January 3rd, 2018 – Soundrive Tribune, Poland
Best of 2017 (100 Najlepszych Albumów 2017 roku (świat), cz. II)
(by ): http://soundrive.pl/
December 18th, 2017 – Time Out Lisbon, Portugal
Best of 2017 (Melhores discos do ano 2017: Jazz)
(by ): https://www.timeout.pt/lisboa/
September 10th, 2017 – Citizen Jazz, France
(by Raphael Benoit) – full review: http://www.citizenjazz.com/
GORILLA MASK: Iron Lung
“Si la musique est un dialogue, dans le cas de Gorilla Mask on se rapproche plus du débat passionné. Et réellement passionnant. Ces trois musiciens parlent fort, sans filtre, pour expurger tout ce qu’ils ont sur le cœur et qui semble devoir sortir à tout prix. On a l’impression d’assister à un combat de lutte (clandestine, pour durcir l’image), où les combattants s’agrippent l’un à l’autre et tournoient jusqu’à ce qu’ils s’écroulent au tapis. Et c’est jouissif …
Gorilla Mask rentre dans le tas, décape les parois au passage et désacralise son art pour mieux nous le servir. Il est peu de disques qui nous donnent l’impression d’être si près du groupe, de le sentir jouer, tant l’impulsion est grande. Iron Lung est de ceux là, sans le moindre doute. La fessée était déculottée, et on en redemande tellement c’est bon.”
June, 2017 – Full Circle Music, Belgium
(by Geert Ryssen) – full Flemish review: http://fullcirclemusicblog.be
GORILLA MASK: Iron Lung
“Gorilla Mask makes music with power, energy, humor (those titles!) And fantasy, interpreted by three talented and passionate musicians with an experience spectrum ranging from aggression to lyricism. Contemporary jazz with space for eruptions, blessed!”
May 1st, 2017 – JazzdaGama, Canada
(Review by Raul da Gama) – full review: jazzdagama.com
GORILLA MASK: Iron Lung
The elements of the Iron Lung featured on the cover of this recording by Gorilla Mask has intimations of the 1928 “Drinker respirator” that was invented by Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw, Jr., professors of industrial hygiene at the Harvard School of Public Health. But the music contained within has every echo of what might happen inside its ultra-modern incarnation: the Biphasic Cuirass Ventilator. And anyone who’s ever dived for galleons and their treasures would do well to do so into this extraordinary recording by Peter van Huffel and his Berlin trio with Roland Fidezius and Rudi Fischerlehner. Its nine tracks are roughly equivalent to The Bends; not the one referred to in Thom Yorke’s song, but what happens when your surface for air too quickly after every song only to be incarcerated by Gorilla Mask’s Iron Lung…”
May, 2017 – Jazz Podium, Germany
(Review by Thomas Volkmann)
GORILLA MASK “Iron Lung” – Clean Feed CF402CD
“Jazz für Headbanger ist das, Jazz, der den Druck und die Brachialgewalt von Hardrock verkörpert, ein wenig auch das Chaos von Punk atmet. “Iron Lung” heißt es denn auch in einem der neun Titel des Berliner Trios Gorilla Mask um den kanadischen Altsaxophonisten Peter Van Huffel … ein Weckruf für Jazzfreunde, die nichts gegen klug konzertierten Krach einzuwenden haben. In diesem Sinne: haut rein Freunde, gebt dem Affen Zucker.”
