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Band/Artist
Acuity
Title:
Skyward
Released
2004
Label
Retrograde Recordings |
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Track List
1. Vector
2. State of the Art Love Song
3. Milwaukee (An essay on Morbid Behavior)
i. Tick
ii. Not One of My Better Days (tired)
iii. The Milwaukee Song
iv. Tock
v. Pages
vi. That’s Entertainment
vii. Shit-eating Grin
viii. Titan
ix. Olympus Rising/Denouement
4. Cul-de-sacs of Venus
5. Voyager
i. Curvature
ii. Skyward
iii. Go Forth, Son of Mother Earth
iv. Ever Weightless |
: : The Players : :
Bradley Styes All lyrics, music, playing | Matthew Parmenter Violin on
Cul-de-Sacs of Venus |
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: Skyward : :
Opening with a very groove laden and spacey all
instrumental track, Vector, you get a feel about where this CD is coming
from. A busy number that has some crunchy guitars interspersed with
catchy riffs all in a sudo metal way while not being metal at all. I
liked the way this opened the CD as it certainly helped set the stage
for what is to come.
One of the problems of a CD made 100% by one person is that in most
cases there are some gaps in the quality of the music, lyrics,
production, etc. In this case the only weak link is Mr. Styes voice. It
is only a tad of a put off and only because it seems untrained,
unprepared to tell his story lyrically. That said, it is truly the music
that sets this CD out there.
The 3rd track, “Transcendence” at over 14 minutes is a wonderful musical
blend of the terrestrial and the extra terrestrial. Solid playing
telling a story of illness and death but that there is (or at least
could be) a transcendence to a better life free of pain, medications,
and hopelessness. One of my favorite lines is “if I pray in my one hand
and shit in the other would the weight equal out or validate my doubt”.
Very heavy and thought provoking for sure.
The listener is taken from the slow but powerful Transcendence to a
major epic song scape called Milwaukee. At over 20 minutes it is full of
often hard rocking riffs and spacey vocals apparently telling the story
of Jeffery Dahmer or some other serial killer. This is a bizarre song
but musically it is quite intriguing. It begs the listener to hang on to
each riff, each musical and lyrical phrase. As dark as it seems it does
work on some level. Musically however it is easy to wrap your arms
around if not the concept of finding beauty in the act of cannibalism
and mass murder.
After the darkness that is “Milwaukee” the listener is taken to a four
minute instrumental of acoustic guitar, light electric guitar and
Matthew Parmenter on violin, called “Cul-de-sacs of Venus”. Once again
the listener is taken out of time, out of normal space and transported
to a spacey, swirling almost psychedelic world that resides somewhere
close to the reefs of space. I really like this song as it works real
well between “Milwaukee” and the last 17 minute plus epic “Voyager”.
Opening with a trumpeting organ, as if introducing a king or some
royalty, this song tells the tale of a space voyager lost and on his
own, heading deeper and deeper into space with no way to return. The
loneliness of space, the isolation of the mind, the dream state we must
put ourselves into to survive such a “trip”. I use the word “trip”
purposefully for once again the listener is given an interesting musical
mix of 60’s psychedelica with modern musical expression.
So we have a really diverse CD of musical styles and lyrical thought.
I’ve known for some time that artists can be weird but this rather
bizarre mixture of musical textures and mental depravity just goes
directly to that point. This is a dark CD that may not suit all who
listen but I suspect if you are seeking something to stimulate your
metal and musical senses then this CD will work for you.
Rating: 7 of 10
Reviewed By: Stephen Ellis
: : Visit the Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
Skyward - 2005 |
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