pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

God of Shamisen, led by shamisen master Kevin Kmetz, is putting out their second album – Smoke Monster Attack.

Teaming up with producer Billy Anderson, God of Shamisen returns with Smoke Monster Attack, their second album. Featuring some new tunes along with some interesting video game cover songs, the band is back to its genre-bending ways. Featuring Kevin Kmetz on the Japanese shamisen, Karl Schnaitter on guitar, Mark Thornton on bass, and Lee Smith from the band Estradasphere on drums. The band goes all over the place, from an aggressive new arrangement of the traditional “Jongara Bushi,” to the Indian-inspired mellow breakdowns of “Last Shamisen Master Attack,” to a wild metal cover of the “Star Wars” theme. The album is only available digitally, and features guest musicians Rick Walker (percussion), Rich Doucette (sarangi) and Takemi Hirohara (shamisen on “Tiger Feint Attack”). http://www.godofshamisen.com/

1. Metal-Jongara Attack
2. Dragon Quest Attack
3. Last Shamisen Master Attack
4. Tar Bomb Attack
5. Sandcastle Attack
6. Final Fantasy Attack 2010
7. Tiger Feint Attack
8. Star Wars Attack
9. Dragon String Attack (Super Short Version)

Much of this material is actually from their sessions for EMI Japan, which never surfaced outside of Japan.  They’re also releasing it in lossless FLAC format on LobeFood (not available yet).

Release date: November 23, 2010

~Dan – np: Ikue Mori – Painted Desert

There is no free mp3 download or flac torrent for this album on this blog (nor will there ever be).  If you like music, support the artists.  Buy it!!