Ahh Mainliner, a bunch of psychedelic Japanese chaps including Acid Mother Temple’s Kawabata Makoto on guitar. They were going for ‘The World’s Most Maxed out, fuzzed out band’ award between 1996 and 2001 but then they stopped making music… bollocks! Anyway, after a 12 year recording hiatus and now armed with Kawabe Taigen from Bo Ningen on bass they are back with Revelation Space! Has there ever been better news in the history of visible the universe? Not really, no.
Mainliner’s sound can be compared to some long haired Japanese guy storming into your bedroom and smashing your skull with a breezeblock for 40 odd minutes (in the best possible way of course). The good news is the breezeblock effect against your skull is still there, the hugely distorted guitars conjure up a hurricane of carnage! You can feel it in the first couple of seconds of the opening track also named ‘Revelation Space’; you are immediately assaulted with enough feedback to take out a massive tank factory. This time however, hidden behind the wall of sheer brutality there is a hint of mellowness intertwining with it, it sounds like chilled retro grooves being created by some random stoner at the back of the room who doesn’t know what day it is. Don’t get me wrong though, the crushing guitars still dominate this record and it’s still arguably the heaviest music you could ever treat your mind to, it just offers another dimension. The vocals are trippy and soulful, they manage to stand up to the chaos and join in, making a significant contribution to turn ‘Revelation Space’ into a real ermm… revelation.
There are changes of pace, which often means tearing into another doom-esque jam that will make you nod your head like a mother fucker. Think Earthless and Merzbow hammering out an unrehearsed collaboration album whilst having swallowed broadsheet sized tabs of industry strength acid. There’s not a hint of disappointment with this long awaited beast and it is more than worth the wait. It finishes with ‘New Sun’ which is a 20 minute plus jam which is nothing short of legendary. It’s so full on that there will be times you find yourself in a dark tunnel, wondering if things have gonetoo far whilst you fearfully stare down it towards a bright light. My advice would be to reach for the light with open arms, let Revelation Space take you wherever it wants you to go… there’s no escape.
