Tag: 6 to 6.75

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Varien – Pick Your Poison Vol 1 (2013 album)

Album Links

 

Bandcamp: https://subterrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/pick-your-poison-vol-01

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fixt/sets/varien-pick-your-poison-vol-1

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4zGzLF81ic2CJiOlagTSVe?si=PnhZghijSquetTbLGXeM1A

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxPSxNNXfbdCo7vJ6lOTF7WSNtZGtMVhS

 

Introduction: Today, I’m introducing yet another artist to you all, giving my reviewing repertoire a little bit more variety: Varien, a man that I’d discovered quite early on compared to many of the other artists, I’ve reviewed other than perhaps Andy Hunter (who as I’ve said before is the first when it comes to electronic. I’d discovered Varien via Monstercat, a label that a stranger that I’ve completely forgotten had suggested to me, so thanks random person who I’ll never know. I don’t listen to Monstercat as much these days, but you’ve contributed to me expanding my taste a little bit more, eventually leading me to where I am today.

 

Now, while I know Varien for his work on Monstercat and the song’s he’s left since leaving the label, I still want to take a step back and look at some of the first albums he’d released under the Varien alias (he’d had previous aliases that I don’t listen to as much but I probably won’t be looking at those ones as much). Part of what attracts me to Varien so much is his combination of electronic, my favorite genre, with other styles, including energetic orchestral pieces, acoustic relaxation and today’s focus: cinematic rock.

 

So, let’s dive into the shortest album I’ve reviewed so far and inspect the various choices of poison Varien has presented.

 

 

Varien – Death Call (6.25): There is a cry in the night. An endless high-pitched tone, that never ceases. This is Death’s Call. Accompanied by a cinematic drumbeat  during the calm builds of suspense, this call screams through the night eventually leading to harsher sections filled with dubstep basslines, jumping back and forth between full- tempo and half-tempo, keeping any listener on their toes as it beckons to the last point in the drop where the highest tone and the harsh growling basslines synchronize and become one. Twice it calls. Twice I ignore.

 

I don’t plan on answering this call and I would highly recommend ignoring it for as long as you can, but seeing as this album is all about picking a poison it seems that this call is the force that’s about to present the poisons this album presents. Or perhaps it is a form of poison to choose… Let’s look at the rest.

 

Varien – Shadow People (7): Do you hear the melody in the darkness. Eight notes. Two similar sets of four rising and falling softly, behind the deep guttural growls in the night. This is a warning of what approaches. The Shadow People. The warning grows more intense as time goes on. A bassline and wavering strings raise the intensity of the call as the Shadow People draw closer and closer…

 

And then it’s all shrouded in darkness. Everything goes near silent. Only a drowned-out bassline remains struggling to be set free from the clutches of those that lurk in the dark. And if you listen closely… you can hear a heartbeat. But it’s temp and pattern… it isn’t quite human as the title, Shadow People Suggests.

 

The ominous warning breaks free. Switching back and forth between the echoing drumbeats and the bassline now screaming with intensity, louder than ever in a rushed attempt at foreboding suspense. And right when it reaches its climax, you hear five stabs…

 

Then nothing.

 

You have one short minute to escape… before they catch you.

 

Varien – Scrap Metal (5.25): Scrap Metal doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. It comes from a source. A broken-down car or some other defunct piece of machinery. As long as it’s made of metal and no longer of use, then it can be scrap metal. But it always has a history.

 

So, what happened in this metal’s history to make it sound so violent?

 

True, all of the poison in this album is rather aggressive, but an inanimate hunk of metal shouldn’t really be that intense what with the overwhelming dubstep vibe throughout the song. It’s all filled with growls and screams which frankly seem to be a bit of overkill in my book as I’d rather here some of the more cinematic suspenseful portions and while there’s a little bit in this song at the midway point, it’s not quite up to my expectations.

 

And then a possibility lurking in the back of your head begins to awaken.

 

Scrap metal must come from somewhere. A broken-down car or some other form of defunct machinery. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the machinery met its end due to overuse. There’s something out there. Something violent and destructive towards our industrial creations.

 

And all it leaves behinds are scraps.

 

Varien – Mother Superior (7): I would agree it’s always a good idea to respect one’s mother. And it seems that Mother Superior is quite demanding of respect. As soon as she appears on the scene, there’s a familiar vibe that you may be getting used to by now, overwhelming suspense created by simple creepy melodies and echoing electronic stabs with some heavy hitting cinematic drums. A clock ticks in the background counting down to the oncoming wrath. And a mother’s wrath is something to be feared.

 

Mother Superior’s theme hits a lot of the same notes as the Shadow People. That creepy melody and bass heavy suspense leading working together with intense drums into a dubstep drop? Exactly the sense of foreboding that the Shadow People presented. Oh but the wrath here is so much stronger, the growls hit harder and the theme lasts twice as long with a second heavy attack near the end with a slight syncopation to upset the balance before once again hitting the ending of the song with some rapidfire stabs before strangling what’s left of the warnings. It’s possible that Mother Superior is the leader of them, I don’t know how this poisonous world I’m imagining from Varien’s music works down to the letter. Anything’s possible.

 

Regardless, it’s a good idea to respect your mother, but in the case of this song’s poison, it might be a matter of life or death.

 

Varien – Welcome to Hell (7.25): Oh, well what a warm welcome to Hell itself. I guess this is a fair location to visit with all the poison that’s been presented in this album. Oh, but Hell is not a place for relaxation. I have no idea why you’d ever expect that looking at any of the religious sources describing the torturous side of the afterlife. Also, the theme of this album does seem to be quite the gritty violent vibe.

 

Oh, it’s a quiet welcome at first. Just a slight rumble with ever approaching growls echoing in the distance, but when the drums begin and the growls become more prominent, the song takes a slightly more upbeat distorted vibe providing a slight distorted note on every beat. And of course, as it continues on, there’s a climax midway through the song where the basslines reach their full potential with a violent depiction of the horrors that await. I even believe I hear some screams in there at some points, though perhaps the late night is making me delusional.

 

The song ends just as it began, with the faint growls echoing in the distance as they fade away…

 

But they’ll be back.

 

Hell is eternal.

 

Varien – Technical Difficulties (8): Anyways, after abandoning the absolute most horrifying place in all of existence, it’s time to move on to perhaps the best theme in the entire album. Oh, I’m not even going to try and hide behind some lore this time. I’m mostly just trying to use that to give a little bit of variety and atmosphere to the review, but this song? This one needs some special attention to its music.

 

Technical Difficulties has absolutely every strength from any of the other songs on this album and even more. Oh, the beginning has those intense wavering strings that began in Shadow People and of course that leads to the intense bass heavy cinematic drumbeat combo that is present in pretty much every build-up in this album. But after that. Every single moment of this song is absolutely unique.

 

There’s a melody coming from a distant guitar playing off in the middle of all the calm ambience, providing a different strangely soothing flavor foreign to the rest of the album. And the strings do a great job of building up a bit of suspense towards the climax of this song. But unlike the other final drops. This song instead opts to just play a bassline in the background while still focusing on the guitar melodies and strings for the main forefront. It’s actually a beautiful refreshing change of pace with some good drumbeats mixed in there. Making it one of the best songs on the album.

 

Varien – The Sickness (6.5): It’s no surprise that since we’re about two thirds through this album of poison that the sickness is starting to creep in. Poison isn’t the healthiest substance. Oh, and the suspense as this sickness seeps into the body is absolutely overwhelming. Just listen to those quiet voices of longing underlying the bassline and the drums at the beginning there, the moans of those dying from a disease that they’ve inflicted upon themselves. A slightly discomforting bassline rumbles growing ever closer as the drums, as always, build the short song to its climax as the sickness truly begins to take hold. Drums of war. An unbeatable war.

 

The distorted sickness takes a form of a sick bassline that dominates the song by playing long dark notes that display the cinematic dubstep vibe that infects this entire album. The note sometimes holds strong, and yet other times, it begins to waver, showing perhaps a weakness. Perhaps it can be cured. Or perhaps it’s merely strangling the body from the inside out before leaving the song ending the song climatically.

 

Does the end represent death? Perhaps if it were the last song on the album, but there is more to come.

 

Varien – Future Funk (7.75): This is the one of the only songs that could compete Technical Difficulties for the top spot on this album (it loses in the end, but it still stands out among the rest). And so, made up lore is once again not required to make the review of this particular song stand out among the rest. Oh, I could try to make up some story about some sort of funky time travel, but I can’t seem to make the edginess fit with that anyway. But what I can talk about is the variety that this track holds.

 

The first thing I want to highlight is the drum variety this song has over the rest of the songs. Most of the other songs have just the cinematic stabs in the build-ups and a steadier drumbeat, usually at a dubstep tempo, when it comes to the drop. However, this song explores a bit further than that simple pattern. At first, it starts following the two, section trend that the majority of the album uses. Cinematic drums with an unsteady tempo at first, followed by a half-time section at the drop (though interestingly this drumbeat is actually combined with the irregular cinematic drumbeat instead of outright abandoning in it). The second half is where the true variety comes in though. It starts out with the cinematic drums again at first, but then it introduces a new syncopated drumbeat (And if anyone knows me, they know I love syncopation). The syncopation adds a new groove that’s a bit more unique compared to the rest of the album, and it’s allowed to breathe for a second, without the cinematic drums getting in the way (though said drums do come in again a bit later). Long story short, the drumbeat is constantly changing and developing over the course of the entire album.

 

But the despite taking an entire paragraph, the drumbeats aren’t all that’s special about this song. Obviously a song called Future Funk has to have a bit of a groove to it. And that groove is created by the melodies and basslines that are scattered throughout this track. The most noticeable of these is the synth smoothly transforming between several different notes, creating a groove that surprisingly fits quite well with the more cinematic style this album presents. And under that melody, there’s plenty more, an atmospheric vocal sample that serves as the backbone of the track and a wavering simpler synth adding a secondary underlying melody to compliment the first And in the second half, a new bassline is introduced with a low growling arp accentuating that groovy funk to the maximum.

 

I haven’t quite decided whether or not I prefer this over Technical Difficulties, but both are incredibly solid additions to this album that easily stand out above the rest.

 

Varien – Schizophrenia (5.5): The bass heavy stabs at the beginning, overwhelming the forefront of the song during its stay. And yet, everything else sounds distant, a whisper of an arp, a slight build of chaotic strings in the background, and thunderous drums that leave a wavering cry in their dust. Everything in this song is so distant. Except for the bass. The bass. It’s absence in the middle third is welcome, but the song spends much of the time slamming the bassline over the rest of the track, making every other element of this song’s identity seem distant, almost non-existent.

 

What is left of the song when the harsh bass overwhelms every other piece of its identity?

 

What is left of you when harsh thoughts overwhelm every other piece of your identity?

 

Varien – Meteorite (7.75): As the album comes to a close, all that remains is Meteorite: the ultimate mysterious element of the world I’ve attempted to imagine for this album. Perhaps not quite as horrifying as the Shadow People and their Mother Superior. Perhaps not as existentially terrible as Death’s Call that welcomes you to hell. Perhaps not as dangerous as a creature that consumes metal, or a disease that consumes the mind. But Meteorite remains to be the most mysterious of the bunch. Sure, I couldn’t really think of much of an imaginative recreation of Technical Difficulties or Future Funk, but this is different.

