While the better-known classical music of Iran comes in the form of more deliberate, staid variations on the traditional maqam system, there are other musical voices to be heard. Ramin Rahimi, of (among other things) the heavy metal band
Angband, here takes his massive percussion ensemble to the studio for a set of high energy Iranian drumming. The instruments are traditional -- darbukka, daf, tombak -- but the music is surprisingly driving and powerful. The beats are just as Brazilian as they are Persian here, a surprising link to be found by simply speeding up the Persian rhythms and adding a cymbal clash here and there. It's nice to hear something interestingly different from Persian classical coming from a classically trained Persian musician, but the music never quite hits either end of the spectrum completely. While it's fairly good listening for a while, the percussion-only format tends to get somewhat monotonous after a few songs, reducing the excitement to be had in Rahimi's bouts with jazz, funk, and potentially, samba. At the same time, the energy is a bit too high and the speed a bit too reckless to let the classical elements shine through effectively. Not a bad album, but the listener has to be heading for a strange middle ground of styles. ~ Adam Greenberg