FLOORIAN: More Fiend (CD on Drigh Records)
This release from 2009 features 50 minutes of dark progressive music.
This tuneage explores the darker side of spacerock, delving into the void inside the head, where events are not limited to physical laws.
The guitar shows several sides, sometimes guttural, sometimes searing, other times sparkling. Scraped strings release industrial noise. Strummed strings express exotic flairs. Brutalized strings issue sounds of unearthly disposition. While a gloomy rhythm guitar sets up a sepulchral air, a lead guitar snarls with bestial hostility as if searching for a victim.
The electronics maintain a spooky presence that oozes with demonic temperament, establishing the promise of evil just around the corner waiting to pounce. Industrial sentiments are applied in tandem with astral qualities, resulting in an engaging undercurrent of foreboding.
The pounding percussion tends to be rather conventional, providing a marked contrast to the music's overall haunted sound.
The vocals are highly treated to the point where diction is often barely discernible. Which only enhances the basic dark character of this fiendish tuneage. And in the instances where the vocals are coherent, they croon with rich angst and forlorn emotion.
Passages of smoldering torpor lead to surprise eruptions of dire scope. Abysses of despair yawn wide and spit forth melodies of grinding intensity.
These compositions are a strange mix of goth and space and industrial, all exhibiting a progressive cohesion that tends to defy any of the previous classifications. Ominous stylings remain at the forefront, though, mirrored by the background's threatening demeanor.
QUARKSPACE: Spacefolds 9 (DDL on Eternity's Jest Records)
This release from 2008 offers 60 minutes of cosmic tuneage.
Quarkspace is: Darren Gough (on guitar), Chet Santia (on bass and guitar), Jay Swanson (on keyboards and synth), and Paul Williams (on drums, synth and keyboards). They are joined on some tracks by: Carl Howard (aka Nomuzic) (on synth), Stan Lyon (on bass and guitar), Brandon Ross (on bass) and Lynnette Shelley (on voice) (the last two being from the Red Masque).
Glistening space rock that manages to generate an astral luster tempered with touches of stellar fury.
The guitar achieves a very satisfying presence with smoldering riffs tinged by hints of psychedelic rock. While fast-fingered in places, for the most part the guitar licks indulge in molten chords with lots of sustain and controlled feedback. The result is alluring and slick, often creating the impression of Jefferson Airplane transplanted into the far-flung future.
The electronics growl and squeal, throwing off sheets of liquid sound like banks of floodlights. These fluid electronics seep everywhere, trickling between notes like spilled starlight--exactly the way audiences want in this style of music.
keyboards play a vital role in this music, providing enticing riffs that cascade with trancey enthusiasm, reminiscent of some classic progrock. At other times, straightforward piano defines lilting melodies which establish the lurking presence of a classical recital.
The bass grumbles like some prehistoric beast expressing itself in rippling pulsations of monstrous breaths. This undercurrent does an excellent job of supporting the relatively high-end nature of the rest of the instruments.
The drums are especially freeform, pursuing rolls and tempos that often seem removed from the flow but actually fit perfectly with the melodies. These rhythms boost the music's cosmic mien, providing a grounding effect with their pounding fervor.
The guest vocals (which are basically of a non-lyrical nature) serve to enhance that grounding effect, but in a different direction, providing the tunes with links to a spirituality that extends humanity into the interplanetary void.
These compositions embody a wondrous fusion of modern spacerock and traditional psychedelic rock, maintaining a gutsy sparkle that appeals equally to fans of both genres.
This album is available as a download from the band's website and a variety of other DL sites across the internet (including iTunes, Rhapsody, and Napster).
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