The instrumental rock created by Russian quartet Disen Gage is unique, to say the least. Their more accessible debut album, The Screw-Loose Entertainment, released by the label R.A.I.G. in 2004, introduced Disen Gage to the world as a guitar-driven progressive-rock band. For the band’s second release, Libertage, they have opted for something completely different. The whole album was composed and improvised in the studio as an exercise in highly experimental avant-progressive rock. Unfortunately, the quality of the resulting sound ranges from the mediocre to the unbearable.

The opener “Entrée” is a slightly melancholic introduction to the band. A nice guitar melody leads the track, but what stands out is the second guitar. Difficult to distinguish at first, it sounds like a keyboard, but it is in fact a guitar making that serene drone, which is revisited in the much darker closing track “Sortie.” As the track nears its end, it takes on a more sinister tone. The guitars and bass become heavier, creating a very uncomfortable and eerie atmosphere, as if to prepare the listener for the rest of the album. The aptly titled “The Crash” is just that -- a musical wreck. The drum work is excellent, but the track is destroyed by the jumbled mess of jazzy guitars. There is no direction in this track; it appears that each musician is lost in their own worlds, totally divorced from any group interaction. This results in a messy chaos of sounds that is difficult to listen to. For the first half of the track, “Attaque de Blindes” relies heavily on drums and guitars used as sound effects to create a haunting atmosphere. Once past the half way mark, the guitars take the lead and change the track’s direction from haunting to bizarre with its strange guitar pickings, a disturbing track indeed. Meanwhile, “Bene Immobile di Tutti I Sicilia” again sees the use of creative guitar work to make sounds reminiscent of woodwind instruments. This is a long meandering track that constantly changes in structure, but doesn’t stray too far from the jazz feel that envelopes most of album.

Originality in music is hard to come by these days, but attempting to be different can sometimes lead to disaster, which is certainly the case for Libertage. Limited to only 500 copies, half the amount of their debut album, its fate was foreseen from the very beginning. The band does have potential; at times it is hard to believe that the whole album was created with only two guitars, a bass guitar and drums. Disen Gage have created an album that will either be loved or hated by its audience, but its main problem will be in finding one.

-Leanne Simpson