ALBUM REVIEW: Transition by Eddie Arjun

http://www.eddiearjun.com/

Eddie Arjun (formerly Arjun) is the collective name of New York-based instrumental trio, consisting of lead guitarist (and producer of this album) Eddie Arjun Peters, backed up by Andre Lyles on bass and Mike Vetter on drums.

Essentially they combine the raw expression and energy of rock and blues with the sophistication and intricacy of jazz and progressive rock, resulting in a musical fusion that is unique and original. All three members are musicians of the highest calibre and manage to balance free expression on their respective individual instruments whilst managing to interlock musically in an airtight, completely synergistic way.

Founded back in 2003, the band developed their craft over time and they eventually began releasing a trilogy of studio albums which started with Space (2013), followed by Core (2014, reviewed very favourably by yours truly) and culminating in 2016’s Gravity. These albums also featured contributions by highly regarded musicians such as E.J. Rodriguez (The Jazz Passengers, Sean Lennon), John Medeski (Medeski, Martin & Wood), Cory Henry (Snarky Puppy) and Jeff Coffin (Dave Mathews Band, Bela Fleck and The Flecktones).

This album, Transition, consists of eight tracks and is due for release February 1st, 2019. Opening track There It Is gets the album off to a strong start. It begins with a Jimmy Page-style rock/blues riff which for many rock bands would become enough to base a whole track around, but it forms just one of a number of melodic themes and motifs which are deployed throughout the track. It leads straight into a high-end blues/funk riff, with the simple rhythm soon displaced with syncopations. This is alternated with the low-end riff, played in tandem on the bass with a short chromatic section adding further variety.

Drummer Mike Vetter and bassist Andre Lyles soon manifest as a formidable rhythm section, both rock solid and incredibly fluid. They lay the platform for Eddie Arjun Peters’ versatile, almost otherworldly guitar skills. Halfway through the track it breaks down to an extended section where Eddie gets to show the more psychedelic Hendrix/Gilmour side to his playing, with some incredibly mellifluous runs across the neck. This is underpinned by some stunning playing from Vetter and Lyles, culminating in a jaw dropping section of virtuosity before returning to the original groove.

Second track Core opens in a blaze of Keith Moon-esque drum fills and raw guitar chords before launching into a mellow blues in 6/8 time. From this simple template, the band progress through an intricate arrangement full of nuanced dynamics where almost every bar has some clever accent placement or rhythmic motif that adds musical interest.

It then builds up to a gorgeous ascending section that Hendrix would have been proud of, the music exuding sensuality. Eddie gets to break out his wah-wah which he uses tastefully and effectively, bringing to mind the Jimi of his latter day Voodoo Chile-period.

Next comes the title track and it’s a very different beast. Opening with a taut guitar riff that keeps you hanging in suspense it then locks into a pulsing, intense groove with a continually unpredictable rhythm that shifts under your feet. This is the track where the whole band really showcase their mastery of rhythmic dynamics and their remarkable unity that almost seems telepathic but is no doubt the result of tireless rehearsing.

Here the music is more modal than pentatonic giving it a more exotic feel, though still with a strong bluesy vibe. It feels like every single note has been worked out to precision, with some astonishing moments where all three players reach a frenzy yet remain in complete control, such as the superb solo section and the frenetic climax.

The following Longass has an irresistible groove and a real strut, with the guitar and bass once again playing a funky blues riff in tandem. And again, what starts out as a seemingly simple rock/blues jam becomes a cleverly arranged epic. After the initial sections have been repeated a further section midway through takes the music into the stratosphere, with Eddie Arjun Peters breaking out the delay pedal for another skyscraping solo. Another album highlight.

Iana is more like an interlude track consisting of just a moody solo bass, acting as a lull in the storm. The next two tracks both made me think of Hendrix, but in different parts of his short career. Sixth track Ascent is a mellow jazzy blues number that recalls the Axis: Bold as Love era, specifically songs like Little Wing and Castles Made of Sand. The arrangement is very clever in how it reflects the title perfectly, gradually building up to the thrilling development section where Andre Lyles shines with some remarkably fluid bass playing, locked in perfectly with Mike Vetter’s whirlwind fills around the kit.

The following, aptly-titled Lavalust is more akin to the wild epic psychedelic rock of Electric Ladyland and is my personal favourite on the album. Kicking off with a killer slap bassline put through a phaser, this is joined by a torrent of flamboyant fills reminiscent of Mitch Mitchell. It then launches into a rock/blues masterpiece that takes all their combined compositional and arrangement skills to another level.

