Monster of the Absolute

Evolving from their embryonic shoegaze-inspired melee into sprawling, heavy stoner/psych/drone hybrids as evidenced on 2003’s epic Satin Black, Paik have achieved an uncanny ability to completely shred the atmosphere while coaxing out blissfully sonorous melodies from their thunderous caterwaul. Pulling back the reins just a bit, Paik funnel their supersonic cyclones into a tightly focused box of thunder with Monster of the Absolute, their greatest balancing act of melody and dissonance to date. Utilizing the tried-and-true power trio format, Paik are certainly not at a loss for conjuring up blistering volume and powerful rhythms. It is their particular incantations, evoking warm melodic portraits amongst a firestorm, which truly set them apart. Few bands are as adept at evoking the inherent symmetry in otherwise clashing emotions as Paik, and it is this wedding of simultaneous sonic disparity that is so breathtaking. Previous outings stretched out their explorations into lengthy, repetitious exercises but with Monster of the Absolute, Paik have honed things down to a much more concise, refined format…the result is some of the finest and most accessible cinematic pummel of their career.