siLLy puPPy Trey Spruance launched his then side project SECRET CHIEFS 3 all the way back in 1995 in the midst of the Mr Bungle years and has continued to steer this unique collective of musicians into exciting new arenas that have contributed to the evolution of this band’s sound into a veritable smorgasbord effect that is so pure and refined that SC3 sounds as if it resonates from a long lost tradition that has found its way into the modern world at the time of some sort of spiritual awakening. Having long ago mastered the exquisite alchemy of disparate genres such as surf rock, Persian traditional, Arab folk music, Indian classical, death metal, electronica and spaghetti western styled soundtrack music, the SC3 culminated its sound on 2004’s “Book of Horizons” before Spruance announced that the SC3 was actually seven satellite bands named Electromagnetic Azoth, UR, Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists, Holy Vehm, FORMS, and NT Fan.

Before SC3 jumped into the satellite band procession, the project joined ranks with none other than John Zorn as they performed compositions from Zorn’s second Masada book, “The Book of Angels” with song titles representing characters from Jewish and Christian mythology and an introduction into a new genre into the world of SC3, that being klezmer. After what seemed like a one off, SC3 released three more albums under the guise of the satellite bands that ended with 2014’s “Perichoresis” and then the band fell silent for several years with nothing to offer those who have become addictive to this unique band’s sophisticated style of musical amalgamation of tones, timbres, tempos and magnificent genre blending mashups. While seemingly dropping off the face of the Earth, SC3 were in fact working hard on the next Zorn collaboration in the form of an entire album that appeared on the 11-album installation of Zorn’s “Masada Book Three - The Book Beri’ah” which found the band in company with Sofia Rei & JC Maillard, Cleric, Spike Orchestra, Julian Lage / Gyan Riley, Abraxas, Klezmerson, Gnostic Trio, Zion80, Banquet of the Spirits, Craig Taborn and Vadim Neselovskyi.

The whopping 11-album set was released on 9 March 2018 as album #10 of the massive collaborative effort and although officially a part of the SC3 canon, was unavailable for any sort of listening pleasure outside of plopping down a small fortune to obtain the entire box set of music, which is probably not a bad thing have you, but i have not been willing to take the plunge so despite SC3 ranking high on my favorite bands list i just had to wait it out and see if someday perhaps they would release it as an individual album. Well 18 October 2019 was that day and THE BOOK OF BERI’AH VOL 10 - MALKHUT was finally released and as the album cover art of the sefirot which represents the concepts from the Jewish esoteric knowledge of the Kabbalah, SC3 emerge from its slumber only to add weave Jewish sounds to its already eclectic musical palette without sacrificing any of the sounds that came before except for perhaps the lesser sounds of the more extreme metal sounds found on earlier albums. As far as i am aware, SC3 is one of the few bands to successfully find a truce between Arabic folk music and Jewish traditional klezmer and make it sound as natural as an organic centuries long musical style.

For this album, SECRET CHIEFS 3 consists of Trey Spruance (guitars, clavinet, kinnor, analog synth pads, theater organ, extra percussion, nevel, glockenspiel, sound fx), Eyvind Kang (violin, viola), Ches Smith (congas, vibes, shakers, dumbek), Matt Lebofsky (piano, elec. piano, hammond and farfisa organ, moog), Kenny Grohowski (drums), Shanir Blumenkranz (bass), Jason Schimmel (guitar) and Ryan Parrish (kaval) who weave an intricate display of progressive fusion sounds that clearly reside in the SC3 universe and the band continues the ever growing complexities that have continued to evolve ever so slightly on every album since the debut “First Grand Constitution and Bylaws” all the way back in 1996. So in that respect, one can pretty much expect a continuation form 2014’s “Ishaqiyun” only with the addition of klezmer and Jewish traditional sounds tucked into the mix albeit with a retro review of earlier SC3 albums.