The breakdown section in the middle is where this track really aims for the stars though; delay-drenched lead guitar playing some mind bending runs over gradually intensifying bass and drums, as trippy as something like 1983… (A Merman I Should Turn To Be) from Hendrix’s last magnum opus. It then returns back to Earth for another fantastic section where the guitar does indeed drip like liquid lava, and the whole band is captured at their euphoric, boundary-pushing best.

Closing track Gone is a real slow burner. It starts with a languid groove that really allows the music to breathe, Vetter and Lyles play with exquisite restraint while Eddie Arjun Peters slowly weaves a spell with some deliciously dreamy guitar work. The main theme is plaintive and haunting, the arrangement gradually growing in grandeur towards one final blaze of wah-soaked guitar pyrotechnics. It continues through several sections on this subtly complex seven-minute sonic odyssey. It’s a majestic way to end the journey overall, finishing on an unexpected major chord which gives an air of completion.

Overall, this is the best album so far from this terrifically talented trio. The three members of Eddie Arjun have honed their respective skills to a very fine pitch, have developed a musical unity and synergy that few musicians ever achieve and most importantly write and perform consistently stunning music. The nuanced details and craft in the arrangement of every track means it will richly reward repeated listening and should appeal to an enormous range of rock, blues and jazz aficionados.

VERDICT = 9.3 out of 10

Alex Faulkner

Listen here:

Advertisements

SINGLE REVIEW: Two Hands by DreamState

 

https://www.facebook.com/itsdreamstate1/

DreamState are a music group based in Maryland, consisting of Josh Hilson, Tyler Gagnon and Kyle Santos. The three members have diverse musical backgrounds ranging from country to hip hop and R&B, and they have fused these elements to create their unique sound that lies between R&B, pop and electronica. The genesis of this musical project led to the formation of their own music studio, DreamLabs and the group have now released their debut EP, Take Care.

This track, Two Hands, is taken from the Take Care EP and is essentially anthemic R&B/pop with cutting edge production. Starting with a brief intro, the track launches into a simple but effective 2/4 groove before we hear strong male lead vocals in a low register over sparse but evocative layers of synth. After a well crafted verse it launches into an instantly memorable chorus with touching lyrics: “Let me put two hands on you, baby and I will be careful with you….no, you’ve got nothing left to prove so I’ll show you what to do….”.

As the track progresses, you start to hear elements from other genres incorporated into the music such as the subtle lead electric guitar lines that are interspersed through the song. This lends another colour to the sonic palette and enriches the overall sound. Lyrically, its a sincere expression of wanting to love and care for someone, with a depth and subtlety expressed that transcends cliché and sentimentality.

Overall, this is an excellent release that showcases the DreamState signature style which should find huge popularity with fans of artists like Drake and The Weeknd. They show a real skill for well crafted songwriting and memorable hooks, made manifest with first rate lead vocals and slick, commercial production that manages to sound different from the rest of the R&B/pop scene. With this, DreamState have already proven that they have huge commercial potential and Two Hands could well be their breakthrough track.

 

VERDICT = 8.8 out of 10

 

Alex Faulkner

 

ALBUM REVIEW: Bound By Gravity by Paragon Theorem

https://www.facebook.com/paragontheorem

Paragon Theorem are a five-piece hard rock band hailing from Hartford, Connecticut. Their music is a fusion of various kinds of hard rock, grunge and metal. Their many influences range from classic hard rock like Guns N’Roses, Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin to grunge bands like Alice in Chains and Soundgarden as well as modern rock/metal such as Deftones and Breaking Benjamin.  They’ve been releasing music for several years, and before this album they released Bare Your Soul in 2013 and Inkwell in 2015, building up a strong fanbase in the process.

This third album, Bound By Gravity, consists of eleven tracks. It gets off to an incendiary start with the powerful low-end chords and muscular drum sound of Singularity. It also has some very modern elements, with guitars put through some futuristic sounding effects. On top of this colossal wall of sound, the compelling, raw and distinctive vocals of Brian Moore soar over the music and his style/tone brought to mind Layne Staley from Alice In Chains plus elements of the late, great Chris Cornell (Soundgarden/Audioslave).

An effective vocalist is perhaps the important ingredient in the genre of hard rock/metal as it has to be a voice that can cut through a heavy barrage of guitars, bass and drums. Fortunately, Moore is exceptional and blessed with a fantastic vocal range. Featuring an anthemic chorus, lyrically Singularity is a very apposite and timely song about the consequences of science interfering with nature: “There’s a price to pay if you want to live forever, swap veins for copper wires, just trade in your heart for a shiny new battery…”.

