Wave of Silence - Whirl in the Wind track review

Year : 2016
Genre : Instrumental, Experimental, Massive Ambient, Psychedelic
Origin : United States
Official site : > - here - <

With its track titled "Whirl in the Wind", Walnut Creek based Wave of Silence builds heavily on the concept of massively sound-abundant instrumentalization, arranged into placid sonic forms that are both easy and rewarding to intimately inspect.

Relentlessly introspective while sporting a psychedelic modal tint, the piece seeks out and finds a virtually infinite number of subsequent auditory precedents to entertain the ears and soul with. These optimums are quick to fervently and intoxicatingly ensue as result of the "mere"-, yet quite significant decision to trade the ridigity of structure in, in exchange for a thorough stroll into free form auditory volumetrics that openly and effortlessly thrive to grasp the Original Idea: the Original Idea that even preceded the idea of structure, as a medium to carry the promise of capacity and meaning. Read on to know more.

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Try Hardz - Try Hard with a Vengeance (On Earth) review

Year : 2013
Genre : experimental, extreme glitch galore, ambient mindfuckery
Label : Fauxtown Records
Origin : Canada
Official site : > - here - <

This review starts out with an information snippet taken from the official site, giving you the heads-up of the characterology of this formation.

Try Hardz consist of Randal-dandy, and his two trusty human sidekicks, Y.C., and J.K. At the behest of mysterious forces, and with the joint-endorsement of the C.I.A. and NASA, these "Try Hardz" have been compelled to make music primarily to create signals which render offworld communiques between a variety of alien invaders useless, or at least harder to understand by any galactic standard. 

I don't know how long this disc is, though I'm pretty sure it elevates the concept of infinity to the very next level. The name of the game is semi-sadistic silence molestation just for the fun of it, with no particular regards or considerations exhibited towards structure, low entropy meaning, or form. Structure and form are inescapable hallmarks owned even by the most complex audio patterns, and the builds that reign deliberately - and oftentimes hypocritically/arrogantly - deprived of these things, oftentimes are the ones that are very easy to catch amidst the most ambitious narrative fallacies, fueled by an intent to showcase themselves to be much more intriguing then they (secretly.) are. Read on to know more.

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Get Tribal - God of Drum review

Year : 2013
Genre : Ambient with a Tribal tint
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Official site : > - here - <

This review starts out with a quotation snippet taken from the official YouTube channel of the project.

"Get Tribal is a transcendental music project from the US, created under the direction of Kari Hohne, author of mythological studies and books about dream interpretation. She combines ancient shamanistic drumming patterns and tonal vibrations with modern technology and ethnic instruments to create a world fusion sound with emotional and energetic impact. As the creator of many affirmation apps that have achieved New and Noteworthy status at Itunes, she continues to use sound, music, dreams and myth as a way of connecting with our energetic awareness. Kari is best known for her work in dream interpretation where her app Way of Dreams is in the top of the Lifestyle category at both Amazon and Itunes."
 
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Anodine - Passages review

Year : 2013
Genre : Alternative Rock, Electronic Ambient, Trip Hop
Label : Independent
Origin : Germany
Official site : > - here - <

Anodine occupies a multitude of stylistic positions in its current state, a circumstance that equates with the most beneficiary perk of this current-one-man-band which is though at the verge of forming into a full escalation silence massacre squad. The moods and directions the disc seeks to flatter towards throughout its 80+ minutes of playtime, are versatile and numerous. The most prominent form is that of dark alternative rock of massively midtempo demeanor, and, what is especially dear to my heart, are the eminent rhythmic Meshuggah influences -even if there are no more than 8 bars of those on the package - and the great melodic hooks that reek the best moments of Stone Sour. Corey Taylor is your papi, if you have ever wondered.