 

Looking at the surface, yeah, a meteorite crashed. It happens sometimes. But like I said, there’s an overwhelming aura of mystery. Just listen to that piano melody at the beginning. it starts out soft, distant, combined with what sounds to be a slightly distorted guitar that muffles the simple melody. But as the melody approaches closer and closer to the core of this song, the meteorite that had shattered the surface of this world, the piano becomes stronger, nearly overwhelming the bass as the drums walk closer and closer to the otherworldly wreckage.

 

And then the song explodes into energy, the bassline once again taking the forefront, but unlike in Schizophrenia, the bassline doesn’t completely overtake the song. In fact, the piano is really still thee star of the song, increasing the mystery as it keeps up well with the more intense elements, as we get closer and closer to what appears to be a meteorite. But the guitar and bassline suggest that this isn’t just a hollow husk of extraterrestrial rock. There is something more here. You can hear it, even as the song once again fades into its previous calm demeanor. A subtle bassline stuttering along with the ambience echoing from the drums.

 

And then, for this album’s finale, the final climax of the song depicts an increase in intensity unlike any other on this album. The melody has been cut short, unable to keep up with the ever-accelerating tempo, a combination of the echoing drums from earlier and the rolling bassline that had previously appeared at the midpoint climax. But there’s no more time for the drums to echo. No more time for the bassline to catch a breath as it rises.

 

There’s no more time.

 

Conclusion: Pick Your Poison Vol 1 is a bit on the shorter side of the albums, seeing as ach of the song is no longer than a movie trailer (for good reason). Ten songs, seventeen minutes. If you read this review at a slow enough pace, you could actually finish listening to the album before reaching the end of this review. It’s not cream of the crop for Varien. It’s in fact the first album I’ve reviewed so far where none of the songs have reached an 8 or higher. Now, that doesn’t make it a bad album. None of the songs are bad per se. It’s a shorter experience so it doesn’t need to be exceptionally solid. It’s just a quick exploration into the harsher more cinematic side of Varien. There are a few small duds, but none of them are atrocious enough or long enough to ruin the experience of the album.

 

 

Final Score: (6.75/10)

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Celldweller – Celldweller Part 3 (2013 Instrumentals)

Album Links:

 

Bandcamp (instrumentals only): https://celldweller.bandcamp.com/album/celldweller-10-year-anniversary-edition-instrumentals

Soundcloud (original album and bonus tracks only): n/a

Spotify (full album): https://open.spotify.com/album/1gStSHuxB1XHGBzPDQHU9w?si=-zbQHTIATBy5VEUPoeVCGw

Youtube (Instrumentals from disc 1 only): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyL2RhXM8konpM1jG5Bb9NAzKiM4Dn4zD

Youtube (Instrumentals from disc 2 only): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyL2RhXM8konPjM_Tww92DcPG2XHA9OfG

 

Introduction: Final round of Celldweller’s debut album and we can put Klayton to rest for a good while as I return to some of the other artists I’ve been reviewing as well as branch out to others that I haven’t yet touched. But first, it’s time to finish up the last third of the review: the 26 instrumental songs. There may be no words left on this album. But I’ll say a few words regardless.

 

Celldweller – Switchback (Instrumental) (6): So, you may remember in the first part of this review, I mentioned the personal Switchback “meme” that my brother and I share. This is where it began. The instrumental for Switchback. Well, it actually wasn’t really as funny until we did it with the instrumental of Unshakeable, but you get the idea. However, while this was the starting point of heightening my enjoyment of Switchback’s vocals, it doesn’t actually benefit from this because those vocals are the best part of Switchback and since this is an instrumental. They simply aren’t present.

 

Ah well, I don’t want to spend too long talking about what this song isn’t. Let’s go over quickly about what the song is. First off, I want to point out the beginning of this track and how it differs a bit from the original. Why? Well, there are three Cell tracks on the original album, none of which get their own instrumental (like anyone wants thirty seconds of random ambience anyway), but Cell #1 gets some special attention in comparison to the rest as its second half is actually snuck into the beginning of this instrumental.

 

The rest of the song is… less interesting. The parts of the song that are able to utilize some of the electric side of Celldweller intrigue me slightly, but the solo rock portions are repetitive at best and they just end up making me miss the lyrics more than anything else. The closest thing this song has to an improvement is that there’s a great bassline that didn’t get much focus in the bridge, but when push comes to shove, the vocals are more important to this song than that bassline.

 

Celldweller – Stay with Me (Unlikeley) (7.25): For this song, I feel the departure of vocals actually lends its way to appreciating more of the melodies and glitches this song has to offer. And the song carries itself poised exactly as it would with vocals. Take the verses for example. In the original, there’s a couple of lines in the song that diverge from the rest (“me who said it” and “me who did it”) and while I didn’t notice it in the original (because the vocals were no top of them duh), there’s a little riff on lying underneath that carries the same energy.

 

The absence of the lyrics is an odd loss as I’m still not certain if they were truly well executed in the original. It could be about the inner turmoil of isolation (which I enjoy) but it also could be about toxic relationships. Why do I mention this here where the lyrics aren’t even relevant to this instrumental. Well, I guess I can’t tell how to rate it in relationship to those original vocals. I am thinking that this might be a slight step down, but it’s ever so slight it almost doesn’t even matter.

 

Celldweller – The Last Firstborn (Instrumental) (8): Oh yeah, remember when I said the original song would have been a bit better if there weren’t any vocals getting in the way? Well look at this! No violently suicidal vocals! Instead we have that wonderful switching back and forth between the rock and electronic that I listen to Celldweller for. And the best part is that it doesn’t even seem like the vocals are missing.

 

Most instrumental songs have an issue with feeling somewhat empty or overly repetitive. The Last Firstborn has so much constantly going on and so much constantly changing that it doesn’t even matter that the vocals are gone. It’s actually tough to highlight everything amazing that this song does, but a lot of it does have to do with the fact that there’s never a moment where one side of Celldweller electronic or rock truly takes over. My favorite parts are definitely the quicker paced electronic portions with perfectly arpeggiated chaos and a great underlying guitar for the bass. Though the bridge also deserves some mentioning

 

Whatever I highlight, the entire seven minutes is exceedingly enjoyable, and it really makes me appreciate how much effort was put into this song.

 

Celldweller – Under my Feet (Instrumental) (8.25): Without the lyrics, this song just sounds like a great journey that the guitar goes through as it progressively gets more intense. And considering that was my favorite part of the original song, I’m really happy to hear it in the spotlight. I’d already gone perhaps a bit too much in depth in the music of the original version of this review on all of the instruments surrounding this guitar’s journey (drums, choir, etc.).

 

The main takeaway is that here I can enjoy the journey without any distractions. There is one point in the middle of the song that pauses before leaping the farthest jump in intensity. It feels a little off, likely because there were some vocals closing that gap initially, but it’s not an overwhelming fault and to make up for it, the absence of the vocals in the end is extremely welcome. In the original song there were some spiteful lyrics at the end that ruined the entire message and left a bad taste in my mouth. Here, however, the journey simply fades out with the same melody the song began with. A much more satisfying form of poetry than spite.

 

Celldweller – I Believe you (Instrumental) (6.25): Ok, so while I’ve surprisingly had a good bit to say about the songs so far, this one is going to be short. I have so very little to say about it because not much in particular is standing out to me. Throughout all the rock portions of the track (and that makes up most of it), I can’t seem to find much that’s all that remarkable in comparison to anything else we’ve heard. I do enjoy bits and pieces of it. The syncopation, the little melody that occasionally appears. But most of the guitar riffs aren’t all that great. However, I do like the riffs a bit better when they’re distorted in such a way that makes them feel more distant like at the beginning. Also, the same riff is clearly better when played by a bassy synth at the minute mark. Well, at least it’s better in my opinion. My electronic bias is showing.

 

Since I am listening to this on loop as I review it, I must make sure to mention that this song loops very nicely, as that pause at the end is exactly four beats. It’s kind of an abrupt ending when played otherwise, but if you want to listen to this song forever, then you’re in for a treat. I don’t even want to do that with sons I thoroughly enjoy though so I’m going to have to pass on that one.

 

Celldweller – Frozen (Instrumental) (6.5): Hey, wait a second. This isn’t instrumental. There’s still that one moaning chick saying, “Let’s Go.” What a ripoff! I demand my money back! Except for the fact that I’m listening to this off of Spotify so the closest I am to paying for this track is the ten dollar monthly fee, and I have feeling that Spotify isn’t going to refund me my ten bucks just because some woman decided to attempt a seductive moan when she shouldn’t have. But hey, if you want to give me ten bucks, then I’m all up for it (shameless Patreon reminder).

 

Ah well, other than that, how does the rest of the track hold up. Eh. It’s a bit repetitive. I mean, I appreciate that it’s no longer oddly sexual in a way that doesn’t even seem enjoyable, but what’s left behind is a lot of empty creepiness in the verses and a simple melody in the chorus with nothing to distract from the fact that it might be considered a little bit annoying.  It’s the basslines that really save this song from falling by the wayside. Whenever, that two-note melody isn’t distracting, there’s an extra amount of focus on the basslines and they give a healthy variety to this track in the creepier verses and the first half of the bridge. And the second half of the bridge has a great guitar solo that’s worth noting.

 

Really, Frozen is a lot more enjoyable when the song itself isn’t about lack of enjoyment. Go figure.

 

Celldweller – Symbiont (Instrumental) (7.5): Funny how many of the songs with more uncomfortable lyrics have the best instrumentals. I mean, this isn’t quite as good as The Last Firstborn or Under My Feet, but the constant switch back and forth between the great halftime groove introduced in what was the song’s verses and the more upbeat insanity that comes in at the chorus. That first section has a consistent nice groove to it with the occasional glitching and the perfect smooth bassline. And then on the other side, we have the sudden drum and bass tempo with great guitar solos and some a drumbeat singing out the titular lyrics of the song (if the titular lyrics were there). Really, this one’s just a good enjoyable experience. Not exceptional, but definitely notable.

 

Celldweller – Afraid This Time (Instrumental) (7): The rewound elements of this particular song make for quite an unsettling introduction. I mean it gets better once the guitar and piano roll in there. In fact, it’s actually quite relaxing, but before that, you have to admit this song’s a bit creepy. And while creepy is all fine and good, the combination of piano and acoustic guitar is much better. Sometimes, all you need for a good time is a drumbeat, a piano and a guitar.

 

Unfortunately, this does mean that the parts of the song that are entirely drums and electronic bassline definitely pale in comparison to that perfect trio. I’m struggling to come up with anything to say about this chorus but I’m afraid it’s just uninteresting without the vocals. Which is a shame because that hampers the good guitar and piano we have in the verses.

 

Celldweller – Fadeaway (Instrumental) (8): Fadeaway’s instrumental goes through three phases. Well, I guess the original went through three phases as well as every single part of this instrumental is present in the original, but it’s much more relevant here as there are no good vocals to distract from the rest of the song. Yeah, that’s going to be a slipback in this case, but let’s talk about what the song does have.