Second song The Bottom swaps the societal for the deeply personal, an upbeat rock/metal track with angst ridden and brutally honest lyrics about struggling with deep depression: “Gotta find the bottom before it defines me, gotta find the bottom before it becomes six feet..…”. It features another excellent lead vocal performance along with some very effective Alice In Chains-style vocal harmonies. The guitar solo by lead guitarist Steve Delesdernier is superb, really letting rip near the end. Another instantly memorable hard rock anthem.

Next comes the title track, based around a blistering, meaty guitar riff. It’s another philosophical, existential song that reflects on the human race as the result of the blind process of evolution and the laws of physics: “No more than chemicals in a radiation bath, we’re all here together but we perceive alone….still just animals, no apparent path….”.

Invoking mythological characters like Sisyphus and Prometheus add further intellectual weight to the words, showing Paragon Theorem are a fair bit smarter then most of their contemporaries. The music melds the complex with the simple and effective, combining intricate riffage with a huge, chanted chorus.

Butanna shows the first example of variety in their sound, starting with crystalline acoustic guitars. It soon develops into another rocking track that depicts the bitter end of a long romantic relationship, as evidenced by the opening lines: “It’s not enough to say six years were wasted, they’re nothing but worthless memories…”. It contains one of the most instant vocal hooks on the album (“So long! So long! I do not wish you well!”) as well as some stellar, phenomenally fast lead guitar work.

Fifth track Combustion maintains the consistent high quality of the songwriting, this one standing out by virtue of the Avenged Sevenfold-esque dual lead guitar harmonies which really lift another strong chorus. Lyrically, it has a positive and defiant message to convey through lines like, “Nobody here can escape, nobody can get away, doesn’t mean that we should lay down and throw the towel in…”. The drumming of Josh Ingraham on this track deserves special credit, with some furious double-kick work in certain sections.

The Heist gives us a bigger glimpse of their more gentle and sensitive side. It’s a finely crafted ballad based around delicately picked acoustic guitar and lyrically tells the tale of Bonnie and Clyde from the first person perspective: “No, I can’t tell you why we make the choices we make, oh, I can’t tell you a lie, I think it might be the bags of money!”. The following APB is another song that displays their musical intelligence, with some fantastic triplet-based guitar lines overlaid over straight 4/4 to give the track a progressive metal feel.

Eighth song Charade is an entertaining track that opens with a spoken word monologue before launching into a hard hitting rocker that made me think of Faith No More’s Angel Dust, with its constantly shifting rhythms and complex arrangement. Lyrically, it’s a visceral takedown of someone who has turned out to be a fake: “The man with two faces masquerading as a God, with a homemade crown, he is…the Charade“. Again, some brilliant stacked guitar harmonies lift the music to another level.

Ninth song There is another fine example of their acoustic balladry, this one bringing to mind the more folky elements of Led Zeppelin through some very melodic and intricate guitar figures. It’s a refreshing change of pace after the juggernaut momentum of the previous tracks. This sound continues with the intro to Marvel, which then develops into their more signature style and another of their five minute epics. The nuanced contrasts in the arrangement mean this song rewards repeated listening.

The final song Wanted closes the album on a highly emotional and moving note, a heartfelt acoustic ballad featuring a captivating lead vocal from Brian Moore. It is reminiscent of the finest Aerosmith ballads, though with a greater emotional depth in the lyrics: “Bare your soul, show me everything you are…don’t be afraid, show me you every single scar…”. The Spanish sounding classical acoustic guitar lends a nice sophistication to this wonderfully sculpted song, ending the album quite literally on a high note.

Overall, Bound By Gravity deserves to be recognized as one of the best hard rock/metal albums of recent years. With an array of versatile musicians and blessed with a first rate rock vocalist, Paragon Theorem also excel at consistently writing memorable choruses with lyrics that stand up to analysis. The result is a hugely enjoyable musical journey that runs the gamut in terms of emotional range and subject matter.

VERDICT =  9.2 out of 10            

Alex Faulkner

 

Pre-order the album HERE

ALBUM REVIEW: La Symphonie-Thrash Du Professeur Juif Rebelle by The Gangsta Rabbi

http://www.gangstarabbi.com/

The Gangsta Rabbi, a.k.a. as The King of Jewish Punk, is the moniker of the multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, composer and producer Steve Lieberman. He was born in Brooklyn, New York to a working class Jewish family and now resides in Freeport. Perhaps more than most artists, his work needs to be understood in the full context of his life.

