Jah Wobble & Evan Parker - Passage To Hades

30 Hertz - 2001 - 50 minutes

The title of the latest offering from bass adventurer Jah Wobble and jazz maverick Evan Parker may suggest two middle-aged men having a rummage through death metal cast-offs but the truth is far darker indeed. With Wobble's bass as the low-end anchor and Parker wandering in and out of each arrangement, they call up one free form nightmare after another, from the bag pipe and harmonica death march of the title track to Arabic trippiness of 'Finally Cracked It'. The results sound like 'Apocalypse Now' recreated in some after hours club and are guaranteed to have your speakers raising the white flag by closing time. Best of all, they've just played the whole thing live in London, reports of lost souls remain unconfirmed.

Harry Guerin

Tracklisting: Passage To Hades - Giving Up The Ghost - Full On - Finally Cracked It