Machine Gun

This album is not for the weak. This album is the free jazz stereotype but louder; this album is some of the best jazz I have heard. The Peter Brötzmann Octet did something I’ve never heard on a jazz album. This is the first noise album in my opinion, and while I might be overthinking this, I believe it is a very relevant critique on war, using three tracks to show different parts of war.

"Machine Gun," the title track, opens the album, and damn is it an opener. The song has no structure; it’s just pounding drums and percussion. My interpretation was that of the battlefield where there are no breaks, there is no rest, and only death. The relentless sax represents the gunshots, and the very snare-heavy drums are the sounds of the dead.

The second song, "Responsible," I believe represents the elites who view the war from the top. While there is still the chaos of the first track, it is much more structured, and it shows how the people that aren't affected by the war are the ones who are the reason it started.

The third and final song, "Music For Han Bennink," represents the people who aren’t soldiers. The track fades in and out from the noise and the structure. It shows how people are affected by the war, but there are times of respite.

While this may not be the intended meaning of this album and not the thing that many others take away from this, I believe in the death of the author, and we should find our own meaning in art and in life.

Final rating: Amazing

Favorite song: Machine Gun