He has been considered an ‘outsider artist’, partly attributed to his lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder which began for him at the age of just eleven. He has been releasing studio albums since 2002 and has now released over thirty, along with live albums and countless cassettes. He has shared the stage with Weezer, Andrew WK, Glassjaw, Ryan Dunn and The Misfits, but had to retire from performing in 2011 owing to having to battle an advanced form of leukaemia, returning briefly to the stage in 2016.

Last year, he was admitted into a hospice and remarkably has carried on creating, producing his most challenging works including completely covering Jethro Tull’s Thick As A Brick (a major influence) and thrash metal versions of the British Opera, The H.M.S. Pinafore and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

This album, La Symphonie-Thrash Du Professeur Juif Rebelle, is his magnum opus, clocking in at thirty one tracks with a duration of over three hours. Apart from its remarkable length, it also sets a record for most instruments played in a symphony (eighteen!). The instruments involved cover a wide range including thrash guitar and basses, alto, tenor and bass trombones, flutes, trumpet, clarinet, euphonium and melodica as well as drums and percussion.

The first piece, L’espirit de Rebellion, sets out the album’s essential signature sound; a tsunami of sonic textures and frenetic drumming that borders on the chaotic and makes compelling listening from the outset. Although it teeters on the edge of musical chaos, it walks this tightrope effectively by retaining a melodic core throughout.
This basically fuses the essence of punk/metal spirit with the instrumental medium of classical music, and it results in abrasive yet consistently exhilarating soundscapes.

As with alternative rock bands like Sonic Youth and The Jesus & Mary Chain, who buried their melodies under layers of howling feedback, The Gangsta Rabbi’s music rewards repeated listening and this is the case with second track Mange Merde et Meurent (which translates as Eat Shit and Die!). It melds raw Stooges-style electric guitar with relentless thrash drumming and a dense wall of organic instrumentation with clarinet and trombones dominating the texture.

Third track, the amusingly titled Je Desire Une Basse Avec Un Whammy Bar, continues the riot with some rapid fire double kicks and some inventive Frank Zappa-style melodies and variations. Indeed, Zappa saw himself as a modern classical composer working in the idiom of rock music, and there are definite parallels here with Steve Lieberman. Like Zappa, Lieberman enjoys pushing the envelope, exploring the avant garde and juxtaposing unusual musical elements together.

La Carte de Recrue d’Aaron Judge and Hall’el Soixant-Trois both clock in at around eight minutes and continue the signature style with subtleties and details in the music that reward careful listening. As with his last album I reviewed, Lieberman’s work can be compared to the more challenging works of music by Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) and the more outré offerings of Lou Reed. Beefheart’s album Trout Mask Replica sounds like a chaotic sprawl at first, then the order gradually reveals itself.

This tension between order and chaos, dissonance and melody and also the textural difference between raucous and soft is the fundamental dichotomy that lies at the heart of his music. These tracks notably feature his distorted lead vocals, and it’s no surprise that he approaches singing in a unique, idiosyncratic way, bringing to mind another avant garde rock artist, the late Mark E. Smith from the British group The Fall.

Le Jardin des Chiens is a ten minute epic that reaches a tumultuous climax, with some woodwinds seriously wailing against a piledriving musical backdrop. Woodwinds also dominate the following Holocauste, especially flute and clarinet and vocals emerge once again around the three minute mark. This piece flows seamlessly into Trois Petits Chiots, which almost feels like a sequel or companion piece with a similar theme.

Owing to the constraints of length, I can’t focus on every track but other highlights that stood out for me were Le Quartier Cancer #3 which is a sustained sonic hurricane that lasts nine minutes and which I perceived as an emotional expression of anger and rage at the struggle of being faced with leukaemia. This is followed by Le Professeur Juif est mort (The Gangsta Rabbi Is Dead), a title which certainly shows he has not lost his sense of humour, a testament to his fortitude and spirit.

The raging energy continues through to the end, with La Petite Jeunne Fille-Juife having one of the most distinctive melodies along with M.C.T.M.T. and the relentlessly frenetic but thrilling Mille-Neuf Cents Quatre-Vignts Et Neuf (which translates as 1989 but presumably has no link to the Taylor Swift album of the same name!) The superbly named Bonkey Sur D’an lives up to its title with a delightfully eccentric melodic theme that brings the woodwinds to the fore once again.

The final track La Chanson De Merde Vit (translating as The Shit Life Song) is a rampaging ten minute musical climax where it seems like all eighteen instruments are playing at once (probably the case). It feels like a defiant middle finger to the mortality we all share and it’s a glorious one.