These affections are not at all in any kind of hurry to exhibit their beneficiary presence, mind us, as the album takes the liberty AND the time to court prolonged electronic fascinations whenever its pacing feels the need to do so. At their best moments, these electronic quasi-ambientistic (TUKK!) immersion-attempts summon some promise of VNV Nation, and, sometimes they just hang in the air and keep you hanging on with no top of the foodchain prime Kim Wilde present, which saddens me greatly. The bass guitar always is live though, radiating an organic, fat, evil and dirty quality - in the positive sense of the expression - to simultaneously assuage and provoke an otherwise icy, cybernetic fabric. The album, though deeply personal, places considerable and eloquent musical emphasis on the silly little thing called clarity of thought and its bestest buddy called dignified thematic accessibility. Read on to know more about this.

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Aelo - Blue Music review

Year : 2007
Genre : Ambient Lounge Chillout Club House Synthpop
Label : Independent
Origin : Switzerland
Offiicial site : >-here-<

On occasion, the cover art of a release and the music you hear on the media are correlating to each other with picture perfect accuracy, and Aelo's Blue Music mixtriad is a fluent example on this relatively tame and rare tendency. Aelo, I am almost sure, is a formation that loves the great song "To the Sea" by the fellow Swiss synthpop duo Yello, as pretty much all songs on this modestly and cleverly paced contribution - we are talking about 12 minutes, but 12 eventful minute it is, as I will attempt to make you see and as they will attempt to make you hear - reflect an insatiable urge to convey a transcendental message of the collective Atlantis I personally suspect everyone secretly shares in their soul. You too?? SEE? That's what I'm talking about. That's what THEY make their music about.

Though the opening track is not hesitant nor ashamed to utilize ancient-, yet doubtless timeless drum and bass loops and Flimbo's Quest-grade C64 synths just to make a stand and reveal variations on how to take these brisk and extreme components into the rather literal and cunningly inviting Blue by relying on TRULY top notch melodic hooks, - you know that I'm way too much of a miserable snob to throw around compliments like this easily - the second track is a more mysterious and thrill-filled build with elegant melodic forms and even a piano improvisation session that emerges successful as result of the mere humility it manages to communicate itself with. Richard Clayderman is your Papi and he is playing the piano to make you very very sad. (And he succeeds masterfully.) Read on to know more about this sympathetic EP length contribution.

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SKiLTRaX - Big Bad Wolf review

Year : 2012
Genre : Trance, Dance with an Ambient demeanor
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Official site : > - here - <

Connecticut based SKiLTRaX considers himself to be an individual gifted enough in the ways and machinations of music to take and shape and transmit the layers of sound his inner ears hear into eloquent audio reality, though he never felt an urge to try and convey his ideas on an analogue instrument. (At the end of the day, all sounds are digital anyway, monumental tribal drums played by a rampaging Godzilla - included.)

The name of the game is straightforward, bright-brisk trance/dance music with genuine thought and imagination behind it, this time submitting keenly to a laid back, ambient behavior that reigns oh, so thankfully free of everyday average tendencies of stale domination. The prime requirements that are necessary to sport the capacity to contribute a trance declaration into a form which could be a privilege to be immersed into, are all possessed AND given. Read on to know more about the disc.

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Panorama

GyZ gives you the song : Panorama. Listen in HD please.

Lyrics : - instrumental -

Buy this and more at :
http://gyzmusic.bandcamp.com 
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Nick Duane - Before The Storm review

Year : 2012
Genre : Ambient Soft Rock / Synthpop / Atmospheric
Label : Independent
Origin : United States
Official site : > - here - <

Nick Duane comes forth with a release armed with a rather unorthodox and brave character, considering the abundant directions the delivery is fervent, persistent and efficient at exploring. The most frequently applied pace of the flow shows keen interest in delivering ornamented still-life music AND delivering much of it, yet the one thing that utterly and completely saves this spin from any kind or promise of motionlessness in a valiant and natural manner, is the simple and precious fact that Nick Duane sounds to be serious about this style-, about this shape of music. The richly detailed harmonic and ornamental fabrics oftentimes yield results that are pretty delicious to be immersed in when things looking synthpop, - Yello's Boris Blank would be happy to hear those moments - and the other key interest the disc is enthusiastic to go after, is the soft rock side of David Bowie. Sometimes, the cover art of an album is a superb representation of the "daaaaayuuuummmn" music, and, thank God & Co., such is the case with this Nick Duane contribution, as well. Read on to find out more about the premiere mechanics of this rather strong package of high quality-, morose-playful rainmusic.


