London three piece Guapo, have established a reputation for an intense brand of instrumental rock music that owes a strong debt to the likes to Magma, Goblin, King Crimson and Universe Zero. This was showcased particularly on their latest recordings, last year’s Five Suns and the recent Black Oni, both of which display ferocious ensemble playing and dark, dense arrangements.

Live, the band is a shade more theatrical than you might expect. Their stage kit includes a gong, a vintage Fender Rhodes keyboard and a variety of incense sticks. Bass player David Ledden dresses like a storm trooper and intimdatingly tall keyboardist Daniel O’Sullivan  is resplendent in Victorian gothic drapery and blue and black face paint. They make their arrival in almost complete darkness to the sounds of some kind of far eastern chants; the whole thing feels intensely ritualistic.

Right away they kick in to Black Oni, locking in to a rigid groove that sounds like Magma playing a death march, O’Sullivan and drummer Dave Smith drive the music along with almost machine like precision, Ledden providing huge bass noise in the manner of Greg Lake’s most intense King Crimson moments. From there the tension is piled on relentlessly until, when you think they just can get any louder/harder/darker they take a collective breath and ratchet up the intensity once more. Which is kind of a problem. Guapo’s range of sounds is fairly limited; big bass, mutant Fender Rhodes and pile driving drums. Mix that with rigid, martial rhythms and the effect is a bit monochromatic. Guapo’s music is huge and impressive but, like the black monolith in 2001, there’s little you can do except stand back and be impressed.

The Guapo experience is kind of like standing next to a black hole. It’s all swirling energy and titanic forces but neither light nor air escapes which leaves you feeling battered and exhausted rather than entertained. The band deliver their music with the precision of smart weapons but there is precious little room for innovation and so there’s less of a feeling of watching an organic band playing than there is of performers going through a ritual albeit an incredibly intense one.

For all their power and intensity, Guapo’s music never really swings and you don’t get the impression of the band pushing the envelope and actually discovering things about their music in the way their contemporaries such as Acid Mother’s Temple, The Boredoms or Circle do. Each one of these bands is able to generate the same, shuddering intensity but each one achieves lift off and heads for deep space in a way that seems to leave Guapo earthbound.

About 20 minutes in, a persistent electrical disturbance, caused by one of O’Sullivan’s foot pedals, created caustic jolts of noise causing the band to vamp for a few minutes while O’Sullivan attempted unsuccessfully to rid himself of it. In fact, the unintentional effect provided just the right shot of uncontrolled randomness, causing the band to think on their feet and, perhaps, lighten up just a touch. Something they might consider doing more of.