The Atomic Finger » review

Eternal Essence (Progressive, Instrumental, Rock/Metal)

Corey Bray — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:21:07 +0000

Let me start out by saying that Eternal Essence absolutely rocks. This is so good, I have to grab my pair of Sennhiser headphones for another listen while I write. My initial impression of this band was that it was heavily influenced by Dream Theater. You can just feel it in the mix–especially if you focus on EJ’s machine like tight drum work, which is just all around superb. The use of piano and synth throughout, which provides a backdrop to work with, helped to give each piece a lot of genuine atmosphere and character. Even the bassist brings something to the table, interjecting subtle details of noted intricacy that add a nice touch when needed. The guitar work, which is oddly well tempered for a band of this genre of music, keeps with the spirit of the overall thematic approach that this band has crafted so well from one song to the next. And if I had to hazard to go out on a limb, I would risk saying that this band is going to continue to put out more awesome sounding tracks. In fact, I look forward to it. But, don’t take my word for it. I urge you to have a listen for yourself. And be sure to drop me a message to let me know what you think about Eternal Essence.

To check out Eternal Essence, please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/eternalessence

Quantum Soul (Dub / Electronica / Drum & Bass)

Corey Bray — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:37:50 +0000

This one man band, namely Guy chambers, from the UK is too much. The sound effects are eerie, the beat is hypnotic, and the overall feel is like being drug underground and left in a dark cement walled tunnel with the echoes still bouncing around in your head to prove it. In other words, it’s a little like the last meeting I had with my shrink. But, I had the volume on my headset as high as it would go in order to catch the full experience. I might not recover from that for a couple of days. Fortunately, I had enough ear wax build up to prevent me from receiving permanent inner ear damage.

At times the drum and bass parts verged on feeling a little repetitive, but the ear candy produced from the nicely layered sounds kept the tracks from getting stale, as can often happen with music in this genre. I think the trick to keeping that from being a problem–especially if you want to maintain a repetitive feel for dance purposes–is to introduce some high pitched sounds in various counter timed segments to gently lead the audience’s attention away on a tangent. It’s like, you almost expect to hear a plot builder in the background, such as a bit of subtle piano work walking about, to give the sense that there is something lurking in the shadows. But, I digress. The work of Quantum Soul is definitely something I would urge my readers to check out.

To check out Quantum Soul, please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/quantumsoul

Thyateira (Metal)

Corey Bray — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:20:29 +0000

This week I stumbled across a group named Thyateira, a curious band from Crystal Lake, Illinois. I’m going to be honest with you right up front. I have rather mixed feelings about this band (whose name I assume comes from the fourth church of the book of Revelation chapter 2). I think this band has a lot of artistic potential that it should bring to the surface. I was on their myspace page listening to their tracks, and in the first song that came up, there was a brief passage where they kicked the growlers out of the room and actually tried to sing normally. For that brief moment, I started to feel as if this band had some sense of a purpose and maybe even something meaningful to say with their music. But, that connection was short lived, because the growling and shouting returned throughout the rest of my listening experience. Now, I will admit, when I was much younger, this sort of disconnect would not have struck me as being so odd. That is to say, given my rather detached anti-social outlook on life at that time. And let’s face it, the message that a band intends to send with their music is not always conveyed through the words themselves, even if you can actually make out what the singer is saying. But, here is what strikes me so funny about this band. And it is worthy of noting, for its musical value, if for nothing else. As I tuned out the shouting and growling to get beyond the surface of the music, it surprised me that there was this layer of nicely orchestrated lead guitar playing, over a tonally crafted driven rhythm. At times the feel of the lead was somewhat neoclassical in form. Which I truly think was a brilliant touch. There were also a few nicely used studio sound tricks in the mix from time to time that grabs the hearer and let’s go in a way that makes you pause, if you take the time to notice them. But, this dramatic difference between what you get on the surface and what you find when you explore what is going on beneath was something of a paradox to me as a listener. I mean, was that intentionally planned to turn out that way, or did it just turn out that way? Where I think it is difficult to create music in this genre is that as a band you have to decide what is more important. Is it the sheer force of raw power that you are trying to convey to your audience, or is your goal to be artistically inclined musicians first? I don’t think there is any right or wrong answer to that question, but I do find that the bands who back off the raw power and approach the creative process from a more musically appealing perspective, learn to get a far better balance in their final product than those bands which don’t. But, then again, I am speaking from personal preference. So, be sure to check out Thyateira this week and drop me an email to let me know what you think.

