Tiger Hatchery - Sun Worship (ESP)

Over 50 years, ESP-Disk has released some of the most ground-breaking albums in the jazz arena. Chicago’s explosive Tiger Hatchery continue in that tradition, delivering what could be the most extreme record in the label’s catalog to date.

Right away, it smacks you. The opening “Chieftain” attacks with the explosiveness of Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman‘s frenzy and John Coltrane‘s scream, and doesn’t let up until the closing “Grand Mal” fades to silence. Saxophonist Mike Forbes rages like Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker and John Butcher all morphed into one being, while Ben Billington‘s drums recall the pace of Rashied Ali and Han Bennink‘s solid insanity. Andrew Scott Young employs both electric and amplified stand-up bass for a sound that’s as much Alan Silva and Peter Kowald as it is Chuck Dukowski and David Wm. Sims. Sun Worship is in-your-face brutality, an all-out assault on your preconceived notions of music, much like the best FMP recordings out of Germany.

If you’re looking to snap your fingers and tap your toes, don’t bother. However, if you’re willing to dive head-first into a maelstrom of screech and skronk that takes the ’60s free music sound to new heights, this is it. Play it loud and piss everybody off.