Hypnotic Underworld

Ghost, Ghost | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 3, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Drag City
• ASIN: B00018U9KC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,293 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #80 in Music > World Music > Far East & Asia > Japan

Editorial Reviews

Japanese psychedelic champions GHOST return with a heavily anticipated new album, already being called the band's best yet. Nine tracks of deeply cosmic psych and folk sounds, delivered heavier and more mountainous than ever. Includes the title-track improvisational epic in four parts, along with covers of '70s Dutch group Earth & Fire and Syd Barrett arranged in Ghost's unique, strange manner.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghost's masterpiece, February 14, 2004

By 

George T. Parsons (Nevada City, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hypnotic Underworld (Audio CD)

Japanese band Ghost deliver their most varied and accomplished album yet with Hypnotic Underworld, which lives up to it's title repeatedly over the course of it's eleven tracks. From ethereal mellow melodic stuff to thunderous heaviness with incredible guitar by Michio Kurihara and exemplary voice, visions, and acoustic guitar from mainman Masaki Batoh, while the rest of the band prove their prowess on: bass, cello, tin whistle, tabla, flute, Theremin, saxophone, bouzouki, Mellotron, organ, lute, Celtic harp, recorder, etc. A modern tribally organic psychedelic masterpiece.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars impressive., March 3, 2004

By 

Ryan E. Penn "haverecords" (japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hypnotic Underworld (Audio CD)

I put this review up as it may help any of those who are interested in the record, but are unable to listen to it (as snippets never suffice). I by no means mean it to be a comprehensive review. That said, this is clearly one of the best neo-psych albums i have yet heard. The album is solid through and through, and manages to nicely hearken back to early seventies psych prog, while advancing too. It is prog, with the woodwinds, but has the nice fuzz guitar of psych. The musicianship is excellent, compositions interesting and creative. As a listener to classic psych and prog, this album is one of the most satisfying neo-psych records available. But at risk of repeating myself yet again, i end on note of saying buy it and enjoy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Never Fails To Mesmerize Even As It Takes Risks, March 20, 2010

By 

kabalabonga - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hypnotic Underworld (Audio CD)

Mixing together heavily amplified guitar with the acoustic elegance of traditional ethnic instruments on "Hypnotic Underworld", Japan's Ghost (as they did on "Lama Rabi Rabi") once again deliver psychedelic folk that is strongly underscored by explosive riffing, creative percussion, and sustained passages of timeless, reflective, atmospheric beauty. Not as steeped in tranquil, pastoral tunefulness as its predecessor, "Snuffbox Immanence", and not as dynamically aggressive as "Lama Rabi Rabi", this release seems to have sought a balance between the two, but with an interesting wrinkle.

That "wrinkle" is the experimental title track, a nearly twenty-three minute, four-part suite (each with subtitles). More than one reviewer has commented on the stylistic influences contained within this cut, ranging through jazz, progressive rock, and (on the last track, the :22 "Leave This Place") a blistering snippet of ear-grinding heavy metal. It can be demanding if you're not in the right frame of mind for it, so be advised that track 5, designed as a slowly unwinding yet somewhat assertive guitar-driven transitional piece, "Hazy Paradise" can serve as an opener just as well.

"Kiesechekuan Kite", with its ritualized chanting and usage of instruments exclusive to Japanese culture , briefly revisits the sense of rusticity so prevalent on "Snuffbox Immanence" while "Holy High", with its insistent woodwind, driving acoustic guitar, and overall percussive force captures some of the dynamic tension present on track 2 of "Lama Rabi Rabi". "Dominoes/Celebration For Grey Days" "Gangmanang", and "Feed" are more in synch with "Hazy Paradise", ferocious and transcendental in a more fluidly structured way than on their two previous releases.

My advice to anyone interested enough to have read this far is to pick up a copy of "Hypnotic Underworld", but only after first purchasing "Lama Rabi Rabi" and "Snuffbox Immanence" and listening to them in that order first. It will give you a clearer perspective on what they've dared and what they have been able to accomplish on this release.