Have you ever wondered what Death/Technical metal would sound like if it was played on brass instrument? If so, or even if you haven't, then Fanfare Ciocarlia is the answer. Hailing from Romania, this 9 piece, and sometimes 12 piece, is freakin' fast and crazy. Now, not everyone likes World music, or even traditional sounding Romanian music, but these guys need to be listened to. With trumpets, trombones, tubas, other brass instrument and percussion, this Romani group has traveled the world, played on major stages on has been on various movies and videos.
Now, on to a review: Even though this group is really good, the one major drawback is that you really have to be in the mood to listen to this genre, in order to appreciate it's brilliance. During those times that you are looking for something upbeat with a fast tempo, and want to feel like your losing your mind a little bit, then you'll need nothing else. But, that would be the only time when Fanfare Ciocarlia can truly be appreciated. Now with that being said, I have heard a few other albums where they were "guest artists" and the music is different, due to them being guests and not the main musicians, but I have not heard any album by them alone that sounds too different from the last.
With Gypsy, or Romani, music becoming more and more popular, this is definitely the place to start for your Eastern European style traditional tunes. (Not to digress, but there are other Gypsy groups, from elsewhere in the world, that have a completely different sound; so look for that as well.) Restating what I did earlier, this is not an everyday album, and to be honest, I think have only listened to the album, all the way through, a couple of times, in the last 5-6 years that I have been aware of it. Go find it, if you think you would like it, or if you are already a World/Gypsy fan.
Official Score- 3.5/5
(My unofficial score might be 4/5, due to this group being very bad ass musically, but 3.5/5 is more accurate due to listen-ability.)
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