asphyXy
01-15-2004, 01:01 PM
<font color=969696>Here's a review I did for metal-archives.com:
Ah, another Vintersorg album. The sample mp3 that Vintersorg put out on his website had me with high expectations... and believe me, they were met and surpassed.
1 - Prologue Dialogue - 7/10 - A nice little intro track to set the mood. This track is full of different instruments and sounds, all flowing together nicely.
2 - The Essence - 9.5/10 - Here's the real first song. It starts out with an acoustic intro and some great bass work by Steve DiGiorgio. It then turns into a typical Vintersorg song, but there's something that is definitely different here. The drums are very technical at every break, and every instrument is pretty much played as a lead. The changes throughout the song are timed perfectly [The change at around 2:30 caught me a little off guard, though. I was amazed]. This song isn't without some odd sounds and experimentation, either. This is only the first actual song on the album, and this made me wonder how this song could be topped.
3 - The Thesises Seasons - 7.4/10 - The bass at the very beginning of the song is crazy. There's one constant riff at the beginning while everything else goes crazy, and it sounds really good together. The bass is more of a rhythm instrument through the majority of this song, though. Vintersorg's vocals are great in this song. This song has a weird rhythm which would appeal to fans of prog. The song has a piano break in the middle... well timed again. It slowly builds back up from that part.
4 - Matrix Odyssey - 8.5/10 - This song starts out with a speaking part from Mattias. Vintersorg does some backup chanting during the verses when he growls, and it turns out to be very interesting. This song is full of experimentation: the keyboards are a lead instrument. The vocals come from different places at different times. This song goes into a slow break just like the last two, but before you can even think of yawning, it goes right back into an intense riff... Vintersorg trickery. Towards the end, there are some excellent melodic guitar solos that are noteworthy. The main standout in this song would be the vocals, though.
5 - Star Puzzled - 7.5/10 - The beginning has synth and growling to set the mood for another 6 minutes of experimentation. The drums are impressive throughout the whole song, and they're the true standout of this song. Asgeir has always been impressive behind the set, but this song is reminiscent of Spiral Architect. There's a slow break with some techno-sounding drums to show that Vintersorg has no limits to his experimentation.
6 - A Sphere in a Sphere? - 7/10 - The song starts out with a catchy riff, and then goes into a guitar solo. Nice work. The song is melody driven, and Vintersorg's singing compliments this well. There is a piano/bass part where Steve gets to show off his bass skills. Fretless basses sound so much better than fretted ones, and he shows it there. The piano is a lead instrument throughout most of the song. Overall, this song is standard Vintersorg but standard Vintersorg is still awesome.
7 - Blindsight Complexity - 9.6/10 - The main riff in this song is addicting. Simple but effective. It's the only thing in this song that could be considered simple, though. Asegir's drumming is breathtaking, and Vintersorg's singing is great as usual. There's a break which allows the bass to shine, too. It took a while, but there's finally a song on this album to top the first one.
8 - Artifacts of Chaos - 6/10 - A nice little instrumental. Something to calm the mood.
9 - Dark Matter Mystery/Blackbody Spectrum - 8/10 - Right from the beginning, this song has a typical Vintersorg feel, and it sticks until the end. The chorus is very catchy, and the melodic guitars are memorable. If there was to be a single for this album, this would probably be it. Don't let that fool you, however. Every musician has their chance to show off in this song: it'd be one of the most complex singles ever released. Parts of this song remind me of the Cosmic Genesis album more than anything else. At first, I assumed that the instrumental was used to split the album into two parts, until...
10 - Curtains - 10/10 - This song is absolutely insane. This is the last thing I expected to follow Dark Matter Mystery on the album. The beginning has intense drumming, and the way Vintersorg sings over it at first is a beautiful contrast to the harshness of the rest of the instruments. Then 1:48 rolls around. Complete 180. The chorus has a piano which sounds like it's straight out of a western flick. This song is easily the best song on the album. Vintersorg's mind never ceases to amaze me.
11 - A Microscopical Macrocosm - 8/10 - Right off the bat, this song has an odd time signature with the bass right up front. It's a slow tempo song. The chorus is catchy, but that's about it. The verses are seemingly bass solos that the other musicians built upon [that's obviously not what happened, but it seems like it]. The chorus is repeated a few more times at the end. A great way to end such an experimental album.
The song rating system was pretty useless. If I were to review it again tomorrow, the ratings would probably be different. The Focusing Blur is more of an experience than an album. It may not appeal to you at first if you don't give the music your full attention. It took a few listens before I caught everything, but that's what makes an album great. You find something new with each listen, and it doesn't get old or boring. Of all the albums coming out in 2004, this was the one I anticipated the most. I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm sure that anyone else who looks forward to The Focusing Blur will be too.