As always, SC3 scores in finding the perfect balance between timeless intricate melodies and tight knit grooves with bursts of progressive angularities and heavy rock bombast but for the most part the band wends and winds through an intricate fusion of Arabic and Jewish traditional sounds although the surf rock, electronica and other sounds are still present although providing a subordinate role. There are plenty of those parallel riffs that harken to previous albums but teased out into new directions. The album is perhaps the most traditional sounding from the band’s pre-satellite band days with those precise keyboard stabs punctuated by Middle Eastern grooves, tasty guitar workouts, electronic atmospheres all dressed up in an epic spaghetti western soundtrack grandiosity. For those who are true fans of the SC3 and have been with them since the beginning, this will be a nice overview of the band’s entire existence without too much new thrown in save the scant progressive rock anomalies such as the Goblin sounding keyboards of “Chitzonuyut” and the heavier emphasis on Jewish themes and rhythms.

Once again the SECRET CHIEFS 3 project has generated a mesmerizing or should i say “klezmerizing” musical score that evokes an epic traditional musical style of some esoteric mystery school tribe that dropped out of the world and continued underground for millennia before finally bringing its unique musical mysteries to the world’s consciousness. This album like almost every other is flawlessly designed and will delight SC3 fans for its attention to detail, addictive melodic and rhythmic flow and transcendental evocations. The band shows no sign of decline and musically speaking has never sounded better. Perhaps if i had any gripe about MALKHUT is that it is not daring enough in its explorative nature. It seems to simmer peacefully in a safe zone that never adds any startling detours such as the band’s earlier explorations into death metal and more extreme musical styles but given this was designed to work as a part of a much larger musical whole, it probably needed to exist in harmony with the intent of Zorn’s musical vision amongst friends who also contributed entire album’s worth of material. I have to say, very rarely do i hear music this good and SC3’s amazing consistency is exactly why they reside in my top 10 bands of all time.

siLLy puPPy When the debut album by SECRET CHIEFS 3 came to light in 1996, the project which was an extension of creative mastermind Trey Spruance's fertile imagination seemed like a one-off project where the cross-pollinating effects of Western and Middle Eastern musical styles could duke it out under the banner of mutilated surf rock and drum and bass techno. The album pretty much successfully covered as much ground as possible within the somewhat less overarching reach of the Mr. Bungle projects. Making it clear that tracks like "Techno Allah" on the "Disco Volante" album were spawned in the deep recesses of Spruance's psyche, the album pretty much nurtured every possible variation of that track and then some. However, the project was not quite finished as a second "Grand Constitution" in the form of "Hurqalya" was forged in the same molten cauldron of surf rock, breakcore, Arab folk music, progressive rock and psychedelia which abandoned the free-for-all head scratching moments of the debut and steered the project into a somewhat more focused stylistic approach however Bungle was still going strong and nobody could have guessed that SC3 would generate more life.

The new millenium arrived and Mr. Bungle released its final album "California" and then promptly called it quits which left Spruance with the freedom to indulge his wildest fantasies in his many side projects. While Faxed Head had reached its logical conclusion rather quickly the SECRET CHIEFS 3 project however conjured up a wealth of new stylistic cross-pollinating elements to be explored and in the process of searching through the misty brumes of the musical sounds of the Silk Road, Spruance continued the project and declared it his main gig as the ashes of Bungle were finally laid to rest. BOOK M emerged three years after "Hurqalya" and took all the disparate elements of that album and executed them into even more demanding instrumental gymnastics with unthinkably precise and wickedly cool production techniques. The fusion techniques of the previous albums had been flawlessly woven together like the highest quality Persian rug and the results were the next chapter of the mystical thematic world that simulates a long lost culture secretly ruled by the invisible mystics vibrating in a dimension just outside of our perceivable frequencies. These sounds culminated into one of the SC3's most magical albums that continued the Ennio Morricone film score feel in Spaghetti Middle Eastern form teased out with subtler hints of surf rock, chamber pop, avant-prog and modern Western classical majesty.