Overall, this is a remarkable, challenging artistic work that blends thrash metal with avant garde classical to create music like nothing you’ve ever heard. It’s the sonic equivalent of standing in a wind tunnel for three hours. To have created such an epic musical tour de force in his dire health circumstances is an example of the power of the human spirit at its finest. Hopefully, The Gangsta Rabbi, a.k.a. Steve Lieberman, will get to be fully appreciated within his lifetime.

 

VERDICT =  8.4 out of 10

Alex Faulkner

Listen here:

Watch a video about the 18 instruments on the album:

 

 

ALBUM REVIEW: Do You Know Who I Am? by D.Ni.L.

https://www.d-ni-l.com/

D.Ni.L. is a 33 year old hip hop artist, musician, producer and emcee hailing from Yorkshire. Having played with bands growing up in York, he developed the ability to compose in his head and play by ear. He has battled alcohol and drug addiction since the age of twelve, and spent four years living in hostels and sleeping rough.

These tough life experiences give his music an edge and intensity, and his record label Musication specifically uses music as a tool for recovery for people who face issues like homelessness and addiction. This has led to collaborations with Buttercream 87 and Wasabi Fire Alarm, as part of the band). As a solo artist he released two albums in 2017, This In’t A Party and the more guitar-influenced Suicide In Sips.

Earlier in 2018, he released the album Boy Inside, which received a stellar review from me. Hot on its heels is this new album, Do You Know Who I Am?  Both thematically and musically, it feels like a continuation of Boy Inside although there is noticeably less rapping on this one and an emphasis on musically expansive song structures.

D.Ni.L. has formed an entirely new sound unique to him, which fuses aspects of progressive rock/metal (Deftones, Muse) with the emotive and well-crafted songwriting style of the Manic Street Preachers, also fused with the brutal lyrical honesty and aggression of hip hop. The complex sonic structures that D.Ni.L. constructs require multiple listens to be truly appreciated, but the emotional directness of his music resonates the first time you hear it.

Opening track Analogue Bath is a good example of this. Musically, it is built around brooding, swirling low-end guitar riffs and basslines, with meaty yet intricate drums. This provides the soundscape for D.Ni.L. to lay down a brutally honest lyric that sounds at first like he’s addressing a person he’s in a relationship with.

As the song progresses, it transpires that he is addressing his struggle and continual battle with drug addiction: “I didn’t know better when you flowed into my life at eleven and saturated me, you infatuated me when in fact you hated me, groomed and then dated me…”. The rapped verses are counter-pointed by vocal sections that provide an effective contrast, especially the haunting falsetto section towards the end.

This lead vocal style is more prominent on the following Buried, and you can hear the influence of James Dean Bradfield as well as several American hard rock/metal band vocalists. This track epitomizes D.Ni.L’s ability to fuse disparate elements together seamlessly, so it starts out as angular and aggressive with a syncopated rhythm before breaking down halfway into a beautiful extended passage. This features some fine vocal harmonies and usage of guitars in a much more delicate, nuanced and melodic way.

The overall transcendent effect brought to mind the blissed-out modern prog rock of Radiohead’s Pyramid Song. Again, lyrically it’s about battling the demons of his addiction: “So many problems traceable back to you, infected from the start…fed by your roots I’m maladjusted, malnourished right to the heart“.

Third track Feelings is musically more upbeat, driven by a catchy guitar riff and bouncy bassline, offset by a clever, off-kilter syncopated beat. This is alternated by sections of straight 4/4 that again works as a contrast. The second verse shows his mastery of rhythm as he continually displaces the accent, so that the listener feels the music shift underneath their feet. Lyrically, it’s another confession of his inner self as he explores how addiction and hedonism stunted him as a person: “I thought that sex was love, that love was belonging, belonging to me and no-one else, that was jealousy and do-wronging….”.

Forever is one of the more slow-paced epics, with a long and languid vocal melody. Musically, its a chance to express his more melodic side with some gorgeous strings towards the end. There’s a poignancy and double meaning to lines like, “Someday I’ll find another thorn to put in your side….”. Here, he is singing in the first person personifying addiction itself, and its hold on him.

Fifth track Let The Side Down is one of the album’s most instant tracks, with its anthemic title hook and compelling, addictive rhythms. Musically, it gradually builds in intensity until it climaxes with an electrifying rap section: “You were cheap but I was cheaper, as I fell deeper your price tag got steeper….”. Most importantly, it depicts how he is winning the war against his addiction with lines like, “No longer stuck to me, bringing bad luck to me, I’ve written you out of this story….”.

