Year: 2023
Total Time: 34:42
Label: Ipecac Recordings

When someone messes with Mike Patton it’s not easy to get away. That’s what Dave Lombardo has probably understood in 1998, when he got involved with Patton in FANTOMAS band. I still vividly remember their “battle” on stage when they appeared in Dusseldorf with Buzz from MELVINS watching in shock and awe. So, between the performances and the discussions they had, Patton gave Lombardo a cd with the “Top Percussion” by the Puerto Rican percussionist Tito Puente in 1958 and he was excited, but due to his busy schedule, he left it behind. With the coming of the pandemic and after the building of his new home studio, Lombardo came back supported by Ipecac Recordings and has now released the ideas inspired by this record.

Truth is that “Rites Of Percussion” is diverse, you will naturally find Cuban rhythms, baroque virtuosity and a pervasive sense of an avant-garde intellectuality. And yet, despite all the constant changes of rhythm and themes, the album flows easily, proving that disparate elements can compose a homogeneity. 

I don’t know how many of you will sit down and listen to this album, except of course all percussionists and drummers who are very keen of Lombardo’s releases or even the DJ’s who will be looking for something to sample on their next record. It’s really a special album with tracks – I wouldn’t call them songs – two and three minutes like games, devastating passages through soundscapes and a sense of waiting but also rushing at the same time very reminiscent of FANTOMAS. At some points you will listen to funky rhythms that will develop into space jazz, elsewhere some ambient moments, cinematic feeling at other points, even hardcore passages. Approach it with respect. I have a feeling that Dave Lombardo will continue to develop his ideas and present them to us on a subsequent record…

Rating: N/A
Editor: Dimos Karadimos
Related Link: DAVE LOMBARDO – Bandcamp Page