May, 2017 – Freistil Magazin, Austria
GORILLA MASK “Iron Lung” – Clean Feed / Trem Azul
Peter Van Huffel (as), Roland Fidezius (b), Rudi Fischerlehner (dr)
Peter Van Huffels dritter Tonträger mit Gorilla Mask. Erschienen auf dem portugiesischen Label Clean Feed, welches für wahre Perlen von Artists wie Otomo Yoshihide’s New Jazz Quintet, John Butcher, Ken Vandermark verantwortlich zeichnet. In einem schon klassischen Jazztrio mit Altsaxofon, E-Bass und Drums bewegt sich das Trio vom Jazz weiter, hinein in den Punk und Metal. Zusätzlich holte man sich den Metalerprobten Masteringexperten James Plotkin (Khanate, OLD, Phantomsmasher) an Bord. Der E-Bass wummert in bester Jesus Lizard-Tradition, die Drums nehmen doch immer wieder auch den Helmet-Schmäh auf. So driften die Nummern oft irrwitzige, dem geschulten Metalhead oft wiedererkennbare Riffs entgegen, bleiben aber dem freiem Jazz trotzdem treu. Die Aufnahme setzt auf Transparenz statt auf Druck. Auch die Kompositionen zerlegen in feinster Jazz-Manier Riff um Riff, Groove um Groove, und verstecken sich hinter der grimmig dreinschauenden Gorilla-Maske. (mr. ri)
March, 2017 – Lizard Magazyn, Poland
(Review by Rafał Zbrzeski) – https://www.facebook.com/lizardmagazyn/
March, 2017 – Longplay Recenzje, Poland
(Review by Robert Ratajczak) – full review: longplayrecenzje.blox.pl
GORILLA MASK: Iron Lung /2017/
“Trio Gorilla Mask tworzy trzech wyjątkowo aktywnych i wszechstronnych artystycznie muzyków, udzielających się w rozmaitych projektach. Od 2008 roku zamieszkały w Berlinie kanadyjski saksofonista Peter Van Huffel poza działalnością w ramach Gorilla Mask, znany jest z wielu odważnych projektów muzycznych: kameralnego składu House of Mirrors, oraz doskonałych albumów nagranych z m.in. Michaelem Batesem i Jeffem Davisem (“Boom Crane“, 2013), Andreasem Willersem i Oliverem Steidle (“The Scrambling Ex“, 2014), Kwintetem Meinrada Kneera (“Oneirology“, 2015) czy wreszcie z świetnym gitarzystą Alexem Maksymiwem (“KRONIX“, 2016). Niezwykle agresywny sposób gry alcisty, pełen jest swego rodzaju duchowości spod znaku Charliego Parkera i Erica Dolphy oraz wyczuwalnych w każdym niemal dźwięku uczuć.”
March 4th, 2017 – Jazz & Blues Blogspot, Germany
Full review: jazzandblues.blogspot.de
Gorilla Mask – Iron Lung (Clean Feed, 2016)
“Gorilla Mask is a very exciting band consisting of Peter Van Huffel on alto saxophone, Roland Fidezius on electric bass with effects and Rudi Fischerlehner on drums. Their music is an amalgam of jazz with shades of punk rock and heavy metal. “Hammerhead” has a blasting, choppy and relentless beat right out of the gate with thick bass and explosive drums, with the saxophone fighting to carve space. They enter into an intense improvisational dialogue with fractured rhythms, deep sonic bass and wailing saxophone. Epic bass and drums open “Before I Die” sending a chest trembling rumble forward, met by Van Huffel’s scorching and deeply emotional saxophone. They are able to play with dynamics, shifting between loud squalls and open spaced passages. Bass and drums develop a funky and possibly dub based duet, before the saxophonist storms in and leads the trio back into a powerful collective improvisation. There is fine interplay between the musicians throughout the piece with precise use of space. “
March 4th, 2017 – Something Else!, USA
(Review by Victor S. Aaron) – full review: somethingelsereviews.com
Peter Van Huffel’s Gorilla Mask – Iron Lung (2017)
“Canadian expat and adventurous alto saxophone maestro Peter Van Huffel created Gorilla Mask around 2010 with Berliners Roland Fidezius (electric bass/effects) and Rudi Fischerlehner (drums) to give jazz a swift kick in the nuts with its punk/metal intensity….
The mission on Gorilla Mask’s third long player Iron Lung, now out on Clean Feed Records, is much the same: Fidezius and Fischerlehner may improvise, but they are rarely playing actual jazz (save for part of “Steam Roller”). They and Van Huffel form a short, stout unit that brings spontaneity and, at times, some math-like complexity to metal. Van Huffel finds no difficulty thriving in the foundation the rhythm section lays for him, often able to simply handle the lyrical parts while complex rhythms, figures and pure passion swelters underneath. That makes the moments where Van Huffel does shred stand out all the more.”