Melt is one of the album’s darkest tracks with a strong metal influence on certain sections which are cleverly alternated with complex, cathartic verses and another passage of great melodic beauty in the middle. It’s one of the most tormented tracks lyrically, as he portrays the seductive and all encompassing nature of addiction with harrowing imagery: “I chased you from brown to black, then you fizzled into nothing… now you’re long gone, even from the tips of my hair…..”.

Nod begins with a solemn string introduction before bursting into one of the visceral riffs that form part of his signature sound. It develops into another fully realized fusion of rock, metal and progressive genres, juxtaposing memorably anthemic sections with sparse and unrelentingly intense verses, brimming with restless rhythmic invention. Lyrically, it feels like it touches on the album’s main theme of gaining self-knowledge: “I didn’t even know myself, spent my life living in my head, no perspective, one dimension, I shut myself out….”.

Running starts by showcasing the flipside of his main sound, with a dreamy and delicately performed lengthy introduction that shows his musical craftsmanship as well as his more sensitive side. This is alternated with a more typically heavy section, yet the sensitivity is maintained with a soaring falsetto performance. Lyrically, its perhaps the most opaque thing here but conveys huge emotive power through lines such as, “I knew that we had an opportunity, now running, running away home and running out of oil soon….”.

Ninth song Sweet Man and the following Top and Bottom Of It feel like a potent diffusion of all the elements of his sound and style that he displays complete command of across the duration of the album. The former features some killer opening lines (“Could be the swig that takes you out of the game, could be the dig that adds deceased to your name…”) while the latter is one of the effective arrangements, building enormous cathartic tension through gradually developing themes and dynamics.

Under My Wing is one of the lighter, more immediately accessible songs here, with a seductive title hook and vocal melody, sung over equally infectious, pulsing low-end guitar. This more laid back style continues into the album’s final track, which takes the template of the slow burning epic to its ultimate conclusion.

Clocking in at nearly nine minutes, Way Back Down spends its first five minutes building up a brick wall of unbearable tension before it explodes into a brief section full of deep-seated rage. It then returns to the haunting, disturbing refrain of, “Under your breath, you swear that you’ll take me down….”, leaving the listener wondering if the addiction battle is ever truly won.

Overall, this album is a compelling musical journey that depicts the struggles of drug addiction with unflinching honesty and raw emotional expression. D.Ni.L is artistically fearless, taking the listener to some dark places but also unafraid to express sensitivity and vulnerability. The result is a work of enormous cathartic power that offers the hope of recovery and redemption throughout, making it the perfect follow up and companion piece to his previous masterpiece Boy Inside.

 

VERDICT = 9.1 out of 10  

Alex Faulkner

 

Listen to the whole album HERE

 

ALBUM REVIEW: Insanity Origins by Parasyche

https://www.facebook.com/parasyche

Parasyche are a four-piece metal band hailing from Santiago in Chile. The band were formed back in 2010 by Matías Becerra and Nico España. When singer and rhythm guitarist Nick Borie joined in 2011 the band found their musical and lyrical identity.

In 2016, they began work on their debut album with Christian Suárez on bass and also secondary vocals. Their music is a fusion of thrash, speed and progressive metal and you can hear the influences of bands like Metallica and Megadeth, classic heavy rock like Deep Purple and prog-metal bands like Dream Theater and Tool. A cover of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen went viral on YouTube, amassing well over a million views.

Insanity Origins consists of ten tracks that clock in around five to eight minutes in length, something that shows their musical ambition. Opening track Box Of Hate gets the album off to an incendiary start, starting in a blaze of low-end guitar riffs and furious drumming.

A metal band is nothing without a great vocalist and fortunately Nico Borie has an excellent voice, halfway between Metallica’s James Hatfield and Sepultura’s Max Cavalera. The relentless intensity of the music is interspersed with numerous superb passages that brought to mind Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore. They show their progressive influences with constant shifts in tempo and dynamics and lyrically it’s equally heavy: “I can’t any escape…it’s inside my head, a box filled with rage“.

The intensity somehow ramps up another notch with second song Vesania. Beginning with a syncopated section then breaking into rapid fire double kick drumming, it then launches into an astonishing thrash metal groove, setting the scene for another fantastic vocal performance. Fairly early into the track we hear a sample of the famous “Here is someone who stood up to the filth….” speech from the dark classic film Taxi Driver. The track is an absolute epic, maintaining its colossal rolling momentum across its six minutes and featuring some fabulous Avenged Sevenfold-style dual lead guitar harmonies.