 

The first phase obviously starts at the beginning during the first couple verses. It’s here that the song has some ominous slow pacing. The bass rumbles softly, foreboding the spectacularity that is the second phase. Every once and a while a couple of guitar melodies break the calmness, giving a break to the bassline that beckons danger, but such breaks are temporary until we reach the second phase.

 

The second phase takes all the energy that’s been building up for the past minute and a half and finally puts it to good use with the lovely quick paced DnB. There’s some decent variety here as new instruments are constantly being added and replaced, possibly allowing me to divide this phase into subphases, but I’m not going to do that. Right now, I’m just going to highlight the acidic bass that comes in at around 1:50 and the final few moments of this phase. After all the built-up energy from these guitars, a few short collections of riffs set the stage for the final phase.

 

And after just a couple seconds of silence (thanks to missing vocals), the song enters it’s final phase, one which builds up from a nice acoustic guitar laid on top of on a subtle electronic melody (which was present in the “silence” I just mentioned but I’m still calling it silence). The song doesn’t stay necessarily at this calmer acoustic level but slowly does build its way up to some bits of more intense rock, likely on the same level at the end of phase 2. It’s really nice to have a song build from simple lovely combinations into something a bit more extreme. I call that a build up from nothing. Not the best example, but it is an example, just as this is an example as a good instrumental.

 

Was better with lyrics though.

 

Celldweller – So Sorry to Say (Instrumental) (7.75): As I’d mentioned when I reviewed the vocal version of this song two weeks ago, this song stands out among many of the other Celldweller tracks due its use of strings and piano. Most songs in the Celldweller discography are some variety of rock (be it hard or soft) with some mixture of electronic elements sprinkled in there. And while this song does have some of the normal Celldweller in it. There are some good strings in many parts of the songs and the piano serves as the most memorable part of this instrumental due to their more unique nature. There’s also some odd distorted vocals near the end which I enjoy despite this being labeled an instrumental.

 

Now, I’m not just highlighting all these atypical instruments of this song to say that the rock and electronic parts are worthless in comparison. There’s plenty of variety to be had just looking at the guitar work and the glitched out drumbeat. The latter of which is generally pretty self-explanatory. A bit of syncopation and semi-unpredictability is exactly what I like and expect from drums such as these. The former, which definitely does have its usual moments does step up to provide some a good underlying drive in the song’s chorus

 

So yes, this song does hold up quite well on its own. It was admittedly a slight bit better with the existential isolation lyrics, but it still works well enough on its own.

 

Celldweller – Own Little World (Instrumental) (6): As soon as this instrumental begins my heart starts racing with pleasure, but the only reason for that is because I love the original so much. Because without the lyrics, this song really feels a bit more underwhelming than it should. Oh, it’s good, but it just feels a bit empty. The verses have this cool feeling that’s a bit more chill than the chorus as well as a bit more chilling. It doesn’t play too much with that feeling though. And the chorus is even more riskless. It’s just a couple of guitars playing the chord progression with a beat in the background. When I was listening to the original song I was so hyped up by the lyrics and their delivery that I didn’t even care how simple the chorus was. I was too busy singing along to care. And now I can’t do that. Now I’m uninterested

 

It really almost feels like the same one-minute song played twice in a row, with a final iteration with some slight changes: a verse that’s a bit less chill and chilling and a chorus that’s a bit more intense. It just ends up being a skippable instrumental which is rather surprising considering how much I enjoy the original.

 

Celldweller – Unlikely (Stay With Me) (Instrumental) (7): There are so few lyrics in the vocal version of this song, that this version feels pretty much exactly the same. And so, since I was kind of drawn towards the instrumental anyway when originally reviewing this song, I really am not left with much to say here. There’s a decent blend of electronic and rock in this one, with neither side of the Celldweller coin overpowering the other. It has nothing on the instrumental of Last Firstborn, but it still allows for a nice tone and development… Really that covers pretty much all I feel like saying on this one. It was a good song and it still is.

 

Celldweller – One Good Reason (Instrumental) (4.5): You know what? I have even less to say about this one. It drones on at the beginning sounding like a swarm of bees and then from then on out it’s just an unremarkable Celldweller song. Mostly rock with such minimal electronic portions that are only apparent in the chiller intro. I’m sure I mentioned this in the original review but it’s too heavy and gritty for my tastes.

 

At least the worst lyrics on the album are gone.

 

Celldweller – The Stars of Orion (Instrumental) (8): The Stars of Orion was another song with minimal lyrics like Unlikely (Stay With Me). But there is a difference here. While I wouldn’t say the lyrics of the original are bad (they’re pretty meaningless really), I feel like they do distract from the main creepy mood of the song. The mood created by all of the interesting instrumental content this song has to offer. It starts and ends with some great ambience, and the middle is covered in good distorted electronic basslines that fit a song of this tempo and drum pattern (hint, it’s DnB which is pretty much a guarantee of enjoyment for me). This song ends up creating an environment of feeling lost even more than the original could, making it one of my favorite instrumentals of the album (other than the songs rated 8.25).

 

Celldweller – Welcome to the End (Instrumental) (6.5): Oh no, I’m not welcoming you to the end of this review yet. Sure, this may have been the conclusion to the first part of this review, but I still have to do all the bonus tracks after this. So, I guess I’m welcoming you to the middle (about 60% done).

 

Welcome to The End is, once again, the chilliest song the album has to offer. And I’m including the vocal songs as well. Without the vocals (unless you count what I believe are dolphins at the beginning as vocals but nonhumans are not valid), this song is utterly relaxing. It’s no longer a cryptic story of leaving one’s home. It’s just a song that paints a picture of relaxing near the ocean. At least I visualize it as an ocean. The dolphins and the occasional bubbling do help with that whole thing.

 

Unfortunately, the song does feel a bit empty as it’s trying to make room for the vocals that aren’t there.  The guitar breaks the silence on occasion. But unfortunately, the song has a paradoxical relationship with the vocals. It’s more relaxing without, but with that relaxation comes an emptiness. Perhaps with a more meditative mood, this can be enjoyed, but I’ve never been one to clear my mind. So this one just stands as a good song.

 

Celldweller & Tom Salta – Ghosts (Instrumental) (7.25): And here we have a Deluxe instrumental of a Deluxe track. There’s less of these to go through, but just as much good to point out. The original’s lyrics really didn’t come too much into my play on my opinion with this one, so we’re not missing much this time around. In fact, I think this song improves a bit focusing on just the variety of sections this song has. Sure, there are a few spots where the song feels a bit emptier than it should with the absence of lyrics. Within each section of the song, there isn’t much melodic variety, which is usually covered by the cleaner vocals this song has to offer. Where there’s the grittier vocals, the song sounds a bit more complete as the bassline here holds its own. Except maybe that moment at the three minute mark where the song pauses for two full seconds for Celldweller to scream those last couple words… except he’s not screaming those words today. He isn’t there vocally. That’s the point of an instrumental.

 

But Tom Salta’s strings are definitely the star of the show here. They were the best part of the song when the vocals were present, and they still are. Outside of the bassy gritty portions of the song, it’s these strings that provide most of the variety., present especially in the chorus and before each verse. It’s a pleasure to see a few clean smooth instruments clash with Celldweller’s harsher style. This one doesn’t reach the same heights as So Sorry to Say. The basslines in this song do allow for some good variety as well, not as noticeable as the strings, but the difference between the more electronically focused bass in the verses and the rock focused bass in the chorus is distinct enough to add the perfect touch to this song.

 

Celldweller – Uncrowned (Instrumental) (7.75): Ok, this is just your typical fantastically intense DnB track. And I love DnB so that’s a good thing. Plus there’s plenty of guitars as expected from Celldweller so that’s a slight extra flavor that makes it stand out a bit from the other typical fantastically intense DnB tracks. I do quite enjoy it when rock and electronic collide (which is probably my favorite thing about Celldweller) and this song is once again one that shows off a bit of that diversity, delegating the bass to the electronic side and pretty much everything else to the rock. Oh, but it still feels quite balanced with how much bass variety this song has as it switches between lightning paced DnB and some good half-time that can be used as a breather with strings instead of guitars. The song is constantly changing, keeping me on my toes as I’m shifted back and forth between rock and electronic, DnB and halftime, this riff to that riff. The list goes on and the song is enjoyable the whole way through.

 

Celldweller – Tragedy (Instrumental) (5.75): Remember when I’d first reviewed Tragedy? I mentioned how the song really sounded like Celldweller just wanted to make a cover of a Bee Gees song with an edgier rock-oriented twist. And that’s all he really wanted to do. Make a rock cover and have a little fun without worrying over whether or not the music was exceptional. So, what is this song without the lyrics that make it a Bee Gees cover?

 

Not much. I mean, it’s not bad, but it’s so riskless in comparison to the other Celldweller songs once you strip them all down to the basics. This song is just another track to move on from.

 

Celldweller – Shapeshifter (Instrumental) (7): What is Shapeshifter without its rapped verses and violently misheard chorus? Well, the end result is still a song that still stands out a bit from its surrounding instruemntals. Or maybe I’m just saying that because anything will feel it stands out after listening to tragedy…

 

Ah well, unique or not this song has a lot of good strengths, sticking strongly to that electronic rock fusion. The rock is definitely the overwhelming of the two sides here (as per usual), but it isn’t a situation in which the electronic is completely covered up. The chorus is a bad example as the only thing close to electronic there is that annoying synth which does not help this song’s case that much (It’s only in the first chorus this time though so that’s different). The verses on the other hand have some good little plucks of flavor that help keep the song interesting even without the rapper providing the usual variety. And in the bridge, the absence of the vocals really brings out some great bassline work. I wasn’t quite certain if it was still electronic or not upon my first couple listens, but it doesn’t really matter the origin of this sound. It really adds a lot to the bridge and I’m thankful that this instrumental has allowed me to home in on its excellency.

 

Electronics aside, the parts that are fully rock do truly rock. So, I’m not at all bothered by them overtaking the spotlight at parts in this song. There’s something about the final chorus that really feels like it concludes the song quite nicely. Of course, maybe that’s just because it follows that great bridge… and it is the end of the song…

 

Still don’t know what this song has to do with shapeshifting.

 

Celldweller – Goodbye (Klayton remix) (Instrumental) (7.5): Klayton’s remix of Celldweller’s Goodbye (it’s odd and I’ll never get used to it), is a 7-minuter, which means that in order to succeed, it really needs to have a good dynamic variety to make it worth its time. And that can be tricky to do with an instrumental song that was originally made to have vocals providing some of that variety. However, I believe this nonlinear remix of Goodbye does succeed in that variety. It does so barely, but it’s just enough.

 

The beginning of the song seems to have a bassline that drones on for quite a while at first, but the drums accompany to lengthen its lifespan of interest for some time until the song fully picks up its pace with a second bassline (yes) a full DnB drumbeat (even more yes). The bassline does undergo a healthy amount of variation as the song progresses, but it never gets tired as it does take some breaks to bring in a guitar to fill in the space for a short bit, elongating the time this DnB can reasonably continue. And before it runs dry, the song finally takes a small step back tempo wise and trades the lightning paced syncopation for some slower slightly more dramatic half time with much more focus on the guitar this time around as it eventually distorts its way into a good solo for the ending as the song returns to its creepy droning roots.

 

I really can’t say that a certain part of this song is my favorite part. It’s simply a good variety of some really good ideas. Sometimes, that’s all you need for an enjoyable experience.

