Definitely the most elaborate staging thus far... Book of Horizons is the first release in an elaborate trilogy and meta-composition by Secret Chiefs 3. Beyond psychedelia, beyond experimentalism, and beyond classification. The Secret Chiefs 3 enhance their usual multiple personalities and here divide into seven individual and distinct bands, enabling the overall musical content to be distilled into 'pure vessels'. One band (Ishraqiyun) incorporates multi-ethnic, instrumentation for an acultural, neo-Pythagorean enterprise into heavy electro-folk (helped in the journey by the seasoned and soulful playing of Eyvind Kang, Shahzad Ismaily, Ches Smith and others); while the rocking, suprasensory surf band UR (with full orchestra!) bloodies up the waters. John Merriman (Cephalic Carnage) and Unhuman keep the ultra-death metal grind band (the Holy Vehm) well within the zone of utter punishment. Forms, a crickety old wooden band-organ playing themes echoing down from the Angelic Pleroma, is a band that specializes mainly in funeral music; the Electromagnetic Azoth engages in extremes of polytonal and pan-harmonic through-composition montage forms -- peculiar to the outer fringes of Western music -- and does so in order to re-unite these shadowy techniques to their ultimate Source; and the Traditionalists assume the role of visionary guidance from the ghostly voices of a recently bygone-era.

This CD includes hordes of musicians and instrumentation (22 players in all) -- real, not sampled-- including saz, rabab, mridangam, dhol, esraj, sarangi, orchestral percussion, male and female choir, violin, viola, cello and contrabass, harp, bowed saw, santur, ghatam, clavinet, organs, electroacoustic treatments, guitar, bass, drums, and tons and tons more. blabedy blah.