Thematically BOOK M can be thought of as the soundtrack to three volumes of mystical texts: "Observance Of The World," "Engagement Of The Sword" and "Ritual Of The Cup." While the Middle Eastern sounds that range from traditional Arabic folk and Persian scales to even touches of Indonesian, Indian, Celtic folk and gypsy swing, the tracks meander through various layers of tones and timbres with off-kilter time signatures, drum and bass electronic outbursts, surf rock undercurrents and bouts of renegade violin solos (courtesy of Eyvind King), heavy metal guitar heft, funk grooviness, psytrance electronica hyperactivity and appearances by fellow ex-Bunglers Danny Heifetz on drums and various ethnic percussive instruments and Bär McKinnon on saxophone. The entire run of the album's near 55 minute run is like a well executed journey through the mystical lands that evoke sonic representations of the magical beings encountered through the various ritualistic practices that evoke the timelessness of the folk aspects of the music. It's almost as if the timelines have merged and the relaxed acoustic ancient world has united with the electronic frenzied quickening of the modern 21st century where it is impossible to distinguish the origins of any particular element of the music.

Less anarchic than the previous two albums, BOOK M seamlessly exudes a true sense of multi-genre fusion rarely achieved in such a perfected manner by recycling past themes and advancing them into new epic arenas. The album truly comes off as the soundtrack to a film that has never existed yet evokes the mystic avenues of the mind where the crossroads are populated by the entire lexicon of the musical histories of planet Earth. Spruance proved on BOOK M that not only did SECRET CHIEFS 3 still have life in the project but that it could be elevated to extremely advanced levels carried out through the rigorousness of perfecting the production techniques and the meandering march of modulating magnificence. The brilliance of this album results from the fact that every detail is perfectly carried out but by how easy it is to sit for the entirety of this album time after time and never once find the slightest flaw or trace of boredom. SECRET CHIEFS 3 is truly a niche sort of band that is music for nerds who have heard it all before and crave something totally inventive and completely existing outside the box of the established orthodoxies of the music industry. Not only did Spruance demonstrate that he was one of the masterminds of the entire Bungle experience but made it clear once and for all that out of the ensemble of genii that made up Bungle that he was one of the top dogs in the creative madness that took the world by storm and still resonates high on the freak-o-meter even by today's standards. Another masterpiece by SC3 here!

siLLy puPPy The debut album by SECRET CHIEFS 3 had been an all out battle over a stylistic approach with borrowings from previous Mr Bungle tracks, sneak peeks of future Bungle and a dash of Trey Spruance’s wild ass freakery from his side project Faxed Head not to mention the plethora of influences that included but not limited to Arab traditional music, Bollywood, surf rock, electronica, avant-prog, psychedelia, jazz and well a big whopping mix of pure avant-garde. With all these genres duking it out possibly with no thought into a future of this side project, not only would SC3 become Spruance’s main gig despite one final Mr Bungle album in the making, but it became a passion and on this sophomore album SECOND GRAND CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS: HURQALYA, the project coalesced into a more stable mix of different musical elements that would become the template for which future SC3 albums would revolve around.

With Mr Bungle on hold due to Mike Patton’s commitments to Faith No More (with Trey Spruance contributing guitar work on 1995’s “King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime”), Spruance sallied forth on the next phase of his true love which took the elements previously displayed on Mr Bungle’s track “Techno Allah” from the “Disco Volante” album and turned the idea into a veritable band project. And while the debut album was basically four members of Mr Bungle exploring Bunglish ideas into more extreme territories, on SECOND GRAND CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS: HURQALYA Trevor Dunn didn’t return and was replaced by William Winant who covered the massive sprawl of instruments that included kanjira, timpani, snare drum, cymbals, ankle bells, hammer dulcimer. Likewise Trey Spruance increased his duties to include guitar, mandolin, bass, organ, synth, keyboards, trumpet, baglama, zither, programming, tapes, chorus vocals and Danny Heifetz expanded his percussion to include drums, tambourine, shaker, finger cymbals, dumbec.

With all these new instruments HURQALYA has an exponentially richer sound spectrum than “Bylaws 1” and that’s not all! Fellow Bungler Bär McKinnon appears as a flautist, Paul Dal Porto plays sitar, Eyvind Kang joins in on violin and erhu and there is a hauntingly beautiful vocal appearance by Laura Allen on the Arab pop meets Bollywood track “Mera Pyar Shalimar.” The album is decidedly more Middle Eastern focused with instantly catchy Arab melodies but strangely juxtaposed with Indian instrumentation, surf rock, breakcore, psychedelia, drum and bass and even a touch of trumpet mariachi style all wrapped into an Ennio Morricone styled sort of spaghetti Western type of cinematic approach. SC3’s second album in affect sounds like one of the first attempts to make a spaghetti Middle Eastern experience and in the process creates one of the most unique albums i’ve ever experienced even different from the band’s other endeavors.

