41NeotokyoEd HarrisonNow THIS is passionI can't believe such an excellent OST was made... for a mod. It's not even an official game - a freaking mod! Neotokyo clearly reflects that dystopic mood the self-titled mod portrays - nostalgic, intense, and sometimes, a bit insane. For over two hours, Ed Harrison serves an original and diverse plate of electronic sounds, pianos, guitars and violins, with hints of cultural Japanese influences and instrumentation. The product is a cyberpunk masterpiece of atmospheric, electronic music that is both unique and immersive.
While there are wide uses of different instruments and influences, what Harrison masters is simplicity in songwriting. No track tries to be too progressive that it may draw away listeners, which is a craft among the huge amounts of experimentation on this album. Each song builds and develops themselves around catchy and atmospheric melodies, making them more memorable, rather than taking ambitious, unpredictable shifts. One of the longer tracks,
Tin Soldiers, plays around with a glitchy, almost robotic piano melody in the first half and then manipulates it into a fast paced drumbeat fest of pure emotion in the second half.
Annul sustains a memorable bass line and weaves and dives around different lead lines, including vocals.
If you are a fan of any electronic music, a bit of anime fanatic or, well, a fan of music all together, I highly recommend checking this out.
Recommended song: Departure40BloodOSIOh Kevin...You know... I've always appreciated Kevin Moore's contributions to early Dream Theater; so one day, when I found Office of Strategic Influence mentioned on a list of essential prog metal albums, well, gave it a listen. What a disappointment, to be honest. I remember it was some lame, generic progressive metal - even the presence of Steven Wilson's vocals on one track didn't save it for me. But what I needed to check Blood was a dear friend's insistence after another had showed me a pretty good track of it; and damn they were right to do so.
Oh Kevin, now I see why you had to leave Dream Theater. To make fantastic music like this. Even if it took you 15 years, you finally delivered. And damn it's worth. This album is straightforward, catchy progressive metal, similar at times with Porcupine Tree circa FOABP and The Incident, only that this one leans more towards Alternative Metal in general. The riffs and all the guitar parts are awesome, thanks to the stellar work of Jim Matheos - I've always loved his contributions on Fates Warning, yet I find that band quite boring, specially on the vocal melodies. Oh, and guess who's behind the drums this time? Gavin fucking Harrison. So Blood is basically a supergroup of prog metal stars, and damn it rocks. But, don't let it fool you, for there are lots of tasteful electronic elements that are what define OSI's sound.
Along with Kevin Moore's low-key yet catchy vocals, this record hit all the right points with me. This is how I like my metal - innovative, heavy, and catchy. Blood replaces the overblown theatrics of progressive metal with a dark, brooding aura that seeps into every song. Those who desire to listen to another one hour of technical instrumental masturbation, should ignore this and find something else. If stuff like heavy Porcupine Tree and similar is right up your alley, then go check this.
Recommended song: Radiologue39Late Nigt CinemaBlue Sky Black DeathFeel the nostalgia...I was really interested in the possibilities of instrumental hip-hop, after falling in love with Endtroducing.... by DJ Shadow. And in my journey, looking for similar albums, I stumbled upon
Late Night Cinema.
I don't care if people think sampling is not a legitimate form of songwriting, really - the amounts of creativity here are just ridiculous. Just on a track alone there are electronic beats, violins, female vocals, post-rocky guitars, gorgeous pianos - all in a relaxed, trip-hop atmosphere. Some tracks build up with subtle crescendos, while others linger in a swirling mixture of foggy samples and edgy violins. There's melancholy on every moment, a nostalgia for things past. It's this album has lots of feels, and it manages to move me on every listen. I really can't help loving this record - it's what I'd been looking for so long. It's not Endtroducing Pt. 2 though. It's Late Night Cinema - an accomplishment on its own.
This is not beats without the rapping, this is instrumental hip-hop. The music speaks for itself. The music is the conveyor of the emotion. That is the major problem with instrumental hip-hop. The producer/DJ just wants to showcase his skills rather than make a statement himself, so he attempts the same process as he would if he was producing the beat for an MC to rap over, but since there is no one rhyming, you're left with some beats that sound like they're missing something. Instrumental hip-hop shouldn't sound like it's missing the lyrics, the music should be the messenger of the words.
Recommended song: The Era When We Sang