Detonation keeps the pedal to the metal and shows their thrash roots with some juggernaut sections in 2/4 time. It features a particularly strong drumming performance from Nicolas España as well as some almost unbelievable lead guitar work from Matías Becerra. Again, the pile driving energy only increases during the song’s duration. Fourth song The Treason switches to 6/8 time, at least to begin with, and this is a track where the guitarists really get to shine with a never ending series of skull-crushing riffs and acrobatic guitar solos. The way the band remain water tight through such a complex maze of time signature changes and different sections is testament to their musical synergy.

Land of Lies is a real change of pace; it’s a mid-paced seven minute epic in half-time that brought to mind the tormented grandeur of Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun as well as Metallica’s equally classic Nothing Else Matters. It’s a song that shows their melodic gifts as opposed to just their virtuosic chops, with an impressively restrained performance from all concerned after the riotous first four tracks. It also features some excellent backing harmonies, another strength to the band.

Stolen Liberty continues this lighter, more mid-paced style but with a more complex time signatures and more use of the double harmony vocal technique that was so effective on Land of Lies. These two tracks really show the group’s musical breadth but this versatility only expands further on one of the album’s uber epics, the nearly eight minute Arise. As with the other songs, the inventiveness and vitality of the musicianship maintains to the very end, unexpectedly finishing with a mellow acoustic guitar section.

The acoustic guitars feature again in the eighth track Cachafaz, employed in a Spanish style with some remarkable use of guitar harmony. The contrasting acoustic and metal sections come thick and fast with some of their most progressive times signatures; this is perhaps their masterpiece in terms of sheer complexity and textural sophistication. Ninth track Need stands out for featuring their most unusual and unpredictable riffs, as well as hard to place time signatures that make you feel the ground is constantly shifting under your feet, in a good way.

Final track The Wolf Inside is an apt way to finish, with a fireworks display of guitar interplay that melds guttural chords with top of the neck fretwork and a Catherine wheel of guitar harmonies. It is one of the more accessible and immediate tracks featuring a catchy, colossal chorus. The lyrics are pleasingly dramatic with lines about “turning water into wine” and being a “hungry wolf“. Naturally, it also contains a mind-blowing solo which completes the album with a glorious flourish, along with Nico Borie giving his all vocally.

Overall, this album deserves to go down as a classic in the metal genre. Combining several kinds of metal from thrash to progressive whilst showing a real skill for proper songwriting and arrangement, Parasyche deal with the complex and epic as just second nature, pulling off some astonishing performances without it ever descending into gratuitous virtuosity. Blessed with an authentic, powerful lead vocalist, the entire band work in perfect synergy to create a work that metal fans worldwide seriously need to hear.

VERDICT = 9.2 out of 10

Alex Faulkner

 

Listen here:

 

 

ALBUM REVIEW: Fire by Project Rod Williams

www.aug1stmusic.com

Project Rod Williams is an electro-dance pop studio ensemble which is the musical brainchild of songwriter/musician Rod Williams. Musically, it is a fusion of classic 70’s disco music like Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer, 80’s synth pop such as Depeche Mode and Erasure and more modern pop artists like Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams. Rod has collaborated with lead vocalist Ben Dial on this album with additional vocals by Matt Williamson, Hannah Montwill, Nataly Andrade and Alex Silva.

The album, Fire, consists of eleven tracks (also featuring club mixes of nine of the songs) and has a conceptual theme. Half of the songs on the album are about enjoying the passion and seduction of nightlife and the other half are about the longing and pain often brought on by romantic relationships. The album is due for release on January 7th, 2019.

Opening track Let’s Get Out is the perfect representation of the Project Rod Williams sound and style. It grabs you from its opening bars with infectious percussion locking in with an alluring 70’s disco-style bassline. This is soon augmented by syncopated 80’s-esque synths before breaking into a full, very danceable beat that gets the toe tapping. The smooth lead vocals of Ben Dial enter the picture and his voice brings to mind cutting edge modern pop like Maroon 5 and the more recent work of Justin Timberlake. Alternate lines are layered with backing harmonies so that the music is constantly evolving and developing.

Thematically, it exemplifies the concept of the songs that celebrate living the good life, with the lyrics highlighting the appeal of escaping the daily grind by looking forward to Friday night and the weekend: “We work all week from nine to five, making money to live our lives…..”. The extremely catchy refrain captures this joyous feeling succinctly: “Leave our problems at the door, laugh, jump and scream, let our hearts be free…..”.

This is followed by an equally memorable chorus and Rod Williams shows his ability to make every part of the song a hook, a hallmark of the best pop songwriters. After the second chorus it enters an excellent breakdown section with a sophisticated vocal arrangement that brought to mind the finest Michael Jackson songs arranged and produced by Quincy Jones.

