Arrington de Dionyso is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, synths and bass clarinet, does Tuvan throat singing and generally sings with the intensity of a madman. And despite being an America, on Malaikat dan singa he sings in Indonesian, which, thanks to his idiosynchratic singing style, makes him sound particularly demented. As it happens, the lyrics are adapted and translated lines from poems by William Blake. Not that you would understand a single one of them unless you know Indonesian. Accompanied by the brute drumming of Karl Blau, De Dionyso churns out 11 songs that may be among the rawest and meatiest music released this year. The combination of distorted guitar, bass clarinet, synthesized brass and throat singing does have an impact that goes well beyond the obvious novelty factor; not only is it direct, intense and full of urgency, some of the songs have surprisingly addictive grooves ("Kedalaman air", "Nama dersembunyi"). Even if you don't know what he's singing about (or perhaps precisely because you don't know), you get the impression of a possessed man spewing out the fundamentals of human existence, which, I guess, is a sign of true talent and originality. The last track, 13 minutes in a more meditative mood ("Tenaga halusinasi", on CD only), comes as something of a relief after this musical assault. Fantastic stuff.