Emissaries

Radio Massacre International | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 10, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Cuneiform
• ASIN: B0009GUT3S
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #477,421 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Seeds Crossing the Intersellar Void

2. A Priest Crossing Frozen Water

3. Mad Bob's Self-Inflicted Torment

4. The Emissaries Reveal Themselves

5. The Ice Garden

6. A Promise of Salvation

7. Emissaries [Comic Strip][*]

Disc: 2

1. An Interstellar Vacuum Is Far from Empty [Live]

2. Mobile Star Systems [Live]

3. A Piano Wanders the Incandescent Vapours [Live]

4. Sympathy for the Bedeviled [Live]

5. The Arrival of the Seeds [Live]

6. Deliverance from Nuclear Winter [Live]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 24 albums since 1995 and still going strong..., June 11, 2005

By 

P. Derby "electroambient space" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Emissaries (Audio CD)

RMI has signed on with the U.S. prog label Cuneiform for this release, which offers two great CDs for the price of one, a great introduction for American fans who may not have heard of them until now. This British trio features Steve and Duncan on synthesizers and Gary on guitar, and they specialize in long instrumental electronic numbers, largely improvised. Disc one is new studio material, and begins by whooshing by like a solar wind, if you could hear it in the vacuum of space. Mellotron strings come in low, then synth oboes playing over the top of each other, followed by eerie male choirs. From this formless atmospheric mélange comes a lone guitar, and then the inevitable sequencer starts percolating. The band continues to find previously undiscovered niches of sound that are highly appealing. Disc two is a live set recorded for the Star's End radio program in May 2004. It too is full of wonderful moments, like the pinging bubbling woody sounds in the middle of the opening track, and a percussion-based sequence to start the energetic, dramatic "Mobile Star Systems." The disc closes with a brisk Berlin school number that keeps the foot on the accelerator to the end. A must-have CD.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New space rock- or at least new-to-you..., May 18, 2005

By 

Johnny Nutt "Mr. Nutt" (Powdersville, SC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Emissaries (Audio CD)

For fans of early/classic period Tangerine Dream, Ash-Ra Temple, Klaus Schultze, Hawkwind, Amon Dull II, and the like. This double-album serves as a best-of into disc to US fans likely to be unaware of Radio Massacre International. The 1st disc is culled from their non-domestic releases, while the 2nd disc was recorded live in the USA in May, 2004.

Highly recommended to all space fans.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new here, but it sounds good nonetheless, January 23, 2009

By 

Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Emissaries (Audio CD)

When I first heard this 2005 release by English group Radio Massacre International, I have to admit I was a little disappointed. While the overall sound was pretty cool, I found their "traditionalist" approach to electronica a bit dull. In fact, their strict adherence to 1970s "Berlin School" electronica is very surprising given that the United Kingdom is currently a hotbed for some of the more interesting developments in electronica. Along these lines, newer groups that I enjoy a great deal include Boards of Canada (Scotland), along with The Orb and Future Sound of London (both from England).

Fortunately though, while this may not be the most original stuff out there, they do a great job of capturing the 1970s Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream sound so effectively that it eventually won me over. The overall sound on the album is, as you might imagine from some of the references, very much in keeping with electronica as it existed in the mid-late 1970s: atmospheric and brooding soundscapes, throbbing sequencers, lots of mellotron, and analog synthesizers of all descriptions. Another nice touch is the use of the electric guitar, which spices things up a bit and is also heavily reminiscent of the approach that Edgar Froese (of Tangerine Dream) used; particularly on their live album Encore (1977).

Speaking of live sets, this 2 CD set includes one studio set (disc 1) and one live set (disc 2). The sound quality of the live set is crisp and sounds as if it was recorded in the studio - there is no audience noise whatsoever

All in all, while there is absolutely nothing new to be found here, I generally liked the overall sound and the fact that there is a lot of music on this 2 CD set (something on the order of a little over approximately 2 hours). Overall, I would recommend this album to fans of electronica as it existed in the mid to late 1970s.