Second song Come On continues the lyrical theme but is musically quite different; smoky Rhodes and a more complex and unusual rhythmic pattern. There is a more rocky feel to the seductive and raunchy lead vocal performance, fused with Vince Clarke (from Erasure and one time member of Depeche Mode) style pulsing, futuristic-sounding synths. The descending vocal melody is fiendishly catchy, with an overt sexuality to the sultry lyrics: “I see you staring across the room, your eyes are saying what you want me to do….”. Great track.

Third song Hot To Trot returns to the more traditional dance rhythms of the first track but stands out for the addictiveness of the title hook and for featuring some very funky Nile Rodgers-esque high end electric guitar. Indeed, the way the song celebrates the hedonistic side of life (“We can be flirtatious, lose our minds and act outrageous…”) made me think of Rodgers’ classic group from the 1970’s, Chic. This infectious style is combined with low-end synths and piano lines with occasional stabs of synthetic brass to create a potent sonic concoction.

Next comes Fire, the title track of the album. It maintains the funk guitar sound of the previous song, but has a more modern EDM four-to-the-floor beat, at least to begin with. Vocally, the breathy falsetto style made me think of Prince and one of the dance classics of recent years, Get Lucky by Daft Punk ft. Pharell Williams. Once again, the title hook latches in the mind upon first listen and the use of female foreign spoken word vocals lends an exotic flavour. The falsetto lead vocals are contrasted by a section of low-end male vocals that adds to the song’s very sensual theme.

The following Invasion feels in ways a continuation but has a more rock vibe, with some low end lead guitar lines which work well with the swirling synths. The lead vocals are this time contrasted by certain lines being whispered, which adds a lot of atmosphere and encapsulates the power of seduction which is this tracks subject matter: “I can’t fight the way you hypnotize….invade my body, invade my soul…you’re taking over me, you’re in control….”.

After this, the album switches to the second aspect of the album’s theme, the pain that comes from love. Sixth song Take Cover has a much more emotional tone after the light hearted and sexually orientated earlier tracks. It’s a mid-paced synth pop epic in 6/8 time, with lyrics that are rather deep and poetic, about the tempestuous nature of romantic love: “The sky will thunder tonight, from lightning sparks my rage ignites, when flames of passion burn high you better find a place to hide…”. This kind of emotive synth pop is more reminiscent of 80’s groups like Soft Cell and The Human League.

You Were My Lady is the first truly traditional love ballad on the album (the only one not written by Rod Williams) and it’s a very well crafted one with a lilting vocal melody. It allows lead singer Ben Dial to perform in a more gentle and sensitive way, which he achieves with distinction. It’s a rather moving song about reflecting on happy times after a relationship has ended, then contrasted with the stark reality: “Now that house is empty, the music’s gone from the radio that used to play that song….”.

Bad Boys Don’t Cry returns to the more uptempo synth pop style whilst maintaining the lyrical theme of this half of the album. Musically, it has a real Giorgio Moroder vibe with rhythmic synths driving the song along. It’s about how men are not supposed to appear vulnerable or sad when going through heartbreak and contains yet another strong title hook. Ninth song Broken is rather more angry in its tone with some rather visceral lines: “Fake love you gave to me, filled my blood and clogged my veins…”.

Though the following I Say contains similarly downbeat and tormented lyrics, musically it is one the lightest moments, recalling the euphoric anthems of Erasure. The vocal melody is irresistible, providing another fine example of Williams’ melodic consistency and also features a superb synth section comprising several combined sounds.

The album ends on a rather melancholy but poignant note, with the heartfelt ballad Nobody Wants To Know, which features lead vocals from Matt Williamson. Matt powerfully conveys the troubled nature of the lyrics about not feeling supported by friends during dark times: “Can’t they see the tears I try to keep concealed?“. The music builds as the song progresses, with a sky-scraping string arrangement that closes the album on a musical high, even if the words are sad.

Overall, this is a modern pop album of a very high calibre that fuses the synth pop of the 80’s with the euphoric sound of 70’s disco, then brings it into the 21st century with cutting edge production. Aside from one track, Rod Williams has written, arranged and produced the whole thing which shows his artistic versatility. The album feels like a real labour of love and runs the gamut of emotions, from joy to despair. As if that’s not enough, the album comes with club mixes of nine of the songs, tailor made for the dancefloor. Put simply, Fire is an album laden with killer pop tracks of wide ranging appeal and has enormous commercial potential worldwide.

VERDICT = 9.1 out of 10

Alex Faulkner

 

Release date: 7th January, 2019

Listen to the album here:

Listen to the club mix of Come On: