Dimaension X is Daniel Lanciani, whose emphatic guitar, dynamic percussion and a plethora of electronics achieve a level of intensity usually found in heavy metal music, but he tends to season that fervor with progressive sensibilities, resulting in lavish tuneage that mesmerizes as it batters at the listeners senses.
The nicest part (as far as you the listener are concerned) is that these releases are available as free downloads.
DIMAENSION X: Aetherial Art of Decay (DDL on LanceByNight Productions)
This release from 2007 offers 49 minutes of intensive guitar music.
If there's any "decay" involved here, it's not found in the music, but rather possibly in its effect on whatever normalcy that may be lurking in the listener.
Brutal guitarwork fuses with insistent percussion and is then subjected to a degree of polish by electronics and orchestral swells.
The guitar is quite obstinate as it delivers unrelenting riffs of momentous puissance. Nimble fingers generate chords of effulgent complexity, often achieving a state in which the notes blur together into a stream of ecstatic vehemence.
Thunderous basslines smolder within the mix, providing ample foundations for the rest of the controlled bedlam.
The drums are often tireless as they belt out rhythms of mind-numbing severity, producing layers of pounding tempos that serve as additional propulsion for this already urgent tuneage.
The electronics serve as a subliminal glue, bonding things into a lustrous morass that shimmers with profound consummation.
While these compositions embody a dedication to exhausting the audience, there are strategic touches of pause to give the listeners a chance to catch their breath before things plunge into the next stage of vigorous sonic enthusiasm. The melodies shine with attractive riffs designed to captivate, all arranged in a way to dig claws into one's attention and refuse to let go.
DIMAENSION X: I Am Become Daevel (DDL on LanceByNight Productions)
This release from 2008 offers 69 minutes of earnest metal with a cathedral touch.
Do not expect satanic influences in this music, instead the presence of evil is conquered by humanity's resolve which manifests in the form of Lanciani's passionate guitarwork.
Crashing chords wash over the listener, crafted very much in the ilk of heavy metal but delivering a distinctly optimistic mood as the riffs burn their way into the psyche.
While the drums are urgent and powerful, the application of their rhythms is meticulously arranged so as not to overwhelm everything. Sometimes the tempos are submerged, serving as a subliminal propulsion. At other instances they pummel you in the face. The style depends on the current needs of the tune.
The basslines rumble with guttural effects, gnashing yet sultry.
An orchestral flair dominates a lot of these tunes, lending the music a strangely reverent mien. The result is not exactly a religious sound--more a serious sentiment drenched in modern intensity.
Electronics provide several keyboard passages, often lilting, sometimes mysterious. Organ drones often emerge from the thick mix to establish a prominent ominous presence.
If we consider this music as heavy metal, then the compositions are designed to inject a severely cerebral spirit to the tunes. The use of wailing guitar in conjunction with cathedral keys produces a striking contrast that is actually quite rewarding. The tunes are compelling and evocative--and downright enjoyable on a mature level.
An enjoyable selection of ambience with substance.
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