 

Celldweller – The Last Firstborn (Klayton remix) (Instrumental) (7.75): In my last two reviews, comparing the original version of the Last Firstborn to this Klayton remix, the latter was the clear winner. However, the reason for that victory had very little to do with the music itself, but simply because the slightly stripped down lyrics of this version happened to strip away the most problematic portions of the song. But this third part of the Celldweller review, changes everything. Because now all the lyrics have been stripped away. Klayton’s remix no longer has the lyrical advantage and now the two songs can be held side by side to determine which one is truly musically better.

 

It’s the original.

 

I mean, this is good and all and I stand by the 7.75/10 I gave it last week, but there really is little difference between this and the lyrical version. I still appreciate the mysterious progression and the focus on the electronic arp that proved to be my favorite part of the original, but there’s so many other things in the original that contribute to the electronic rock fusion that is Celldweller. And it’s that balanced fusion that really makes The Last Firstborn so exceptional. Without the lyrics holding it back, Klayton’s remix never stood a chance.

 

Still a good remix though.

 

Celldweller – Switchback (Klayton remix) (Instrumental) (6.75): Because the Copy Paste Repeat remix doesn’t have an instrumental (for understandably chaotic reasons), we’re having three of those Klayton remixes in a row. If it weren’t for the next two songs, we’d be able to knock all four of them out in one shot (though honestly, I think I’d rather have eliminated the fourth Klayton remix than sacrifice the two songs in between).

 

Anyways, we’re back to the iconic Switchback song, just without the iconic switchbacking vocals… So, is it worth anything? Well, even without the vocals, there are still plenty of elements here that are reminiscent of the original. The most prominent of them being the bassline. Now, as you saw in the beginning of this review, I’m not particularly fond of this bassline. I don’t dislike it. I’m just not fond of it. But here, it seems to work a bit better. Perhaps that’s because this is a more electronic version of switchback and not the original almost entirely rock version we heard earlier. And because of that, I’m noticing a bit more variety in how the instrumentation transforms over time. And that’s especially noticeable with the lyrics stripped away.

 

The song is still missing the variety that is usually provided by the bridge, which does hold the track back slightly and I feel with that tiny hint more of variety it would reach that 7 point threshold, but alas, it shall reside back with a 6.75.

 

This is the last of the five Switchback songs in this entire deluxe album. No going back now.

 

It’s too late to switch back.

 

Celldweller – Atmospheric Light (Demo Redux) (Instrumental) (6): This is the only demo to get an instrumental for some reason. Perhaps the redux means something that allows it to have an instrumental when the others couldn’t. Which is really a shame because Waiting could really have used an instrumental. This song on the other hand… well I didn’t really mind the lyrics from the original (didn’t enjoy them all that much but didn’t mind them), so this song didn’t need an instrumental. And to be honest, this song is really one of the most repetitive tracks that this entire album has to offer. The main electronic synth feels like it’s playing the same couple notes over and over again with maybe a little bit of automation, but not enough to give the song a full fleshed out feeling to it. The guitar does help a little and the strings do make the song actually feel complete for a brief moment, but for the most part, this song just feels a bit empty. Some decent mysterious vibes, but other than that quite insignificant.

 

Celldweller – Own Little World (Blue Stahli remix) (Instrumental) (8.25): While the instrumental of the original version of this song kind of fell flat, Blue Stahli’s version can easily hold its own even without my favorite lyrics on the album. Everything I initially enjoyed about this remix is even better the second time around. I already spoke pretty in depth about the nonvocal elements of this song last week as the vocals were already covered the week before, but there are still some things I want to go a tiny bit more in depth with.

 

First off, there’s the funky guitar in the verses. I already knew this bassline has a good groove when I’d first heard this song, but without the lyrics, there’s such a heavy focus on the deep groovy feeling emanating from the bass end of this track that I simply have to mention it again. Really any moment of the guitar is driven with so much intensity that its surprising that the vocals were able to make a mark without being overwhelmed by the instrumental. But it all worked out with the vocals, and it works quite nearly as well without. Same goes for the build-up from nothing, which was originally laden with Celldweller’s lyricless cries and now is able to have a bit more focus on the strings that serve as the backbone for that track.

 

It’s all still better with vocals though. That was obvious from the start.

 

Celldweller – Shapeshifter (Klayton remix) (Instrumental) (7.5): There is very little to say on this one. I may have bit myself in the butt when reviewing these remixes, as it’s difficult to talk of anything but music after all of the lyrical analysis has already left my system when I’d reviewed the original. And when I’d reviewed this remix, all I really said was that this song is more intense and aggressive than the original. I gave a few examples of why, but a lot of it comes down to how dense this song has become. Every single second of this song is filled to the brim with intense basslines and the like that it’s incredibly overwhelming. The electronic elements (most noticeably the simple plucks and melodies in the verses) have become a lot more prominent, but none of the guitarwork has suffered because of it.

 

I’ve said so much between the other three times I’ve reviewed Shapeshifter (all of which are somewhat similar musically outside of intensity and whether or not there are vocals), that I feel that there is very little left to say for this one.

 

Celldweller – Goodbye (Instrumental) (5.5): Goodbye has a great build at the beginning of the song, filled with ominous basslines (both the long sweeping distortion and the wavering notes) and the occasional melody. This build is the best part of the song, concluding with some a good rise with the guitar as we near the main theme of the song.

 

And that’s about all I have to say positively for this one. This song goes nowhere. This wasn’t much of a problem with the original version as it had some existential lyrics about the neverending passage of time, but as time passes in this version… it’s just not that interesting. The guitar is repetitive and plodding. The short breaks are somewhat appreciated, but I’ve noticed that they’re really the same pattern without the guitar. The melody near the end does provide a bit more variety, but it really wouldn’t be special in any other song. Only reason I appreciate it here is because the rest of the song is a bit bland. And that says more about the low quality of the song than the higher quality of the melody.

 

And as it turns out, because the demos are defunct and there’s no instrumental available for the orchestral wonder that is Switchback (No I’m Not remix), we are actually ending this review, once and for all with a fitting song.

 

Goodbye.

 

Conclusion: Ok, that’s the last of Celldweller I plan on reviewing for a long while. I love the guy, but his Deluxe albums are a bit extreme, especially this time around. And so, after three whole consecutive weeks of Celldweller, I plan on delaying coming back to revisit his discography any time soon. Maybe not even this year. Good album though. There were definitely some rough patches here and there, but each part of the review got better and better. In some ways I guess the instrumentals didn’t add too much content for me to talk about, but I feel it did allow me to shed some nice light on some of the edgier tracks whose lyrics got in the way. Sometimes, you just have to strip down a song to its elements to truly enjoy it. This doesn’t always work though as there were definitely a few songs in here that would have been better had Klayton still been singing, but you can’t win them all. But seeing as the score has slightly improved, I guess you have to win some of them.

 

Final Score for Original album: (6.5/10)

Final Score for Bonus Tracks: (6.75/10)

Final Score for Instrumentals: (7/10)

Final Score for Album Overall: (6.75/10)

 

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Celldweller – Celldweller Part 2 (2013 bonus tracks)

Album Links:

 

Bandcamp (original album and bonus tracks only): https://celldweller.bandcamp.com/album/celldweller-10-year-anniversary-deluxe-edition

Soundcloud (original album and bonus tracks only): https://soundcloud.com/celldweller/sets/celldweller-10-year-2

Spotify (full album): https://open.spotify.com/album/1gStSHuxB1XHGBzPDQHU9w?si=-zbQHTIATBy5VEUPoeVCGw

Youtube (original album and bonus tracks only): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnUoeQ45vgmtIWyb40DiweCdge84Y282Y

 

Introduction: I spent plenty of time introducing Celldweller and the rest of Klayton’s aliases last week, though most of them aren’t relevant for this review. Well, Celldweller is relevant because it’s his album, and it could also be argued that the Klayton’s Alias makes an appearance as there’s a good handful of songs here saying they’re remixed by Klayton (which is just a fancy way of saying it’s a VIP or rework). Besides, these Klayton remixes don’t quite match the modern purpose of that particular moniker.

 

That being said, I do believe that this review will be slightly shorter than the last as there are indeed some remixes (meaning no lyrical analysis required) as well as some “demos” (which are a bit more bare-boned).

 

More in depth explanations of what’s going on in this album will come in due time.

 

Celldweller & Tom Salta – Ghosts (7): Welcome…

 

To a new beginning…

 

Let’s begin this bonus content extravaganza with Ghosts, Celldweller teams up with another artist to create a new combination of rock, electronic AND orchestral. That last bit is likely thanks to Tom Salta an artist that has released on Klayton’s FiXT label under the name Atlas Plug. Oh, and I think he might have made the soundtrack for a video game franchise called Hola or something. I don’t know, it has a lot of guns or something. I’m a music lover, not a gamer.

 

I do feel that there’s a bit of overlap between the Tom Salta & Celldweller styles, so it’s rather difficult to parse exactly what other elements he’s responsible for other than the assumption that Celldweller doesn’t usually dip into the orchestral stuff like this. The breakbeat bassline sections are a bit more his style. I had guessed for a second that he might have been responsible for the clean vocals on the song, but I think that was just my bias of seeing a feat. Rather than an & and expecting an extra vocalist (I always change feat. to & in my reviews so I guess that confusion doesn’t translate well here and just makes you even more confused). The vocals do sound a little bit different, but that could be my mind playing tricks on me. I don’t believe that Tom is really the singing type from what I know though, but I could be wrong. It’s kind of hard to uncover this information. Perhaps I should just go with the assumption that there is no information not uncover.

 

Well, I’ve talked about Tom long enough and I think I’ve summed up the music well enough with the little bits I’ve scattered through the Tom discussion so perhaps I can speak of some lyrics now. The lynchpin to discovering what this song is about is clearly the identity of these ghosts. I’ve taken some time looking to see if I can scrounge up some meaning other than the enjoyment of talking edgily about dead things, but it’s proven difficult to come up with a definitive answer that feels like it tightly fits those lyrics. I want to say the song has to do with facing ones past regrets that threaten to haunt us, but I really feel like I’m reaching for that one and when I feel like I’m reaching, then maybe there’s nothing there to begin with.

 

Until one of you reads this and it easily dawns on you what the meaning is and then you message me on Twitter or something to tell me how blind I have been to the message that these ghosts are presenting. Don’t get mad at me. Ghosts are invisible. How am I supposed to see?

 

Celldweller – Uncrowned (6.75): Drum. And. Bass. One of the fastest subgenres of EDM and this song clocks in at about 190 BPM which is an exceptionally speedy tempo, even for DnB. The basslines and guitar riffs do a pretty good job of keeping up with the energy. There could be a bit more variety as much of the song feels rather similar with the same basslines and guitar riffs over and over again, but I think the overall speed of the track (plus the occasional slower portion) makes up for that lack of variety.