February 26th, 2017 – Touching Extremes, Italy
(Review by Massimo Ricci) – full review: touchingextremes.wordpress.com
GORILLA MASK – Iron Lung
“The alternance of rather violent vamps (see also the general “chip-on-a-shoulder” mood depicted by the bulk of the titles) and intersections of fractured tempos often reminiscent of pages from the harmolodic book (“Hammerhead”) is probably the explanation of an immediate recognition. Van Huffel, Fidezius and Fischerlehner truly interact like a joint unit lacking the necessities of personalized satisfaction, and it feels. The sound is compact and articulate, heavy and defined at the same time. Notwithstanding the manifestly advanced technical level, what we get first and foremost is an overall sense of reliability and sturdiness. And even some hints at dub, for good measure (“Before I Die”). Powerful stuff by three refined machos who don’t want to be confused with semi-literate skronking bums. They are right to wish so.”
February 15th, 2017 – Free Jazz Blog, USA
(Review by Philip Coombs) – full review: www.freejazzblog.org
GORILLA MASK – Iron Lung (Clean Feed, 2017)
“Peter Van Huffel (alto saxophone), Roland Fidezius (electric bass, effects) and Rudi Fischerlehner (drums) come straight out of the gate with a driving complex tune that screams, not only with the Gorilla Mask intensity, but also a new layer of maturity. ‘Hammerhead’ combines the sleekness of truncated rhythms mixed with freer jazz interludes which rarely gives your ears time to get a grasp of which direction they are heading in. This is followed up with ‘Before I Die’, which Fidezius’ bass sets the tone and becomes the foundation of the track as it pounds through the tune. It starts with a fist shaped pick and slowly evolves into a reggae grove with some harmonic effects added for good measure. Huffel enters with a note like he is stabbing a flag into a newly discovered land. This is sounding like a band who have played together for some time and are confident in what they want and how it should sound as this record is produced by Huffel himself.”
February 13th, 2017 – Recyclable Sounds, Germany/Russia
(Russian language review)
GORILLA MASK – Iron Lung (2017): recyclablesounds.blogspot.de
February 9th, 2017 – Dragon Jazz, Belgium
(Review by Pierre Dulieu) – full review: www.dragonjazz.com
GORILLA MASK – Iron Lung
“Près de trois années après Bite My Blues, le trio de Gorilla Mask est de retour et les poumons d’acier figurant sur la pochette laissent imaginer que son esthétique punk-jazz n’a rien perdu ni de son urgence ni de sa fureur. Et le fait est que des morceaux comme Hammerhead (un intitulé que n’aurait pas renié un Lemmy Kilmister) ou Thump!, à l’extrême opposé du jazz cool, donnent la chair de poule par leur vertigineuse intensité. Le plus étonnant reste cette incroyable articulation entre les trois compères qui se relancent constamment les uns les autres dans une totale imprévisibilité, créant un véritable léviathan sonore qui se densifie en se nourrissant d’une improvisation collective à haut indice d’octane. Peter Van Huffel serait-il le nouveau “angry man of jazz” ?“
February 8th, 2017 – Archaic Pop (album feature)
Extract from the album “Iron Lung” (Clean Feed Records – 2017) – archaicpop.com
“We discovered Gorilla Mask in 2014 with the explosive “Chained”, a metal-blues-jazz track, perfect opening of their 1st released “Bite My Blues”.
The trio is back with a new album “Iron Lung”. As the evolution of the 2 album covers suggests, it seems that Gorilla Mask went from a powerful raw scream to an in-deep electric surgical operation of their own sound. And the result is very existing. It keeps the extraordinary energy while exploring further sonic possibilities. “Before I Die” is a perfect example: you will find in the middle of their trash-free-jazz, a kind of reggae-trash-jazz part we never heard before; clearly epic.”
Peter Van Huffel 