Review: “Tulpa” by Linus Klausenitzer

When is a solo album not a solo album? That is the question and one open to interpretation. For some, a solo album means they do literally everything from playing all the instruments down to the mixing, mastering and even artwork. For others, one individual servers as a mastermind, gathering willing assistants to partake in bringing there vision to life. There have been some fantastic albums in both categories with works by Demonstealer and Buried Realm immediately springing to mind. Inspired by the German book “Die Sphinx” (1873) from Emil Besetzny, former Obscura, Alkaloid and current Obsidious six string fretless bassist Linus Klausenitzer has taken the left hand path and gathered the hordes. He has not only building a band around him but also brought in a myriad of guests for “Tulpa“. All ten tracks feature vocals from Javi Perera of Obsidious, lead and rhythm guitars from Ian Waye of Soreption, acoustic guitars from Aaron Homma of Annihilator, Killitorous), piano from Vanesa Jalife and drums from Hannes Grossmann (Alkaloid, Triptykon, Ex-Obscura, Ex-Necrophagist) and that’s before the guest solos…

Primarily considered a Death Metal album but in truth covering an awful lot of territory, the first chapter in “King Of Hearts” begins with a classical acoustic meandering that acts as something of a moment of clarity, the calm before the storm. That makes way for a rampaging Progressive Death Metal onslaught which is naturally bass heavy in the mix, blending acoustic and electric guitars with savage vocals from Perera so that you have both rich melody and violent abrasions in perfect contrast. The music has playful nature with roots that run deep and if you replaced those vocals with cleans it would, like an avalanche, change the landscape entirely. “Axiom Architect” flows in similar fashion, the masterful tapping section and blistering solo to be worshipped by Metal Heads Worldwide while adding depth, texture and contrast the piece. Vibrant and at times majestic, the creations of Klausenitzer and his conspirators is very much where the Worlds of Classical music and Metal collide with an orchestral like quality to the soundscape. The first piece with any clean vocals is “Our Soul Sets Sail” feels like an 80’s Traditional Metal cut that has been re-invented to bring into the fold technical complexities and harsh uncleans, the result being an intriguing composition. A bass solo adds a little funk while a fretboard smouldering solo including a surprise whammy bar drop before the final chorus is absolutely out of this cosmos.

Bringing together a core band ensures that the album flows together without sounding like a collection of singles randomly rammed together with “Sehraff Streaming” the shortest and sharpest tool in the treasure chest. A faster cut with a longer instrumental passage at its heart, it gives the opportunity for the musicians to let off a little steam and works very well because it doesn’t give up any of the core sound of the record in the process. Bringing a little blasting, jackhammer footwork and flaming leads galore “Sword Swallower” is one of the heavier cuts, the harsh vocals reaching skull splitting levels of intoxication as the guitars dance around the cerebral cortex. A tour de force of the career of Klausenitzer in one bite sized piece, this one is a jewel in the crown of the album as a whole before the melodic meanderings of “Sister In Black” change the dynamic and take everything in a more progressive direction. A song to watch the sunrise or fall to, this one has cinematic qualities and shines in the darkness of what came before it. Continuing that playfulness “The Devil’s Tongue” ushers forth spoken word moments and sublime intertwining solos as it races away in technically astounding fashion. It’s one of many songs on the album in which there is nuance that only bubbles up to the surface over multiple listens, simply because the brain is screaming about how wonderful what you heard before the nuance was that it can’t interpret what came next.

The rampaging “Queen Of Hearts” once again makes great use of vocal layering, putting clean and unclean vocals together to create the illusion of two vocalists where there is one. Masterfully composed, the song gives each musician the opportunity to shine in their own right as they each take turns to solo in some way shape or form, the keys on this one adding a cosmic 80’s vibe that makes it particularly special. A few groove laden riffs give “Dig Deeper” something before the band go off wandering on sublime tangents only to return to roots a few moments later. Another sublime offering in a book of them, this one feels like it has the legs to be the source material for another album if this one proves successful. Last but by no means least is “Lunar Assailant” which was always going to be the longest offering at 433 seconds and to say that it’s epic is like saying a mountain is big. If there is one cut here that might turn the head of Obscura mastermind Steffen Kummerer then it would be this one, simply because it takes something from each of the compositions on the album and amplifies it to the nth degree. If you hoped for the best and feared the worst before giving the album a listen, then you’re going to be pleasantly surprised because Linus Klausenitzer and his co-conspirators have conjured something quite majestic [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. King Of Hearts (ft. Aaron Homma of Annihilator, Killitorous) and Roland Grapow of Masterplan, Ex-Helloween)
2. Axiom Architect (ft. Phil Tougas of First Fragment, Chthe’ilist)
3. Our Soul Sets Sail (ft. Ian Waye of Soreption)
4. Sehraff Streaming (ft. Ian Waye of Soreption)
5. Sword Swallower (ft. V. Santura of Triptykon)
6. Sister In Black (ft. Dee Dammers of U.D.O., Dirkschneider)
7. The Devil’s Tongue (ft. Ian Waye of Soreption)
8. Queen Of Hearts (ft. Ian Waye of Soreption)
9. Dig Deeper (ft. Chris Hermsdörfer of Beyond The Black, Serenity)
10. Lunar Assailant (ft. Nicolas Alberny of Gorod)

“Tulpa” by Linus Klausenitzer is out 6th October 2023 via AOP Records