 

As for the lyrics, well, they’re a bit iffy. Remember Under My Feet and how the last line of that song was incredibly spiteful wishing for another’s downfall. Yeah that spiteful ending encompasses the entirety of this song. Whether or not this makes the lyrics worse or better than Under my Feet is debatable, as more focus on the disliked lyrics is logically worse, but I feel part of what made Under My Feet’s ending so bad is its context. The entirety of the song before that point had been about Celldweller rising out of the pit he’s in and so the spiteful ending was incredibly unfitting to the mood. This song has no such context and so the entire message of the song is pride goeth before the fall and you and your legacy will inevitably fade away from eternity. And while I think I’d prefer something a bit more inspiring, I think I’m still able to enjoy the edgy side of these lyrics on their own.

 

Celldweller – Tragedy (6.25): So, sometime in the years approaching 2013, Klayton (the man behind Celldweller in case you forgot), was listening to some music back from the late 70s and as he listened to Bee Gees, he thought to himself “huh, this song is good, but you know what it needs? Some gritty guitar riffs with a darker tone.”

 

And you know what? It turned out to be a pretty good idea. It’s not top notch Celldweller. I’d say it’s actually rather par for the course when it comes to this album: mostly rock, with the occasional hint of electronic. There are some parts that stand out such as the rising and falling of the arpeggiated chord progression as the bridge transitions between the last two choruses. An ok melody there too. But for the most part, this song just sounds like Klayton just wanted to have a little fun creating a simple Celldweller spin on a song he enjoyed.

 

As for the lyrics, they do run the uncomfortable route that is a break-up song. I mean, it’s a better theme than the toxic relationship, perhaps even the correct course of action to follow a toxic relationship, but I still rarely find the theme to be really all that enjoyable to listen to and discuss. The best a break-up song can do is rise above the rest and actually be mature instead of the childish whining and complaining I see in many break-up songs. This one is roughly in the middle for me. Oh, Celldweller is definitely showing some bitterness towards the deteriorating relationship, but it’s all internal turmoil. There is no fault placed in the other’s hands. It’s all him and his bleak depression that’s creating this world of tragedy. It’s not ideal, but it’s realistic and certainly not an annoying line of reasoning. Would be nice if Celldweller could find a way to overcome this tragedy that is taking over his life, but sometimes tragedy is all we see…

 

And by Celldweller I mean the Bee Gees because they were the ones who originally wrote this song. It sounded a little bit different back then.

 

 

Celldweller & Styles of Beyond – Shapeshifter (6): Of all the bonus track I’m reviewing today, this one is the most popular. In fact, it might be the only one of these tracks to even hold a candle to Switchback and Frozen. But that’s the consensus of the general public (which I more often than not disagree with). But regardless of how much love I think Own Little World deserves more attention, where does Shapeshifter stand in relation to the two powerhouses I mentioned? Somewhere in between…

 

The first thing you might notice about Shapeshifter is how different the vocals are from the rest of Celldweller’s work. Well, the obvious explanation for this is found right in the credits of the song: Celldweller AND Styles of Beyond. Now, I’m not very well versed (not versed at all actually) on this artist’s discography beyond Shapeshifter, but I believe it’s a safe bet to say that he’s the rapper that gives this Celldweller track a unique twist. But is it a twist I like? I am quite picky with my rap after all as lyrical content is more important than ever with such a genre.

 

So hey, that will work as the perfect segue to trying to decipher these lyrics… It’s ‘bout cars. There’s nothing deep to this. 500 words over three and a half minutes, and it’s all about outracing the cops while racing other sweet rides (not sure what this has to do with shapeshifting, but I’m just going to roll with it). Not exactly what I’m looking for, but I don’t really dislike it either. Really, it just feels like the type of rap you’d slap on top of a beat with above average intensity. And seeing as the intense beats are quite common for Celldweller, it seems that this rap fits perfectly.

 

Speaking of the intensity of Celldweller, now may be a good time to appreciate the striking guitar riffs and the few subtle electronic elements in the verses. I really enjoy these subtleties the best as they provided that perfect extra touch to give the verses a tiny boost of variety. There’s also the overload of guitar in the chorus, but I’m not as much of a fan of those parts of the song. Same goes for the brudge to a lesser extent.

 

In the end, I’m feeling rather neutral about this one. Nothing about it is bad, but there’s not much here that’s really great either.

 

One last thing I forgot to mention when talking about the vocals would be Celldweller’s screaming in the chorus and the bridge. Not my favorite side of his vocal style but it does suit the song. But the real reason I want to mention it is because I want to introduce one common reoccurring issue I have with certain lyrics. Oh, it’s not any fault of the song. It’s all about my own mishearing the lyrics that is causing this odd and perhaps concerning issue. Until I reviewed the song today, I did not realize that the chorus was just repeating the name of the song. No, apparently my violent brain decided that Celldweller was screaming “DIE… JUST DIE!” From here on out, Shapeshifter Syndrome will refer to moments where I mishear lyrics and interpret them, to be much more disturbingly violent than they really are (though considering the tone of those vocals can you really blame me in this case?).

 

Celldweller – Goodbye (Klayton Remix) (7.25): Ok, so this is quite odd. Here we are about the quarter of the way into the bonus tracks. And we’ve come across this Klayton remix of a Celldweller song we haven’t heard before. First off, I find it weird that the remix appears first while the original version of the song isn’t played until the end of the album (excluding the demos which I shall also be reviewing. So, I’m reviewing the remix before the original, which I find rather uncomfortable to be honest

 

Also, Klayton is the same person as Celldweller so I’m not sure who exactly he’s trying to fool here as he does this several times on the album. The song is just a bit more electronic than it was before… later…

 

Ok, you know what, this whole nonlinear thing is really messing me up. Celldweller broke the rules by putting this song earlier I the track listing so I’m going to break the rules and head on over to the last song on the album before coming back here to review the remix. I’ll be right back.

 

Ok, I’m back. Let’s take a look at the remix of Goodbye after reviewing the original. I shan’t be long because I’ve already done the little analysis this song has to offer over there so I’ll just skip that, so you’ll have to wait for it (or read ahead since this whole thing is out of order now). But now that we’re here, we can talk about the more electronic version of Goodbye, my preferred version.

 

Sure it drones on a bit at the beginning, with only a bit of chopped up vocals and some drumbeats, but once the song gets past the first minute of that droning, Celldwelller’s scream allows the song to go up a notch with the fast-paced DnB that dominates much of this song. Complete with some bleeps and bloops here and there, a few great basslines and of course some chopped up vocals of the titular line of the song. There’s some full lyrics starting midway through the song, but they’re really a footnote in this experience of Celldweller’s strength of combining electronic basslines and guitar riffs.

 

This song has the same existential strengths as the original but ends up being one of the best bonus tracks of this album due to the incredible improvements on the instrumentation and tone. I’d talk about those existential strengths here but I’m going to talk about them later in this review (or had talked about them earlier today as I am writing this. Time travel is confusing.).

 

Celldweller – The Last Firstborn (Klayton remix) (7.75): Another occurrence of Klayton remixing a song that he’d originally produced? We’re going to see a good few of these today. Like with the remix of Goodbye, Klayton fully embraces the more electronic side of the song. From the very beginning he uses the same arp that dominated the more electronically focused parts of the song. Except without the strong drumbeat, the entire mood has been changed from its original energetic intensity to a developing sense of mystery accentuated by the use of distorted vocals.

 

About halfway through the song the guitar finally breaks through, bringing its song to its energetic glory. Everything here gets more powerful. The drums are no longer distant. The bassline has a harsher more prominent vibe. The arp has gone from subtle and mysterious to a much brighter sound filled with the energy that the original song had. Overall, this song has some great development in its mood as it transforms from its mysterious cryptic style to a briefly more energetic focus.

 

The lyrics are thankfully sparser and many of the more violent lyrics have been removed from this version of the song. We still have the description of a possible murder scene, but without the bleak and depressing context, the scene feels no bloodier than some of the edgier songs I’ve reviewed.

 

So yes, definitely a massive improvement. Though I think the original would still have been better if the lyrics were absent… Man, wouldn’t it be nice if that were possible.

 

Celldweller – Frozen (Copy Paste Repeat remix) (8): Oh wow. This is a mess, but it’s the good kind. Copy Paste Repeat completely tears apart the song and reorganizes it into a completely different chaotic mess of patterneless drumbeats, harsh basslines and vocals chopped beyond anything else on this album. There is a small portion in the middle that allows the original chorus of the song to play without any interruptions, but the chaos is always lurking in the background, ready to strike as soon as the chorus ends, taking the chaos to new levels unheard of. And while I shouldn’t expect anything clean from thsi sound, the ending of this song is so glitchy and rough that I still thought my headphones broke when I first listened to it.

 

Oh, and once again, like the last song, the vocals I like less (the overly sexual ones in this case) are eliminated from this version, leaving only the feeling of being frozen in time, and since I like time shenanigans, this one’s going to get a good solid rating from me.

 

There is no good way to review this song, but I’m perfectly content just sitting back and letting the perfect chaos that is this track fill my ears.

 

Celldweller – Switchback (Klayton remix) (7.25): And welcome back to Switchback. There may just be the one Klayton remix this time around (unless I’m forgetting something, which according to this addendum from my future self, I am) but trust me. We’re going to see a lot of Switchback in the future. Not any time soon likely, but I promise it will happen.

 

This Switchback remix starts out quite similar to that Copy Paste Repeat song from last time what with the glitching around and distortion of the vocals, but Celldweller hasn’t truly caught the Copy Paste Repeat Chaos, it’s just for the first three seconds of the song (though there are a fair amount of vocal chops), the rest is an entirely electronic version of the iconic Switchback. There’s still a good influence from the original with its bassline, but it’s been distorted into something new with much of the rest of the song focusing on adding a few new electronic elements, foregoing the rock entirely (ok maybe a guitar riff here and there, but that’s almost completely covered up in the background, I almost didn’t notice it until at least the third time around this song today).

 

However, while I do appreciate the consistent electronic enjoyment, I will admit that this song only just barely gets by with having enough variety. The drumbeat has a couple of switchups but for the most part it’s constant (which isn’t bad, but it’s teasing me with those syncopated portions). There are a few different basslines in there, but they don’t go through them and interchange them nearly fast enough. I now I’m probably being too picky, but a 7-minute song must do its best to capture the attention of the listener with such a variety to justify its length, and if it weren’t for the section where the first verse gets a spotlight, I’m not sure if I’d have found this song interesting enough to consider to be on par with the original.

 

I’m probably being too harsh, this song is still quite enjoyable (as all Switchback songs are), and I think it’s a fun spin on the original. I’m not quite certain which one I prefer as this song is more consistent but doesn’t quite measure up to the high points of the original. But both are fun tracks, and both deserve a good rating.

 

Celldweller – Atmospheric Light (Demo Redux (6.75): Hmmmm… a demo. These are often slightly lower quality than the normal tracks as they’re essentially discarded tracks that either weren’t good enough or didn’t quite fit with the albums they were produced for, and so they got relegated to this collection of bonus tracks.

 

As the title of this song establishes, the music of this song has a bit of an atmospheric feel to it, fading in at the beginning to reveal the main melody of the song and then later fading out with the same exact melody. This melody is present throughout the entirety of the song in between, only interrupted by the occasional guitar riff and drumbeat (and those drums are really just there to accentuate the guitar. This is definitely the most minimalistic song on the album, only giving music that’s absolutely necessary for the song to progress.