Despite its restrained and gloomy arch-character of caressing, deep vibrations, Before The Storm is hasty and efficient to draw a picture of what is to be found on the record later on, right throughout the opening track. This particular entry contains pretty much all the key elements the release excels at as a full listening experience : as just hinted previously, the core of the statement as a full listen, sounds to be an exigent take on the David Bowian morose/gloomy soft rock rhetorics. The compositions are honest and admirably faithful to the shores of the constant feeling of being JUST one step away from full blown depression that already has been made sour peace with - this is the beauty and the danger of this music, and both ingredients ARE necessary for music worth listening to in this particular register.

The lyrical pieces of the full length are balanced well via a reoccurring strategy to offer instrumental interludes amidst the majority of individual song-pairs. The tracks show autonomous tendency to project different kinds of eloquent lights to the favorite subject matter of rainy day highway-depression : "G-Whizz" is a Southern ZZ Top piece, the next one, "When We Dream" once again channels Bowie, but adds top of the heat mid-, and high frequency synthpop-ornamentics to compliment the elegant anatomy of the song. The next track, "Beneath the Surface", is an equally caressing and thrilling ambient trip that I personally think is a superb narrative peak moment to signify the middle grounds of the spin. Exquisite, fluidic harmonic structures entertain the ears in a successful attempt to support legit David Bowie singing, narrating a tame spiritual rant : I have nothing but praise for this song, it easily is one of the most significant ambient pieces I have heard in years.

As noted previously, following the middle grounds, the album is yet to hit its more intense side : Rain On Sunday is not YET that, nor is the consecutive installment, but the rabid section kicks off with robust psycho-electro-pop-power with track number 9, "Tightrope" : this sounds like intense "punk-pop" with the promise of going crazy and utterly compromised at the end of the song. Mix Depeche Mode with ZZ Top and a cybernetic mindhack and you have this vibe. Quite delicious!

"Blabber Mouth" is another specialty in the flow of predominant patterns. The song reeks the golden era of house music, when the idea "simply was" to include as many sonic layers in a track as it is humanly / alienly possible without harming the fabric itself, and Nick Duane does a tremendous job herein. I have no doubt whatsoever that this track was never intended to be a song at all, it "just happened to end up as one" during fiddling around with various electronic instruments in the production environment.

The record has a healthy dosages of surprises up its sleeves yet, among these, titular track "Before The Storm" comes to mind. Strangely enough, this "U2-meets Bowie" declaration sounds to convey menace by its mere production values! Because it does not sound "right", yet it does not even SEEKS to sound right, in my opinion. After all, it is being played while there is a hurricane on its way to the place where the music is resonated from, so the mere shores of sky-hell are affecting the music. "Just" logic. In this regard, the song is a superb accomplishment, fulfilling a function that is very rare to see - SIC! - in music.

The album is the perfect soundtrack for a rainy highway. I seriously would pick this on 6 occasions out of 5 times right now for any rainy day highway session. Preferably as the driver. The disc also conveys a sense of X Files science fiction, in my opinion, revealed with soberly limited high frequency sonic entities that cleverly refrain from intimidation, and instead are out to invite you into a risk free cosmos-trance. Watch raindrops draw random (?) fractals on the car window in the morning supported by this music to get a spiritual boost. Track number 2, "No Wages", takes you into this Zone pretty efficiently, - think of Blade Runner meets X Files - and this is not the only occasion you will be immersed in this feeling during the spin. Once again, a rather tight and robust - 55 minutes - atmospheric ambient soft rock album with a whole lot of quality stimuli to soak some ears into. Highly recommended.