To check out Thyateira, please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/thyateira

Jonas Tamas (Progressive/Instrumental Rock)

Corey Bray — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:04:51 +0000

It is time for all my loyal readers to join me inside the fall out shelter for a special announcement. It is my pleasure to present to you the axe master from Budapest Hungary, Jonas Tamas. In the short time I’ve known about Jonas, I’ve just been amazed by his ability to handle a guitar. Normally, I tend to be quite critical of instrumental guitarists. Many who go down the instrumental path tend to spend too much time focusing on extreme lead playing and forget that the goal is to actually bring a balance to the music that aims to be appealing to the audience. What makes Jonas different is that he has a very deep sense of how to develop the landscape he intends to play against from one song to the next. When he brings up the lead, you can really hear him deliver a flawless performance as he dazzles you with engaging musical phrases and a superior picking technique that will leave you speechless.

On the occasions that I have had the pleasure to speak with Jonas over email, I have found him to be a person who truly appreciates his fans. And it is because he exhibits this quality, along with being a superb musician, that I believe he is deserving of your support. Recently, Jonas has released a new album called, “Sharp Guitars From A Flat Planet.” It’s a project that I know Jonas has put a lot of hard work and effort into, as I followed his updates on the various stages of the recording project over the last few months, reading the many comments he left for his fans on Facebook along the way. The somewhat haunting lead on Mosquito Bite and the emotional energy in the track Tight Squeeze, really stand out as works that demonstrate that Jonas has a dynamically melodic side as well as an ability to shred with the best instrumental guitarists around. So, be sure to pick up the album from CDBaby by following the link on our main page.

Theocracy (Metal, Christian, Progressive)

Corey Bray — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:06:47 +0000

After listening to this band, you might want to talk your pastor into booking them to play at your next church function. Okay, that might be a little too much for the old blue haired folks who sleep in the back rows. The reality is that Theocracy truly rocks. The rhythms are powerful and tight, the singing is melodic and orchestral, and you can’t help but move to the music. Before I forget, it is about time that someone put Frosty and Rudolph in their place. You will just have to listen to their Christmas song to know what i mean. Although, I would have liked to have heard them put Santa in his place too. They sound like Dream Theater meets Savatage with richer vocals. So, I definitely recommend checking these guys out, if you are into fast heavy metal with great singing.

To check out Theocracy, please visit:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=150053352

Megaphone (Rock)

Corey Bray — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:33:58 +0000

Maybe this is a sign. The second band from Florida I’m reviewing in a row. Actually, I had never heard of them before, but someone sent me an email and told me to check Megaphone out. I always take my talent scout’s requests seriously, and so I dropped on to their MySpace page for a quick listen. It’s the kind of rock that goes well with driving to the beach on a hot summer’s day. The rhythm is steady and the lead guitarist isn’t afraid to kick on the wah/wah from time to time to bring in a little of that old school talent missing in much of modern rock. I can kind of hear a little Foo Fighters influence in their work, and enjoy when they kick off the juice and let the acoustic artistry come out and play. It’s rock with a good vibe that your friends will enjoy too. So, I hope my readers will give Megaphone a listen. They are certainly a great sounding band. And don’t forget to vote for them.
To find out more about Megaphone, visit:
www.megaphonemusic.net

Matador (Indie Alternative Rock)

Corey Bray — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:56:23 +0000

I was having a really rough morning the other day, wading through a ton of audio crap and otherwise mediocre bands, when I stumbled upon the music of Matador. As usual, myspace was slow to respond and acted like it didn’t want to serve their music up. I was almost ready to bolt off the page, when finally the sound started pouring into my ears. Pulling my hands off the keys, I leaned back in my chair to have a listen. And then it hit me. Here is a band that really gets it.