The album is begins and ends in an epic fashion. “The Rose Garden Of Mystery” provides a soft acoustic guitar arpeggiated melody that builds instrumental counterpoints while setting the mood for occult practices on the Silk Road. In between the tracks are centered around surf rock with electronic effects (the “Book T” tracks) while tracks like “Renunciation,” “Jabalqa,” “Mera Pyar Shalimar” and “Jabarsa” are clearly rooted in Arabic musical styles that take the melodic approaches of traditional Arab music, add some bellydance type of grooves and fortify it with strange sound effects, breakcore and progressive time signature complexities. The result is a compelling tapestry of pan-continental styles of music that had hitherto never found themselves so intricately woven together in such perfect splendor.

While the first nine tracks are fairly accessible, the final two are the most difficult but easily skipped for those who don’t wish to take the meditative journey into the sandstorm laced noisy journey that takes place on “Beyond The Mountain Qaf” which eschews all musical traditions and unleashes the most experimental noise rock and Krautrock stylistic approaches completely with wind sounds, rain and other field recordings. The track morphs into the closing “Hurqala” which brings back an Arabic melodic and even climatic epic score. Like Lawrence of Arabia meets Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. The track continues with variations on the main theme but then drops out leaving several minutes of silence before making a reprise with a new variation as if a final desert theme finds closure to the mystic journey that was just experienced.

SECOND GRAND CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS: HURQALYA was not only my first experience with the SECRET CHIEFS 3 project but even to this day after untold hundreds of listens to this exquisite album still remains one of my all time favorite albums and in my book sits equally well with the following “Book M” and “Book Of Horizons.” These three albums find SC3 in perfect form with all the elements carefully crafted. The most amazing thing about this album is not only the beautifully crafted composiitons that stew the slices of disparate genres into a world gumbo but the amazing production job that creates an even more dynamic experience with no detail left to chance. The timbres, tones, dynamics and cadences all correspond to a more intricate storyline that is unaccessible but mysteriously perceived. I cannot think of too many albums that are so brilliantly designed and this will most likely rank high on my list for a very long time. Perhaps my only complain is the several minutes of wind and silence that end the album before a brief little reprise of music but it’s easy enough to push stop at any time so in no way affects my overall score. PERFECT! MASTERPIECE!

siLLy puPPy The world of Mr Bungle took the 90s by storm with a group of eclectic musicians reinventing experimental rock and metal with unthinkable fresh new paradigm shifts but in between albums they were busy with many other side projects although most of those would take place after the band broke up in 2001. Mike Patton was of course with Faith No More and Danny Heifetz moonlighted with Link Wray and Dieselhed. Trey Spruance on the other hand was the true wack job of the group with the over-the-top eccentricities of the avant-metal group Faxed Head as well as taking over the guitar spot in Faith No More for 1995’s “King For A Day.. Fool For A Lifetime.” After Mr Bungle’s second album “Disco Volante” which came out the same year, there were no guarantees that the Bunglers would release another album and the members all went their own ways to find new projects to work on.

Before SECRET CHIEFS 3 would become Spruance’s main gig, it was simply just another side project outside of the wacky world of Mr Bungle. The name SECRET CHIEFS was chosen because it referred to eclectic references to an occult spiritual hierarchy that was secretly operating the cosmos behind the scenes. Out of this moniker emerged an entire parallel universe with each album providing the soundtrack and eventually splintering off into satellite bands but on this debut album FIRST GRAND CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS, Truance joined forces with three other Bunglers, bassist Trevor Dunn, saxist Clinton Bär McKinnon and percussionist Danny Heifetz to create the most unhinged and eclectic of the SECRET CHIEFS 3 albums. The album cover art represents the Cycle of the Nychtermeron and can be seen as the gateway into the greater world of the occult displayed through symbology and titular references.