GyZ at Bandcamp.

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Cynthesis - Deevolution review

Year : 2011
Genre : Ambient Progressive Metal
Label : Candlelight
Origin : United States
Rating : 7.5 / 10

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Cynthesis' Deevolution sounds to be a restrained, calmly paced quasi-progressive, quasi-chillout - more on these notions later - metal record with heavy attraction resonated towards ambient backgrounds, mid-tempo structures, shy synths and arpeggiated guitars. A sense of sugar-overdose minimalism also is in the vicinity armed with unfortunate enthusiasm to whisper about its capacities from time to time, but, fortunately enough, the band members - usually - have a sober awareness regarding the moment from which on the singer is singing for himself, primarily.

Solidification : album closer called A Song of Unrest is a pretty muscular track of the release in my opinion, and the mere structure of this song is one the LP is fond of utilizing. Yet, the solid melodies and the inventive harmonic background structures the singed sequences collide with herein, are not always as interesting and tasteful as they are in this particular delivery. Read on to find out more about this likable ambient/progressive metal spin.


Cynthesis' Deevolution is not all that concerned with the probable meta-definition of metal, and the band's primordial behavior leans more and more towards extremely calm upon hitting the middle point of this honest, elegant debut release. First let's scrutinize the full power - full instrument engagement modes of the album. The LP produces a wide, sanely reverberated sound via its more crowded instrumental sections, sometimes interrupted though by highly idiotic variation that does not do any justice to the song in the spin at all. Solid track number 3, called Divided Day, for example. This nice mid-tempo build gets squashed by some kinetic grinding from time to time, which sounds like the sound you expect to hear when attempting to murder a living being with a snarl and a pneumatic driller, what is the reason for this?? It does not sound good at all.

As for the quite present ambient ingredient, the album, it seems and sounds to me, seeks to summon the Blade Runner spiritual vibe so palpable in the 1982 motion picture. You know, when Deckard - Harrison Ford - looks out of his handsome head into the cybernetic city in the company of his last bottle of bourbon, and it is hard to tell if there is a woman on his mind or the thought to look for the remote to adjust the volume of the background music. Blade Runner Blues by Vangelis. This is the music you want to hold your dream woman in the rain for. THAT is the music for such images, and, I tend to think that Cynthesis tried to recreate this vibe, and, what's more important : the results of the experiment sometime demand closer scrutiny! While track number 4 is nothing special in my opinion, - still good for a filler - 5 is about to ride out on a truly efficient, rabid, sexy mid-tempo build that did not yet decide to tolerate you or to end you in unreasonably violent fashion.

Track number 7, called Twilight though, is very easy to relate to as a piece that reveals Cynthesis' variation on the Blade Runner Blues, at least, according to my percepts. Only, this time, it is not the lead synth that addresses its favorite misery, instead, it is two guitars : one is your everyday average nuclear heavy metal solo guitar wearing Puma sport shoes, the other Kermit's bubblegum guitar, but that one is cute, too, while playing its program time of 7 seconds or so. Unfortunately, the Cynthesis dudes did not put the effort to improvise / develop a legit, epic solo all over the ambient sonic wall, - BOOOOOOOOSH! - and I tend to think that they have created a beautiful sonic entity and they put a knife in its body. Not a nice gesture at all. Geez, this review is becoming a horror special. Anyway, this is a likable album without doubt, and its aspiration to compliment the caressing, comforting capacities of ambient synth music is nicely realized. But, keep in mind : whenever the album turns to an ambient format, then it is "just" that, and the one moment it collides epic ambient with nuclear metal, the magic, as noted, is not given the praise it demands. Other than that, this is a safe recommendation.