 

I feel that the lyrics are somewhat simple as well. The focus of this song is the same focus as many of the songs on the original album, breaking ties until one is completely alone and isolated and facing one’s regrets. Not a great feeling as I’ve explained several times in the first part of this review. This one adds in something a bit different alluding to Celldweller’s mother and his hope that she will accept him as he returns to his roots, something new for now, albeit I believe this theme becomes a bit more common in later albums.

 

Celldweller – Own Little World (Blue Stahli remix) (9.25): It’s no secret that I love Own Little World (and if you didn’t know that then you clearly didn’t read part one of this review which begs the question of why you’re here), I don’t believe I need to go into what I believe to be the most positive isolation on Celldweller’s debut album. I explained plenty of that this week. What I have to do this week is figure out how this Blue Stahli remix compares to the original.

 

Blue Stahli is an artist from the early days of Celldweller’s own label, FiXT. This band that also specializes on the electronic rock fusions, though I believe Blue Stahli falls more onto the electronic side, this time especially. It begins with a half time varied rock verse accompanying Celldweller’s chopped up vocals (more chopped than in the Switchback remix but not quite as chopped as the nearly unintelligible Copy Past Repeat remix). The bassline here is absolutely exceptional.

 

The song constantly changes from that point onwards though, getting better with each change. The first two choruses focuses on a more upbeat syncopated vibe accompanying my favorite lyrics on the album. And while the second verse is quite similar to the first, after this first formulaic half of the song, everything changes.

 

First off, we have to return to those vocal chops with some great electro bassline stabs. Which quickly transforms into a new more melodic portion as the song sounds like it’s about to come to a conclusion.

 

But Blue Stahli isn’t done yet. He aims to “Break it down” with a build-up from nothing, an element which has up to this point, been completely absent from the album. Taking a step back with an acoustic guitar and a soft drumbeat that I want to describe as crunchy, the song rises up, drops out and then immediately returns with van upbeat version of everything we’ve heard so far. It’s here that the song truly reaches for its conclusion, leaving me wanting more of this fantastic remix.

 

And so, I’ll listen to it again.

 

Celldweller – Shapeshifter (Klayton remix) (7.25): Klayton asked a question: What if Shapeshifter was even more aggressive and intense? And so, he decided to answer his own question and make Shapeshifter just that in his now commonplace Klayton remix (despite the redundancy of the idea). The rap and screaming chorus have retained the same energy as they’d had before, but all the music surrounding them have been kicked up several notches.  Much of this is thanks to his increased blending of electronic elements into this version. Much of the verses are filled with small subtleties, especially in the verses. Actually, throughout the song there’s an extra rapid bassline shoved in the background that gives an extra drive to the verses along with some good ol’ syncopation. This eventually develops into a more high-pitched synth that stands out a bit more, but it still has the exact same effect. Take what’s there and make faster. Make it more intense. Make this race from the cops along with other sweet rides the most intense race ever rapped about.

 

Really, that’s all there is to say.

 

Celldweller – Goodbye (6.25): Ok, so I’ve just come over here from the middle of reviewing the remix of this song because the whole order of things bothers me so I’m going to be doing this as nonlinearly as Celldweller. Except I’m going to make sense and review the original Goodbye first.

 

Goodbye, on the surface level, seems to have an intense focus on the rock side of Celldweller. However, upon listening to the song a few more times, I’ve begun to notice that there’s a bit more electronic elements than I’d originally accounted for. In fact, other than the guitar that starts about twenty-five seconds in (and then proceeds to make appearances throughout the rest of the song), there really isn’t much here that isn’t electronic except for maybe some of the drums, and even then, there’s some more upbeat drum patterns in there that seem more organized by a computer rather than played organically. I’m not sure why exactly I found the main bassline to sound less electronic than normal, but now that I listen to it more and more, the less it sounds like a guitar and the more it sounds like a more like it was generated on a computer (which to my tastes, is preferable anyway).

 

The song has some decent development, following the typical journey of calmness in the beginning to full throttle intensity at the end (I just reviewed Shapeshifter so the car metaphors seem to be sticking with me). This one bounces back and forth a bit more, becoming immediately more intense in the vocal portions, though even with its wavering up and down in intensity, I feel that overall, the song does still climb steadily towards the maximum potential this song has to offer.

 

As for the lyrics, Goodbye is about the never-ending passage of time and how every single moment in our life is consistently bidding us farewell as the next moment comes into our life. Other than that, there really isn’t much to say about these lyrics. There are some implications that the current moment of clarity may be the key to trying to figure out one’s purpose, which is interesting, but I’m probably self-projecting so maybe I should just leave it at that.

 

Alright, I’m heading back to the remix now.

 

Celldweller – Waiting (Unreleased Demo 2005) (6.25): And so, after saying Goodbye, you’d think we’re done with this part of the review. You’d be wrong. We still have 5 demos and a remix to finish up. Here’s another demo that I quite enjoy as far as the music goes. you likely know me well enough to determine that “as far as the music goes” means I find the lyrics questionable, but we’ll wait on those lyrics for a bit. First let’s enjoy what the music has for us.

 

The lyrics may be questionable, but the music is definitely one of the faster paced demos we’re going to go over. Really, that faster pace is half of the reason I’m enjoying this song (notice the slight bit of syncopation as well, you know I love that combination). Now, along with this quicker pace, there isn’t so much to go over as much of it is the same combinations of a bassline and a bunch of guitar riffs. At least for most of the song. Celldweller, has a tendency to relegate a good chunk of the fantastic variety to the bridge, this one including some nice strings (also in the outro), an acoustic guitar (also in the intro), and a dash of the most intense of the heavier distorted guitar (also present for pretty much the entirety of the rest of the song).

 

Alright now to the vocals and the lyrics they bring to the table. First off, before we get into any of the words sung in this song, I really want to mention the odd feeling that I don’t quite recognize the vocalist. I know there’s at least a 98.6% chance it’s Klayton (otherwise someone else would be credited), but it just sounds… different. I’m probably just slowly losing it as I have been for the past two decades or so.

 

The lyrics are a much simpler issue. Much of the song is just Celldweller reminding us that he’s still waiting. For what? Well, the rest of the lyrics suggest that it’s for another person who is taking the path of least resistance (for themselves) and letting Celldweller down in the process. Though he is simultaneously begging for more time to answer a question. So that’s just a confusing mess of who’s waiting on who. Maybe it’s a conversational song, but that isn’t made very clear.

 

Still, despite the lyrical confusion, I do find myself enjoying the song. Just not as much as I could if it had better (or no) lyrics. I’d like for there to be an instrumental version of this, but I’m afraid I can’t do the joke that I’ve done with The Last Firstborn and Frozen. There is no instrumental version of this.

 

Celldweller – 06-06-06 (Unreleased Demo 2006) (5): Ah yes, the day everyone panicked because the devil and tons of people from every artform aimed to release creepy demonic edgy stuff on that day because of the mark of the beast. Or you could put Elvis lyrics in there?

 

Ok, to the song’s credit there are still some non-Elvis stuff in there. There’s also a few violent lyrics about how Celldweller is going to beat you to a fleshy pulp. So, I’m not sure how that all fits with the theme of Satan. At least I can put lyrical analysis off the table for this one. How’s the music?

 

It’s alright, but I never really felt there was much notable for most of the song, especially in the choruses. At least there was a little bit of variety in the verses with the bassline, but the rest of the song doesn’t really matter all that much to me.

 

I’m thinking this song is truly average.

 

Celldweller – Waiting for so Long (Unreleased Demo 2006) (5.75): Interestingly despite the fact that he’s waiting for so long, this song is a third of the length of Waiting. In fact, if it weren’t for the Cell songs, this would be the shortest song on the album. And a simple one at that. One drumbeat. One bassline. One melody. One line of lyrics (ok two actually but still). This song is so simplistic I have absolutely nothing to say. Thankfully it’s short so the repetition isn’t too bothersome.

 

The song is a bit above average, but it doesn’t bring much to the table.

 

 

Celldweller – Blood from the Stone (Unreleased Demo 2005) (4.25): This song is about a doomed relationship. Yay. Celldweller reveals to his soon to be ex that they aren’t compatible and they never will be because Celldweller is doomed to an empty life with no relationship to speak of. Well, geez stop whining about such a bleak outlook. Not to mention you went into this relationship with pessimistic expectations (Which could be the self-fulfilling prophecy that causes your problems). You’ve clearly got some personal issues you need to work out before you embark on a relationship, because it will never work if you go about it that way.

 

Ok, enough on that. The music outside of the lyrics is actually good. Starting out with a beautiful combination of piano and acoustic guitar is a lovely beginning. It eventually builds up into a heavily rock focused chorus with some decent melodies. Nothing stellar but decent. It does have a good progression to it and the dynamic between the piano and the harsher guitars (especially noticeable in the second verse) is definitely my favorite part of the song. Overall the music in this one is pretty good.

 

But then again, there’s the lyrics which make him such a whiny brat that I have to give this song a lower rating than the nonexistant instrumental of it deserves.

 

Celldweller – IRIA (Unreleased Demo 2005) (7.75): Out of all the demos, this song sounds the most like the Celldweller I know. Some heavy rock to match some nice electronic influences. This actually feels like a Celldweller song, though it is admittedly quite close to instrumental. It has an occasional shout that makes me think he hasn’t quite figured out where this song is going (I could swear he’s saying “Words”) And then there’s the line “I remember it all” (or IRIA if you’d like to use an acronym), which serves no meaning without any context. But that’s fine. That just means the instrumentation has to hold up the track.

 

And boy does everything this song is make up for the lack of lyrics. This song truly fuses the electronic wonder at the beginning of the song with some great guitar riffs and solos, not to mention that lovely bassline that serves as the main electronic focus. The way it distorts as it moves between notes in the track is quite enjoyable. My favorite part of the song has to be the vocal portion. While not meaningful those vocals definitely add some extra energy when they’re present, or maybe it’s just because the guitar solos are giving their best work to back those vocals up. Either way, this demo definitely stands above the rest.

 

Celldweller – Switchback (No I’m Not remix) (8): Another Switchback remix? In my review? It’s more likely than I think. But this isn’t your ordinary Switchback remix. No, this remix is gloriously orchestral, accompanied by a choir of strings that progressively gets more intense as Celldweller sings on about how he can’t change the past moments he regrets. There are a few additional lyrics added into this version. Actually, if I remember correctly, those lyrics were originally subtracted from a previous version of Switchback that was made before Klayton polished the track and released his Celldweller debut. Well, they don’t really change the theme of the song or give any new revelations, so I guess it’s just a slight divergence from the norm (as if going orchestral didn’t diverge enough).

 

There really isn’t much particular to say about the music, as orchestral tracks are often good but really need to do something exceptional to stand out and make themselves worth talking about. I will admit that there’s a bit more of an emotional impact for these lyrics with the orchestral context, but that’s still not out of the ordinary. This song is simply a beautiful conclusion to today’s review.

 

Conclusion: The bonus tracks of this debut album are a mixed bunch, ranging from a few decent originals, a healthy number of great remixes. And some average demos. Is it a worthwhile addition? I’m going to have to go with a yes. There are very few bad songs here and there, but there also plenty of worthwhile additions, including a better version of my favorite song from the first third.

 

One more Celldweller review left before I give Klayton an extensive break.