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I demand everyone to go out and buy it as soon as it comes out.</font>
Ah, another Vintersorg album. The sample mp3 that Vintersorg put out on his website had me with high expectations... and believe me, they were met and surpassed.
1 - Prologue Dialogue - 7/10 - A nice little intro track to set the mood. This track is full of different instruments and sounds, all flowing together nicely.
2 - The Essence - 9.5/10 - Here's the real first song. It starts out with an acoustic intro and some great bass work by Steve DiGiorgio. It then turns into a typical Vintersorg song, but there's something that is definitely different here. The drums are very technical at every break, and every instrument is pretty much played as a lead. The changes throughout the song are timed perfectly [The change at around 2:30 caught me a little off guard, though. I was amazed]. This song isn't without some odd sounds and experimentation, either. This is only the first actual song on the album, and this made me wonder how this song could be topped.
3 - The Thesises Seasons - 7.4/10 - The bass at the very beginning of the song is crazy. There's one constant riff at the beginning while everything else goes crazy, and it sounds really good together. The bass is more of a rhythm instrument through the majority of this song, though. Vintersorg's vocals are great in this song. This song has a weird rhythm which would appeal to fans of prog. The song has a piano break in the middle... well timed again. It slowly builds back up from that part.
4 - Matrix Odyssey - 8.5/10 - This song starts out with a speaking part from Mattias. Vintersorg does some backup chanting during the verses when he growls, and it turns out to be very interesting. This song is full of experimentation: the keyboards are a lead instrument. The vocals come from different places at different times. This song goes into a slow break just like the last two, but before you can even think of yawning, it goes right back into an intense riff... Vintersorg trickery. Towards the end, there are some excellent melodic guitar solos that are noteworthy. The main standout in this song would be the vocals, though.
5 - Star Puzzled - 7.5/10 - The beginning has synth and growling to set the mood for another 6 minutes of experimentation. The drums are impressive throughout the whole song, and they're the true standout of this song. Asgeir has always been impressive behind the set, but this song is reminiscent of Spiral Architect. There's a slow break with some techno-sounding drums to show that Vintersorg has no limits to his experimentation.
6 - A Sphere in a Sphere? - 7/10 - The song starts out with a catchy riff, and then goes into a guitar solo. Nice work. The song is melody driven, and Vintersorg's singing compliments this well. There is a piano/bass part where Steve gets to show off his bass skills. Fretless basses sound so much better than fretted ones, and he shows it there. The piano is a lead instrument throughout most of the song. Overall, this song is standard Vintersorg but standard Vintersorg is still awesome.
7 - Blindsight Complexity - 9.6/10 - The main riff in this song is addicting. Simple but effective. It's the only thing in this song that could be considered simple, though. Asegir's drumming is breathtaking, and Vintersorg's singing is great as usual. There's a break which allows the bass to shine, too. It took a while, but there's finally a song on this album to top the first one.
8 - Artifacts of Chaos - 6/10 - A nice little instrumental. Something to calm the mood.
9 - Dark Matter Mystery/Blackbody Spectrum - 8/10 - Right from the beginning, this song has a typical Vintersorg feel, and it sticks until the end. The chorus is very catchy, and the melodic guitars are memorable. If there was to be a single for this album, this would probably be it. Don't let that fool you, however. Every musician has their chance to show off in this song: it'd be one of the most complex singles ever released. Parts of this song remind me of the Cosmic Genesis album more than anything else. At first, I assumed that the instrumental was used to split the album into two parts, until...
10 - Curtains - 10/10 - This song is absolutely insane. This is the last thing I expected to follow Dark Matter Mystery on the album. The beginning has intense drumming, and the way Vintersorg sings over it at first is a beautiful contrast to the harshness of the rest of the instruments. Then 1:48 rolls around. Complete 180. The chorus has a piano which sounds like it's straight out of a western flick. This song is easily the best song on the album. Vintersorg's mind never ceases to amaze me.
11 - A Microscopical Macrocosm - 8/10 - Right off the bat, this song has an odd time signature with the bass right up front. It's a slow tempo song. The chorus is catchy, but that's about it. The verses are seemingly bass solos that the other musicians built upon [that's obviously not what happened, but it seems like it]. The chorus is repeated a few more times at the end. A great way to end such an experimental album.
The song rating system was pretty useless. If I were to review it again tomorrow, the ratings would probably be different. The Focusing Blur is more of an experience than an album. It may not appeal to you at first if you don't give the music your full attention. It took a few listens before I caught everything, but that's what makes an album great. You find something new with each listen, and it doesn't get old or boring. Of all the albums coming out in 2004, this was the one I anticipated the most. I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm sure that anyone else who looks forward to The Focusing Blur will be too.
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I demand everyone to go out and buy it as soon as it comes out.</font>