What I really like about this band is that you can actually feel the distance because of how the lyrics were brought down in the mix to blend more closely with the instruments than usual on some of their tracks. Their songs sound like dark waves of depression mingled with a teasing glimpse of hope that could fade and die out at any moment. It’s like music I look forward to listening to when cuddling with my ex-girlfriend after she said it was over for the last time. It just has that sort of intimate quality to it, like you are supposed to share the listening experience with someone you know on a deeper level.

It will be interesting to see how this band chooses to grow artistically as it continues to write and release tunes. So, I highly recommend that my readers check out Matador and share the listening experience with someone close.

To find out more about Matador, please visit:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=17796657

Endless Blue (Trip Hop, Down-Tempo, Electronica)

Corey Bray — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:29:53 +0000

This band from Milwaukee is quickly becoming a major contender for the top position of my private rotation. Endless Blue’s music reminds me of that feeling I get when I walk in out of the evening rain and want to lose myself in deep thought for hours on end. It’s hard to find music that properly evokes that sort of emotional state, so you just have to grab on for the ride while the opportunity presents itself to your ears. Laura Hillman exhibits a balanced vocal touch that makes the whole listening experience what it should be for this genre of music. She is dark enough in vocal intent to create a believable atmosphere for the words to carry a serious tone at times that adds a lingering lonely feeling to the overall mood. Just brilliant, I say! And with Nick Mitchell on guitar and productions, the musical backdrop behind Laura’s vocals is a well crafted blend of catchy rhythmic movements spiced with artistic detail. So, check out the band and I hope you enjoy them as much as I am.

To find out more about Endless Blue, tour dates, CD releases etc., visit:
www.endlessblue.com

Chason Flanders (Acoustic/Americana/Folk)

Corey Bray — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:19:23 +0000

This week, I received an invitation to check out the group Chason Flanders at the Little River Grill in Lawrenceville, Georgia. For those of you who live in the Lawrenceville to Athens area and haven’t been out to see this band play yet, you are really missing out on a great acoustic performance. With Chason Flanders on acoustic guitar and Myles Mattison polishing off the groove with pure percussive intuition, I knew from the moment they played their version of T-Bone Walker’s 1947 hit, “Call It Stormy Monday” that these guys had genuine class. Chason, born in Texas and influenced by artists like Jeff Buckley and Stevey Ray Vaugn, has a strong family background in vocal performance. Myles Mattison, now Chason’s regular drummer, has worked with such legendary acts as Patti Labelle and Kenny Loggins among other talented musicians.

Chason Flanders

In between sets, Chason, Myles, and CEO of RedBarn MGMT Johnathon Hamilton dropped by our table to chat us up. Aside from being great musicians, Chason and Myles are two people who really go out of their way to connect with the audience and make you feel welcome. I was a little sad that Corey Batey wasn’t with them on keys, but Chason assured us that he really adds some amazing depth to a live show. This gives me something to look forward to the next time I get a chance to catch one of their live gigs.
Before the evening was over, my good friend and designated driver Robert Kainz, CEO of Roadie Rage, Inc. and Myles Mattison conspired to get me up on stage during the last set.

Corey jamming with Myles Mattison

It had been a number of years since I stood in front of a live audience with an acoustic guitar in my hands, but, I somehow managed to crank out two improv pieces before the familiar sensations of mild stage fright started to set in. I really owe Myles a big thanks for helping me to keep my rhythm in time and a big thanks to Chason for letting me use his acoustic.

Corey Bray and Chason Flanders

The band’s CD, “Then There’s You”, contains a unique blend of tracks that leaves the listener with a somewhat nostalgic look at the human experience. Such as in the song “You Inspire Me”, with references to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan and Dr. King. At other times the CD provokes the listener with a questioning tone, as in “All Up To You”. Overall, the CD is both musically moving and mentally stimulating at the same time.

Track list for Then There’s You:

More and More

You Inspire Me

Get Back

All Up To You

Red

Can Of Worms

Blind Willie’s Blues

Jessie’s Song (2 AM)

Then There’s You

Going Down Slow

If you don’t already have a copy of “Then There’s You”, it’s definitely a must have for any serious music enthusiast.

To get your copy of Chason Flanders’ new CD and find out about up coming shows, please visit

www.chasonflanders.net

FOR BOOKING INFORMATION CONTACT

RedBarn Mgmt redbarnmgmt@comcast.net