Short Reviews [Pakt - 2024 - "No Steps Left To Trace"]

There is no doubt that PAKT are a very special group indeed, and they have been making a significant name for themselves within the improvised music movement since first coming together. They are a true supergroup with very diverse musical backgrounds which allows them to bring multiple styles and ideas in ways quite unlike others within the scene. The name of the group is taken from the first initial of each member, so we have Percy Jones (fretless bass guitar), Alex Skolnick (guitar), Kenny Grohowski (drums) and Tim Motzer (guitar and electronics). Jones is best known for his tenure in Brand X, while Skolnick has a degree in jazz performance but will always be best-known for his work in the mighty Testament (who are considerably removed from the music here on offer), Grohowski's many recent associations include John Zorn, a reincarnated version of Brand X and masked avant-metal outfit, Imperial Triumphant while Motzer has a long background in free improvisation, including the bands Bandit65 (with fellow guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel) and Orion Tango, plus many other recorded collaborations for his 1k Recordings label. This album is made up of both studio and live recordings (although the studio recordings were very much the normal live setup, just in a studio instead of concert), with the studio tracks recorded in one session in December 2021, and the live pieces recorded at a gig the same month and from two dates in February 2023. Six studio tracks on the first disc, five live on the second, a total playing time of 2 hours 18 minutes, to say this is a stunning achievement is selling it very short indeed. These days I listen to quite a lot of improvised music, but it is fair to say that it rarely has the cohesiveness and continuity of PAKT as they continue to demonstrate that as well as being exciting their music is incredibly fluid with different styles and distinct sections. “NYC III” is massively complex, goes off on different routes as if scripted, and is simply stunning as each person bounces off each other to create something very special indeed. Jones is the rock of the band, the foundation that keeps everything together as Grohowski drives the music in different directions with his dynamic playing, while at the front are Motzer and Skolnick who somehow manage play totally different melodies yet bring it all together, with effects and pedalboards very much having a part to play. True, Skolnick has been playing alongside Eric Peterson for 40 years, on and off, but it is a very different musical dynamic and structure than what he is achieving with Motzer, and if one was not aware of his metal past one would believe this was the form he has always been involved with. Of all the PAKT releases to date this is the one where they are their most cohesive, exciting and dynamic, with every musician being an equal and egos left at the door. This is a stunning piece of work which needs to be investigated by anyone remotely interested in this style of music, as this is pure and unadulterated joy.