Rating : 7.5 / 10

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Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage review

Year : 2011
Genre : Black Metal
Label : Southern Lord
Origin : United States
Rating : 5.0 / 10

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Wolves in the Throne Room still wants to make you lie on the floor and cry as it channels relentless audio data that does not give you all that much other chance than to submit to its openly cleared agenda, anyway. Celestial Lineage shares a variety of pivotal elements that all make it a passable-, but, in my opinion, epically far from great or particularly efficient spin for its own ambitions. Not surprisingly, the record comes to you in pitch black, waves a scythe and it is not loving you at all, and it is very hard to not notice how the entire build swims in foams and successive foams of relentlessly abused reverb effects, stacked on each other like it is the last day of their painfully misunderstood prime. In short : what the album lacks in content, seeks to emphasize by repetitious effect-wizardry, at least, it sounds to me like that. Subtract the bigass reverb effect from the opening track, and you end up with a very average black metal build, and I do not even know what it wants from me. But I do know I don't want a thing from it.

Noise Shaft despises cynicism openly, and, on occasion, it commits it to strengthen this valiant directive. The album features around five minutes of passable-, but not all that memorable or inventive atmospheric elements, featuring Mr. Blowing Wind, Mr. Cracking Fire, and Mr. Bored-ass Male Chorus. The main operational field of the release is the ASAP-rendition of traditional soulslicer-grade black metal, but, without the harmonic magic of Burzum or Septic Mind on board. Check out the ambient section of this cosmic soulcrusher track from Russian Doomers Septic Mind if you want. On Celestial Lineage, more emphasis is placed on the mere act of the sloppy slicing than on the exact shape of the scythe that gets complimented for the moment. In other words : while melodies and different frequency vibrations are presented along a cumbersome sense of sweaty variation, the content, not surprisingly, never chooses to stray away from the artistic behavior of directing the fullest attention to the tinkering of decay. Wolves in the Throne Room's Celestial Lineage seeks decay so much, it decays while doing that. Read on to find out if this decay process signifies any danger at all for the attention span resonated by the Oh!, so curious mind.


Of course not, this is a pretty risk-free effort. Saved for its short, ambient atmospheric interludes, Wolves of the Throne Room's latest sounds like deeply traditional black metal that does not seem to seek to reinvent, to add to any sacred/blasphemous elementary rule of the coarsest form of the genre. The compositions are relying on extremely wet keyboards and possessed guitars with keen desire to make love with the tremolo, both elements supporting the spouting type vocals you have heard many many times before. Yet, I must say I do not find the spouting on this record as - uhm - "natural" or authentic like on a Burzum record, for example.

An even bigger concern to raise and remain serious about, is the mere quality of the compositional work on this release : there is nothing wrong with the builds as sonic constructs, and there is nothing "with them/ in them" beyond the fact of nothing being wrong with them, either. The tracks are lengthy, show not all that much muscle worth eyeballing or touching multiple times, and each of them share this relative misconception of soaking every bit of sound into effect-madness for the sake of making it wet and highly intimidating. The intent crushes its subject now, though.

The spouting, and the eerie, occasional female chorus which is a secondary extra attraction of the LP, both wear out quicker than the average charm you end up from the touch of a rampaging female lich, and frankly, the sonic mood-register the album cares to move its monumental ass around to discover, is pretty limited when my snob mode is invited to spout out its own impression. The LP has some shamelessly masturbatory moments in my opinion, track number 5 comes to mind as an immediate example for this. Track number five is not as great as it pretends to be. The only thing I found interesting on this release, is the closing sequence of the last contribution, where a wall of sound structure of soulslicer guitars and synths that are seeking to eradicate all will to live, are increasing in volume, producing the only period of this album I could give a moment of honest interest for. All other things on it sound "uhuh" to me.

Rating : 5.0 / 10

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