Hidden Instinct

'The Zodiac Years' is a box set containing 3 Human Instinct albums - 'Snatmin Cuthin' (1972), 'The Hustler' (1974) and 'Peg Leg (The Lost Tapes - 1974/2002)'. All have been re-mastered from the original Zodiac tapes. As one of New Zealand's premier groups, The Human Instinct have contributed a large portfolio of illustrious recorded works to our country's musical landscape. The Human Instinct had it's origins in Tauranga in 1958 as the Four Fours, and after major local success became the first beat band to try the London scene. The band ended up performing on the same stage as some of rock music's greats including The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Small Faces, Spencer Davis Group, The Moody Blues and Manfred Mann. On the band's return to New Zealand it changed line-up to include Billy TK and Neil Edwards. The Human Instinct remained active through until the early 80s with its membership including some of the country's top musicians, exploring a range of musical styles.

Published by Djam Karet’s new indie label Firepool Records, Herd of Instinct’s debut CD was four years in the making. Created in hot pursuit of the darkened, serpentine corridors of contemporary instrumental Progressive Rock music, this self-titled release is truly for fans of King Crimson, Steve Tibbetts, Djam Karet and big picture music.
Pushing the limits of their own creativity, Herd of Instinct draws from a vast source of influences: multi-cultural music, literary clues, Horror and cinematic film scores, and obscure elements of Rock, Avant-garde, Electronic, Prog, and Psychedelic music. Recording sessions took place in Texas, North Carolina, and various global locations, from 2007-2010…

Released by Djam Karet's label Firepool Records, Conjure builds on the success of their first album. With guest musicians including Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), Joel Adair (Legacy Brass Quintet) and looping samples by Steve Tibbetts, combined with their impeccable production, deep compositions, and impressive performances, Conjure is a real treat for fans of King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Mick Karn…

For over a decade, Herd of Instinct - that Little Ole Obscure Prog Band from Texas - has quietly created a body of work that reflects the wild diversity that is Prog Rock. Their newly released fourth album, Drone Priest, on Djam Karet’s Firepool Records, takes the listener on a journey exploring mood, texture, and experimental song structures. The most dynamic and varied album the band has produced to-date, Drone Priest seamlessly layers elements of prog, post rock, ambient drones, jazz, and complex percussion, while showcasing the Warr guitar and analog synths to create a unique blend of genres. Composed by Mark Cook (Spoke of Shadows, Hands, Liquid Sound Company), Drone Priest features guests Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson), Gayle Ellett (Djam Karet), Marco Machera (EchoTest), and Bill Bachman (Spoke of Shadows, Michael Harris, Neil Morse).

Unravel is a journey through the life span of Herd of Instinct. The album consists of unreleased tracks from previous albums, improvisations, and newly recorded material.
Furnance, recorded in 2011, is an intense improvisation featuring Markus Reuter on his newly developed U8 Touch Guitar. The experimental track, Alice Krige Pt. 1 & 2, is the complete 10-minute version as it was originally intended. The piece was cut in half for the Conjure album. Alice was based around an improvisation with trumpet player Joel Adair and drummer Jason Spradlin. Later additional players were asked to improvise over the foundation to keep the spirit of spontaneous composition…

Herd of Instinct’s fifth album, Incantation, is the band’s most dynamic and radical release yet. The music explores the band’s progressive rock vocabulary mixed with excursions into densely layered post-rock compositions and hybrid orchestral styles. Incantation moves through pieces that fit neatly with the band’s previous work. The band also travels into new areas that take their music into new directions. It’s this “otherness" that makes this collection such a unique and challenging album. The minimal orchestral piece Myth and Ritual is a homage to avant-auteur Scott Walker, written a short time after his death, that references his stark and brutal compositional style. The two-part title track is a trip into avant-prog featuring a superstar list of players who help produce one of HOI’s most adventurous pieces. This is also the first album that features vocals since their self-titled debut release, back in 2011.

Black Star Riders is a rock band formed in December 2012, when members of the most recent line-up of Thin Lizzy decided to record new material, but chose not to release it under the Thin Lizzy name. While Thin Lizzy will continue on an occasional basis, Black Star Riders is a full-time band, described as "the next step in the evolution of the Thin Lizzy story". The band's first album, All Hell Breaks Loose, was released on 21 May 2013. The Killer Instinct is the second studio album, released on February 20, 2015.

On his 1993 Warner Bros. debut, instrumental rocker Gary Hoey plucks and hammers his way through 40 minutes' worth of post-Satriani rock noodling. Despite several attempts at genre-bending blues and soul references, Animal Instinct is all melodic (bordering on adult/soft) rock. The aggressive opener, "Mass Hysteria," and the upbeat shuffle "Texas Son" count as highlights, but the real standout is probably "Drive," a cut that boasts what is clearly the record's finest melody. Hoey plays admirably, and his supporting cast – Tony Franklin (bass) and Frankie Banali (drums) – also provide solid performances. Animal Instinct is a respectable offering for sure, but Hoey doesn't demonstrate a rhythmic or melodic capacity anywhere near that of his obvious influences, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Fans of virtuoso guitar rock would do better to search out superior shred material from the likes of Michael Lee Firkins, Tony MacAlpine, and Blues Saraceno before picking up this or any Gary Hoey disc.