While with the second album SC3 would become Spruance’s main project, at this stage he was just letting off steam and as a result this album is a wild eclectic mix of past Bungle, future Bungle, Spruance’s other side project Faxed Head as well as the diverse sounds of ethnic music (predominantly Middle Eastern), surf rock and other electronica that would become the main mix of styles to come. Despite the project consisting of four Bunglers, the album still evokes an epic sound with a large number of instruments and musical styles. While SECRET CHIEFS 3 has become known mostly as an instrumental act, on FIRST GRAND CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS there are many parts with vocals only shared by Spruance and Dunn and then quite silly at that. Through the album’s 20 tracks many of the SC3 sounds that would dominate future albums debut here as well as a number of weirdnesses that would never repeat themselves.

The short intro track “Ana’I Haqq” opens with the same sort of funeral organ sounds as heard on the “Disco Volante” track “Ma Meesha Mow Skwoz” which immediately brings the Bungle vibe into the forefront but instead of Mike Patton stepping in and taming the wild crew into vocal dominated bouts of stability, the album just drifts off into various often nebulous musical world. “Adept Chamber Of The Magian Tavern” prognosticates the electro-Middle Eastern fusion sounds that would define SC3 while “Inn Of 3 Doors” dishes out some expected cartoon music sounds before jumping onto the Silk Road with Indian and exotic Central Asian musical sounds. “Breeze Of Dawn, Death’s Angel” dishes out some death metal bombast while “Assassin’s Blade” takes the opposite approach with military drumming along with more musical mirages of the Middle East.

Throughout the album are a million catchy melodies but also are bouts of pure craziness adopted from Spruance’s wild and uncategorizable band Faxed Head. Such antics are heard on “Bare-Faced Bazi” and “Killing Of Kings” which juxtapose somewhat easy listening with outbursts of insane vocal shoutings, complete musical breakdowns and sputtering insane electronic freakouts. Compared to more focused (which is saying a lot considering how eclectic all SC3 releases have been), FIRST GRAND CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS is all over the place with no clear winner in which stylistic approach dominates the album which makes this debut the more bizarre album within the greater extended Bungle universe. Highly melodic passages and utter chaotic noise often exist side by side however when melodies do pop up, more often than not are derived from Arab sources. Add heavy progressive rock elements, jazzy touches and psychedelic organ runs and album #1 by SC3 never delivers a dull moment. Not my favorite SC3 album but the wildest ride for sure and one that hits that avant-garde spot.

siLLy puPPy Tucked in between their albums “Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws: Hurqalya” and “Book M,” the SECRET CHIEFS 3 released this bizarre out of character short EP that not only contained no surf rock, no Middle Eastern music and no heavy metal but actually contains no music at all. Well, not music in the melodic sense anyways. This short little EP titled THE THEATRUM OF SUPRASENSORY UNIVERSES VOL. 1 is an extreme mix of mystique concrète, sound collage and electronic free flow with occasional meaningless vocal utterances. There is a brief excursion into heavy guitar riffing.

Despite having 11 tracks listed, the whole thing only lasts a mere 11 minutes and 25 seconds long but there are a lot of ideas stuffed into this short and weird romp through a strange sonic universe detached from the SECRET CHIEFS 3 regularly scheduled program. As with their regular albums, this too is an ambitious assortment of ideas that parade down the timeline in a dreamlike state and if i had to compare it to anything, the closest i could come up with is Mike Patton’s “Adult Themes For Voice.” Not because of the actual sounds employed but rather the utter uniqueness and strange collage of weirdness.

Although i’ve been a huge SECRET CHIEFS 3 fan forever, i have never checked out this tiny little curiosity until recently. While totally existing outside of their “normal” parameters, there’s nothing this band does that isn’t from the heart. While this sort of stuff isn’t my main staple for a sonic experience, i have to say that it’s quite well done and will appeal to the noise and experimental lovers. Think the bleak soundscapes of Nurse With Wound only more decked out in hyperdrive. While an hour of this may have been too long, 11 minutes seems way too short. Worth hearing if you like it as avant-garde as it gets.