Gongzilla

Gongzilla ‎- Suffer - 1995 - Lolo Records

Contradictions and balance; two road-warriors from the ghetto-wasteland of fusion (Bon & Hansford) join two powerful young bucks on a quest to capture the essence of pop. Not the “pandering on purpose” pop we are all familiar with but the rigorous, risk taking music of bands like Steely Dan and Meshell Ndegeocello. Gongzilla first released a series of mostly instrumental albums featuring guest guitarists on each one including jazz fusion legends such as Allan Holdsworth and David Torn. More recently, Gongzilla has included some U.S. jamband heroes, like guitarist Chuck Garvey of moe., and has emphasized vocals, crafting songs which fuse with improvisational rock. The GZ boys sing cool songs that will singe your soul while balancing both the hyper precision and the rockin’ mayhem this band is capable of live. © http://www.reverbnation.com/gongzilla

"Gongzilla is the shit!" - Jimmy Herring (Widespread Panic)
"Allan gets into the 'zilla trip on "Gongzilla", burning everything in his path. This is a wonderful album..." - Tom Mulhern, Guitar Shop

"A frighteningly dense offering of heavy metal/jazz-improv weirdness. ...playing is simply mind-boggling. Four stars." - Bill Milkowski, PULSE! Magazine

This fine 1995 release represents yet another offshoot of the band Gong, as this outing features "Gong-based" alumni such as legendary guitar god Allan Holdsworth, guitarist Bon Lozaga, vibist Benoit Moerlen, bassist Hansford Rowe, and other luminaries from the progressive rock and jazz fusion genres. With the opener, "Gongzilla," the band commences the proceedings with a tongue-in-cheek aural depiction of Japanese monster Godzilla's ominous footsteps weaving a path of destruction through Tokyo, whereas Lozaga's vicious crunch chords and the rhythm section's power-packed pulse set the stage for the remainder of the production. Throughout, the listener is treated to compactly arranged compositions brimming with the soloists' succinctly stated unison choruses, the rhythm section's multi-layered developments, and Moerlen's peppery performances on vibes and marimba. Highlights abound via Holdsworth's blistering legato lines and the band's strict adherence to good compositional form, also including a few sonorously constructed and memorably melodic ballads. Simply put, Suffer ranks as one of the '90's best and brightest of the oft-maligned fusion scene. © Glenn Astarita © 2013 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/suffer-mw0000664901

Gongzilla (a spin-off of the British Canterbury Scene and sometimes fusion group Gong) explored some more hard rock stylings than Pierre Moerlin's Gong and created a great debut album of skilful grooves, deep rhythms, and wonderful masterful interplay between all instruments. The album was ranked the number three fusion album of the year by Pulse! Check out Gongzilla’s “Five Even” and Bon Lozaga’s “Full Circle / Coming Home” albums on this blog [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 121 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Gongzilla (Bon Lozaga) 6.33
2. Bad Habits (Benoît Moerlen) 3.26
3. Sing (Hansford Rowe) 4.25
4. Gongzilla's Dilemma (Hansford Rowe) 5.13
5. Mr.Sinister Minister (Bon Lozaga) 4.46
6. Almost You (Bon Lozaga) 4.08
7. Mezzanine (Benoît Moerlen) 4.12
8. Hip-Hopnosis (Bon Lozaga) 6.45
9. Allan Qui (Hansford Rowe) 7.19
10. Senna (Hansford Rowe) 4.42
11. Camel (Benoît Moerlen) 0.22

MUSICIANS

Bon Lozaga - Guitar, E-bow
Allan Holdsworth - Guitar (1, 2, 6, 9)
Hansford Rowe - Basses
Benoît Moerlen - Vibraphone, Marimba, MIDI Mallets
Lionel Cordew - Drums (1-4, 6-8, 11)
Vic Stevens - Drums (9, 10)
Ben Perowsky - Drums (5)
Bobby Thomas,Jr. - Percussion
Samuel Rowe - Vocals (10)