 

We’ll see what words I have to say when Celldweller has none.

 

Final Score for Bonus Tracks: (6.75/10)

Final Score for Album so Far: (6.75/10)

 

122.75/18

 

118.5

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Celldweller – Celldweller (2003 album) Part 1 (original album)

Album links

Bandcamp (original album and bonus tracks only): https://celldweller.bandcamp.com/album/celldweller-10-year-anniversary-deluxe-edition

Soundcloud (original album and bonus tracks only): https://soundcloud.com/celldweller/sets/celldweller-10-year-2

Spotify (full album): https://open.spotify.com/album/1gStSHuxB1XHGBzPDQHU9w?si=-zbQHTIATBy5VEUPoeVCGw

Youtube (original album and bonus tracks only): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnUoeQ45vgmtIWyb40DiweCdge84Y282Y

 

Introduction: I was contemplating perhaps reviewing this 65-song album in one week just to make up for my inconsistent posting over the past month or two. However, like with Converting Vegetarians, that goal is just not feasible to do in one week. So I’ll be dividing this Deluxe album into three parts, one for the original release, another for the bonus tracks, and one final review for all the instrumentals. So, I hope you like Celldweller, because he’s taking over this site for the next three weeks.

 

And I haven’t even introduced him yet. Celldweller is one of the many aliases of Klayton, this one focused on a fusion of rock and electronic music. Other aliases include Circle of Dust (the band he started in, though the moniker was recently revived despite him releasing form it as a solo act), Scandroid (an entirely synthwave alias), Feqgen (I am the least familiar with this one, but it’s focused entirely on the electronics from my understanding), and Klayton (self-named alias that focuses on music resembling cinematic trailers).

 

But today, I’m focused solely on the Celldweller alias, which is my favorite of the five. I’ll probably branch out into the others eventually, but that won’t happen until quite far in the future. For now, let’s take a look at the solo debut of the Celldweller project.

 

That being said, this review is going to be a bit difficult. Like Ashbury Heights’ Three Cheers for the Newlydeads back in January, this debut album is a bit beyond edgy brushing very close on the line to topics such as suicide and self-harm. Again, these themes aren’t handled quite the best (though it is a bit better this time as there’s not as much glorification of the harmful behavior and thought patterns), so I want to make sure that I take care to handle them well while discussing these songs.

 

Celldweller – Cell #1 (6.25): Alright so we’re starting out with a short little introductory maybe storytelling track. Well, I know Klayton’s discography does have some vague story going throughout his discography but it’s nowhere near as immersive as my musical storytelling obsession: Mind.in.a.box. I’ll comment on it here and there, but most of the songs can be taken without any story.

 

And besides if there’s any story here, there’s no information given in the thirty seconds of its duration. There’s some ambience of a heavy duty door being locked tight and heavy breathing that keeps in tempo as the music transitions into the next song (Switchback). Who is this person breathing in beat? This person who seems resigned to dwell in a jail cell?

 

Oh… I get it…

 

 

Celldweller – Switchback (7.25): So if Cell #1’s main purpose is to transition from silence to Switchback, then how does Switchback stand up? Does it deserve the extra thirty second introduction to the song? Well, it is arguably Celldweller’s most popular songs though perhaps some of that has to do with it being the first thing people hear from him on the debut album. I can see why it stuck in people’s heads more easily than some of my preferred songs from Celldweller (not to mention it’s his most remixed song and has appeared in popular media countless times).

 

The vocals in Switchback are definitely its strength. I don’t often listen to much rock and so I rarely find songs with a rock-oriented vibe to be exceptionally catchy, but Switchback seems to be an exception. Perhaps because there’s a variety of vocal sections within them songs, most of them simple enough to worm their way into my head. And because they can associate together as one song, the individual melodic memories are strengthened by a bond of continuity within the song. They won’t leave my brain and I don’t quite mind. Though I will admit this has resulted in a joke between my brother and I involving singing the lyrics to this song at random points in completely different songs (usually Celldweller instrumentals). This has made the song a bit more difficult to take seriously, though I’ll try to do my best.

 

So, what do these ridiculously catchy vocals convey? Well despite how enjoyably fun this tune is overall, the lyrics are actually quite brooding, filled with regret. Well, they don’t really go in depth with the inner turmoil, but really, the entirety of the song can be summed up by the first line that doesn’t call out the title: “I made a choice that I regret.” Oh, and also the fact that this choice can’t be changed or altered. After all, there’s no way to Switchback.

 

Other than the vocals, most of Switchback’s music is less remarkable. Oh, it definitely has a good rock vibe, but outside of the bridge, none of it is exceptionally interesting. That sentence seems to imply that the bridge is exceptional. And it is, for it is in the bridge that the musical variety begins to match up with the vocal variety (only took half of the entire song to get to the eerie ambient section in which Klayton’s vocals are rerecorded to make him sound more like a broken man.  And to make up for lost energy, this calmer chorus is immediately followed by a solid electronic drumbeat and a bit of screaming. And after that, to make up for lost rock, there’s the most intense guitar riffs on the song along with the most fast-paced vocals on the song before we finish with another iteration of the chorus (as well as a syncopated DnB paced finale but eh I’ve said enough here).

 

Celldweller – Stay with Me (Unlikely) (7.5): Stay with Me is a little less familiar than Switchback. So, it doesn’t have super catchy lyrics to help. Also, this one focuses almost completely on the rock elements, which I usually enjoy most when fused with his electronic influences as it more of my main genre (everything electronic). There are a few synths here and there that

 

Also, the lyrics are a bit unfortunate to follow one of the pitfalls that hampered my opinion on Three Cheers for the Newlydeads (an odd album I find myself comparing this one to but that’s what happens when two of my favorite artists have edgy debuts). Thankfully, Celldweller doesn’t glorify the darkest depths of Ashbury Heights (for the most part, there’s a certain song I want t but instead opts to focus on a slightly toxic relationship. The paradoxical contrast between Celldweller begging the listener to stay with him in the chorus and only ten seconds later he declared he’s rather the listener go away in the edgy screaming bridge. It’s possible that this is more representative of the confliction that Celldweller has as his mind seems to be torn apart by his own mental enemies distorting his mind into a nihilistic depression… Maybe that deserves some focus as well before I go and decide that). this song is toxic

 

In addition to the external conflict of whether or not Celldweller needs company through his inner turmoil, this song also takes a look at the inner turmoil itself in the blinkandyou’llmissit verses. The first half of these verses seem to resemble some form of tripped out rap as Celldweller is in distress over the intrusive thoughts that push him down into the darkest depths. The thoughts aren’t permanent, but when they’re there, they trap him in a socially destructive state. He pushes those close to him away and is left alone with the existential thoughts that tear down his soul as he observes the never-ending passage of time (which, I’ll remind you, cannot be switched back).

 

…Ah shoot, I’m beginning to think I was jumping the gun there with that first bit of lyrical analysis. The paradox makes all the more sense as this vulnerable state of existentialism is simultaneously lonely (A desire to keep others close in order to feel human again) and volatile (a desire to keep others at a distance so they don’t infect others with their negativity). It’s still a toxic line of thinking and that it would be best to go immediately for the first choice if you can, because the second choice will only make you feel more empty…

 

That got deeper than I expected. Well played Klayton.

 

Celldweller – The Last Firstborn (6): The Last Firstborn is another one of the more popular Celldweller songs. Not as big as Switchback or Frozen (review that in a bit, but definitely on the upper half of popularity when it comes to songs on this album. I’m quite mixed on it. On one hand, the music in here is fantastic, making it one of the best instrumentals the Deluxe album has to offer. On the other hand, well, there’s a reason I hold the instrumental so much more highly above the original, but I’ll get to talking about what the instrumental doesn’t have in a second.

 

For now, let me just take a second to appreciate the outstanding music in this one. I feel like this song does one of the best jobs on the original album of integrating both the rock and the electronic elements on the album. Hard to decide if it’s this or a certain other song (which happens to be this album’s highlight) that does better at using both sides of Celldweller, but this is great regardless. The song constantly bounces back and forth between rock with underlying electronic and electronic with underlying rock. Neither genre fully takes hold at any point in the song, but they also each get their own moments to shine, be it the intense guitar riffs fused with a rumbling distorted bassline to the upbeat techno progression that dominates during the chorus (though the same guitar riffs are still present if you listen for them).

 

This song is fantastic when it comes to its music.

 

The lyrics on the other hand, are pushing for maximum edginess for Celldweller. This song is what pushed me over the edge to decide that this deserved the same warning as Three Cheers for the Newlydeads (though there’s a later song that takes this to true maximum edgieness). The entire song, the lyrics are playing on the edge between life and death and there are several points in the song that really go over the edge. There’s explicit mentions of playing with razor blades and knocking on death’s door as well as implicit statements saying “This isn’t worth it” and “I wish it didn’t end this way.” These ideas paired with the violent imagery with the fast-paced vocals of the chorus makes for what I believe to be one of Celldweller’s darkest songs. It still gets an above average rating as the darkness isn’t enough to truly overcome the exceptional instrumental. I can’t help think of how much better the song would have been if it the lyrics were eliminated. Gee, I sure wish that were possible… Well, I’ll talk about that again in two weeks

 

Celldweller – Under My Feet (5.5): Alright, time to explore a side of Celldweller we haven’t seen quite yet. Well, we have seen his rock side overall, but this song is a bit softer than the other songs on this album so far. The more heavily distorted guitar takes a backseat to something more acoustic for the first half of this song. And it’s a refreshing gasp of fresh air that allows the song to build back into the more intense rock as the song progresses. Yeah that build in intensity does prevent the song from fully abandoning the intensity of Celldweller, but it still remains rather calm in comparison to the majority of his discography. The tone of the guitar is the spotlighted development in this track but there are several other pieces of the puzzle that help the guitar on its journey. The drums for example start out quite soft and experimental at the beginning of the song before being overtaken by a more prominent and steadier drumbeat. The background vocals also get more intense over time, starting as a distant whisper in the beginning to some louder melodic chanting alongside the main vocals. Really, this entire song, outside for the final few lines where the song drops out to its starting state, i just one big build-up. And it works.

 

Too bad some of the lyrics hold it back. As far as the lyrics go, Under My Feet is a song of brooding. The song starts out contemplating suffering and loneliness similar to the feelings expressed two songs ago in Stay with Me (Unlikely). This song goes even further into the inner turmoil, focusing on the despair that he feels at the bottom of that pit the mental enemies have pushed him into. Even when he tries to get himself out, he finds that saying he must get out isn’t going to guarantee him an escape (which is true, you have to work for it). He envies those who have found more reason to live than he. He desires to be more like them…

 

And then the whole message falls apart at the end. Trying to mirror the first stanza of the song, Celldweller seems to spitefully wish for the downfall of those he envies. He never finds his way out of the pit. He just wishes everyone he knows to come down with him, and while I agree that in one way or another, everybody gets depressed, that doesn’t mean those that are already down emotionally should strive to bring those around them to the same level. Wouldn’t the more sensible thing to do be to strive to enjoy your own life? I guess it’s just easier to spread negativity than to take the tumultuous road that will eventually lead to living peace.

 

Again, this song suffers from good music and bad lyrics. Though it’s not as strong on either end (Last Firstborn had better music and worse lyrics). The end result is the same.

