, a primary and primal spot.
It
is as capable slowing your pulse down for a quiet meditative time, or
making
it race. Mankind has known this for centuries - try to imagine a military
organization without a drum corps, or a dance troupe without a reliance on
percussion.
I know that it takes a long time to bring out new albums - three years
elapsed between their first release and this one - but I sincerely hope it
won't be another three years between "Passage" and their next release.
I was unable to attend the last local (Massachusetts) performance of this
group, but the next time they come through you can bet that I will do all
in
my power to be there. The energy I can feel on their CDs is amazing, and
I
can only imagine what it would be like to experience it live.
If you want to feel your spirit soar, spend some time with this CD (or any
of the others produced by this group). "Dragon Ritual Drummers Volume 2"
belongs in your collection.
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