Stick Men - 2025 - Brutal

(24:44; Iapetus)

It has been way too long since we have had brand-new material from Tony Levin (stick, bowed stick), Pat Mastelotto (acoustic and electronic drums & percussion) and Markus Reuter (Touch Guitars® U8 Deluxe, vocals), but this five-song EP is a prelude to a new album which will be coming out later this year. There is no doubt that Stick Men are one of the most exciting bands around, taking King Crimson as a base, and given that Tony has been involved for four decades and Pat for more than three, perhaps that is no surprise at all. They are all very well-known for their improvisation, but here they have worked together to create something which still contains that excitement and energy but is obviously rehearsed and is somehow both dark and muscular at the same time.

It is dramatic, always shifting, with the use of repeated melodies which bring us deep inside the riff, which is so very different indeed to much of the music I hear from Markus where he is composing live and taking his instruments to the very edge. Tony has a large part to play in the overall sound, often driving complementary melodies, while somehow Pat keeps it together, sometimes by not playing at all and letting the others have the space to create the sounds required, and at others using a huge range of different drums to drive his own melody as well as rhythm. Stick Men can be in your face, almost commercial, and at others they are operating on a totally different plane to the listener, but somehow it all makes sense and is dramatic and awe-inspiring.

If this is just a taster, I just can’t wait for the main course. Yet another great release from Stick Men. 

Kev Rowland, October 2025

Links:
https://stickmenband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/iapetusstore