Weasel Walter is best known as the drummer and leader of long-running punk-jazz/no wave/brutal prog band The Flying Luttenbachers. Firestorm is an intense and musically assaultive release of killer, balls-out free jazz that will appeal to those who long for the most bombasic works of Broetzmann, Ayler, Takayanagi and Cecil Taylor! This release reveals many shades of intensity and mood while remaining frenzied and inventive at all times. Featuring Taylor alumni Marco Eneidi (alto), Marc Edwards (drums), Lisle Ellis (bass), Elliott Levin (tenor), Sun Ra Arkestra legend Marshall Allen (alto), bassist Damon Smith and manic Austrian reedist Mario Rechtern, Firestorm is a delerious concoction of new energy music that pushes beyond the stratosphere of sound! Jay Collins of Cadence Magazine said this: "From the initial moments of "Ignition," it is rather obvious that Walter aims to play as hard as possible by commanding and intense barrage of sound. Levin's tenor skyrockets alongside Eneidi's brazen alto, with a heady cauldron of rhythm sourced from Lisle Ellis and Damon Smith's basses and the drum tandem . . . While the New York shows are intense activities, the group sounds particularly intoxicated in the company of Sun Ra Arkestra leader, saxophonist Marshall Allen. Allen constantly soars in the upper ranges of his instrument that coaxes the ensemble's abandon, surely an inspiration to the supportive crowd. . . Listening to all 74 minutes of this record supports Walter's aims for a program that will be a boon to those with the stamina for this fiery, abrasive music." © Cadence Magazine 2008 - www.cadencebuilding.com Bruce Lee Gallanter of Downtown Music Gallery said this: "This colossal offering was recorded at three gigs in New York (Tonic & The Stone) and in Philly (Danger House) in February of this year (2007). All three groups feature Weasel Walter on drums and Damon Smith on acoustic bass. The four saxists feature Elliott Levin (tenor on all but 1 track), Marshall Allen (alto on 3 tracks), Marco Eneidi (alto on 4 tracks) and Mario Rechtern (alto, sopranino & zurna on 2 tracks) plus bass great Lisle Ellis & powerhouse drummer Marc Edwards, both on two tracks. I caught the Tonic show and was completely blown away by the incredibly powerful hurricane force of this mighty double trio. This captures these imposing daredevil improvisers in all of the brutal glory. For those of us who still worship at the free/jazz totem of overwhelming power, this disc does capture that sound, that force incredibly well. All three groups sound as if they are on the verge of exploding into hyper-space. All we can do is stand back and marvel. Holy sh*t! This is the real thing! Watch out for the avalanche! Too much is quite enough!" - BLG