 

Celldweller – I Believe You (6): Alright. Back to the electronic rock fusion. It’s still mostly rock but, there are a few parts of the song that are definitely more electronic. There’s a great break from the rock at the minute mark that has a singular groovy bassline and some strings accompanying those sick syncopated drums. There’s also a bit of electronic texture added to the bridge at the 2-minute mark. Other than that, the song only takes a break from the rock portions for a quick moment before the chorus (harkening back to the chiller emotion at the beginning of the last song). Without the electronic elements, the song is pretty ok. It doesn’t have too much to offer for most of the song. The short melody played right before the chorus is understandably involved in the chorus but other than that the song is just alright.

 

The lyrics are a bit more cryptic than usual. The main theme is certainly blind faith, but whether or not the faith is a good thing is somewhat uncertain. He keeps saying it’s alright, but he might be somewhat of an unreliable narrator, manipulated by the one he trusts…

 

That sounds like something Celldweller would do. He can be a bit toxic sometimes, especially in his early days.

 

Celldweller – Frozen (5.75): Frozen is another powersong in Celldweller’s debut. Not quite as popular as Switchback, but still quite iconic to his discography. Not only is it not as well-liked with the general public, it’s not quite as well-liked by myselg. While Switchback had some great dynamic portions near the end, Frozen is pretty much the same throughout. Now the sameness of Frozen is better than the lowest in Switchback I’ll admit it. The slower syncopated tempo works quite well and there’s some decent simple electronic melodies that are present throughout. There is a bit of variation at the bridge again like there was in Switchback, but it isn’t unique enough to capture my attention like the woman in this song captures Celldweller’s attention.

 

The lyrics are… weird. The more I listen to it the more sexual it gets. The whole tone of this song with the little side female vocals (let’s go) to more obvious declarations of open legs. I think I was just distracted the first time in this song by the “frozen point in time” line (I love weird time shenanigans), that I didn’t realize the true seductive nature of this song… I kind of prefer time shenanigans. Sex is a much less interesting topic in my opinion. Plus, there’s a weird darker vibe to the song, that makes the whole scene fee lifeless, cold, frozen. And I’m pretty sure that’s not quite the mood you want to set for possibly reproductive activities.

 

Celldweller – Symbiont (5.75): It’s funny how some of the best musical songs have the most uncomfortable lyrics. This isn’t quite to the level of The Last Firstborn (which was the perfect fusion of the pillars of Celldweller’s style) but there’s still several great parts of the song. This song, while almost entirely rock-focused consistently bounces back and forth between the quicker syncopated tempos in the introductions and the slower half-time section in the verses and chorus of “dancing on a thin line.” Not to mention the guitar in the first prechorus, which while not complex perfectly matches the energy that Celldweller commits to for a good portion of the song.

 

Unfortunately, these lyrics are rather disappointing. We’re back to the toxic relationship themes. Never really understood why this is such a popular theme. If you hate the person, you’re romantically involved with then such a relationship should be ended, not glorified. If Celldweller wants to go, then he doesn’t have to stay. Really, the entire idea of staying in a toxic relationship is a bad trend in lyrics that needs to phase out, but it seems to be a theme we’re stuck with.

 

Unless of course we take the route I took with Stay with Me and transform this toxic relationship into a much more interesting struggle. A struggle of self. Oh, it’s still a toxic dynamic, but at least the resistance of leaving is a bit more understandable. It’s increasingly difficult to separate the core of one’s self from the toxic pieces of our identity that we’d rather be rid of. How can you stop feeding the symbiont of your soul when it’s constantly sucking the life out of the more beneficial (or at least benign) parts of your soul.

 

Of course, I’m probably reading too deep into the internal struggle side of things and partaking in a confirmation bias to appreciate the song more than I would otherwise.

 

Celldweller – Afraid this Time (8): Back to the chiller side of Celldweller. This song begins with a rather trippy intro but soon develops into some of highest quality chill this album has to offer. My guess is that the combination of the acoustic guitar and the piano has something to do with my enjoyment. Plus, a bit of electronic bass to give it a slight bit more energy without overbearing the calmer mood that the rest of the song demonstrates (at least for the first half). There’s also a rather enjoyable glitchy effect on the vocals that gives the song the perfect amount of unsettling for a song about fear.

 

The song does get a bit more intense in the second half as the tempo increases a bit and the wobbly bass does eventually take the spotlight, but it doesn’t necessarily feel intrusive. And the bridge definitely gives a great spotlight on the harder side of the guitar to contrast with the acoustic melodies from earlier. While I think I do enjoy the first half of the song a bit better, the second half does work just as well.

 

As for the lyrics, it’s a bit more cryptic than the usual adapting a vague message if any. But that might work for the song. It seems that there are some references to a dichotomy between struggling to overcome one’s fears and realizing that no matter what you do, the fears will continue to linger. The singer repeatedly mentions that he’s afraid, but he also makes sure to make it clear that his undefined opponent (be it person, problem or idea) can no longer touch him. Honestly this is a great balanced message admitting that fear isn’t easily eliminated but it doesn’t have to rule one’s life.

 

Celldweller – Fadeaway (8.5): Now this song has an interesting variety to it. My favorite songs on this album either switch back and forth between either electronic and rock vibes or between the calmer acoustic sound and the harsher distorted guitar sections. This song, for the most part relies on the latter though there a few very welcome electronic instruments added in there (as that’s my preferred genre). I think I’ll go more in depth on the variety when I review the instrumentals of this album (there’s a DnB portion so you know I like it), but for now, I feel it is necessary to mention the relationship between the vocals and the music in the first section of this song.

 

The most evident relationship between these two is the way the song switches back in forth in intensity depending on which mood the verses at the beginning are displaying at any given moment. If we’re looking at the cleaner vocals, the song takes a step back and focuses just on the underlying bassline. But when the song switches back and forth to the more intense distorted vocals, the music follows suit adding some great guitar solos into the mix. This is once again reflected in the song’s coda as the first three lines focus on some gritty vocals with a rock backing to back it, but that last cleaner line begins just as everything else ends. Making a satisfying conclusion to the song.

 

Also, worth mentioning are the two stylistic bridges that give a quick break form the rest of the song. The first concentrating on the quickest electronic syncopated tempo of the song (you know I like DnB) and the second focusing on an acoustic section that resembles many of the other calmer songs this album has to offer. You could actually consider said bridge to be a build-up from nothing thought it doesn’t seem to reach the same intense heights as the rest of the album contains. It’s worth noting that again the intense bridge contains lyrics of a more intense gritty variety , while the second bridge focuses a lot more of the calmer cleaner vocals

 

But enough of talking about vocals and their relationships with the rest of the song, what message are these lyrics explaining. Well, fadeaway sounds rather defeatist which is a slight bit of a shame as any moment in the song that doesn’t focus on the nihilism connected to ones flaws, there’s a very humble bit of inspiration there. First, there’s the admittance of the flaws are there and they present the duality of isolating ones self to hide ones flaws (only friend) and getting caught in ones flaws until they overwhelm one’s life (worst enemy). While the balance of this song does tip towards the negativity, there does seem to be a humble bit of positivity in there that allows for a nontoxic self-reflection.

 

But you know what sometimes, that’s just the way the mind acts. Sure, it isn’t healthy to assume that life is over and done as soon as you realize your flaws. But definitely is a relatable feeling. Just don’t stay there forever.

 

Celldweller – Cell #2 (6.25): Another short Cell song. This one being an intermission rather than an introduction. There’s much less visual ambience in this one as it just focuses on being overly creepy while giving a bit of narration on feeling lost and trapped within this cell that serves as the main theme of this album. One’s sense of self and memories of the past can become distorted when one traps themselves in negativity. Had joy ever existed? Will it ever exist again? The hope is that the answer to that last question is yes

 

 

Celldweller – So Sorry to Say (8): What makes So Sorry to Say unique within the Celldweller discography (or at least within this album) is definitely its incorporation of strings. From the very beginning of the song the strings hog the spotlight whenever they’re present. There’s some points where it holds equal ground with a piano, but other than that, any instrument that attempts to stand out while the strings are in place will merely be pushed back into the background by the superior instrument.

 

However, the strings don’t stay relevant for the entire song. For example, there’s a few points in the song (1 minute mark, 2.5 minute mark and 4 minute mark respectively), that have an incredible focus on the more electronic side of Celldweller. Seeing that electronic is my preference and that these sections also include some syncopation, it’s clear that I find these parts of the song to be rather enjoyable. During these sections the song switches back and forth between using a wobbly bassline and giving some silence (for lyrics in the former two sections). However, it’s just that wobbly electronic bassline that goes silent. There’s also a bass guitar that picks up the slack, present throughout each section in its entirety.

 

There are also a few rock portions intermittent throughout the song in between those favorite upbeat syncopation sections. Most strikingly is the intensity that this song decides to use as we build up for that final syncopated section. I don’t have especially much to say about this short little rock section. Just wanted to highlight its greatness that the rock has for a grand finale (before the song takes a step back into the minimalism with just the drums, strings and pianos backing up the vocals (no basslines of any sort, guitar or otherwise).

 

So that’s plenty of focus on the music, what do I feel about these lyrics. This song seems to follow some of the main themes of this album, depression and isolation, especially that last one. Throughout the song, Celldweller questions why he pushes away those he cares about, especially during his most desperate times. It’s a paradox that’s highlighted quite well Ii this song’s chorus as Celldweller constantly switches back and forth between begging the person in question to leave him before his depression infects their mood, while also begging them to stay as he needs them for support. A paradox that plagues many depressed moments.

 

Yeah, both this and Stay with Me (Unlikely had the same theme, but there’s no reason that there can’t be two songs about this conflict of emotions. And I think I like this one better anyways thanks to musical enjoyment.

 

Celldweller – Own Little World (9): There’s always one song on an album that just sticks out above the rest, and when it comes to Celldweller’s self-titled debut album, this is clearly that song. It has great quick -paced DnB vibes as far as the tempo goes, as well as a decent fusion of electronic and rock (though rock clearly takes the forefront this time). And while that’s not my main genre, it’s still well executed, and the electronic influences give it enough flavor to stand out among many of the other mostly rock tracks on the album.

 

Plus, there’s some things in this song that are quite unique. The vocal manipulation provide for a great variety compared to the simple dichotomy between clean and gritty most songs have. Now there’s simple distortion as well as robotic distortion. And there’s also two levels of gritty vocals, so that makes for at least five different vocal accents within the song. I say at least, because there’ possibly one or two more I missed, I think there’s some whispers in the second half of the chorus, but I’m not certain.

 

Ah well, it doesn’t matter exactly how the vocals are presented (though again, the variety is appreciated). What truly matters to me is the message the vocals present. And this one follows the theme of isolation in a much more confident manner, with no hint of negativity within its chorus and only minimal struggles within the verses, though those mostly serve as a drive to creating one’s own little world, a state of mind that one can use to escape the chaos that plagues life as long as you let it take a hold. But slipping into a world of peace and attempting to let it become one’s reality can provide a chance to improve one’s life greatly. Of course, use of one’s own little world must be used as a rest more than a permanent escape (stagnancy is not a healthy way to escape the chaos), but there’s still something quite invigorating about finding an escape from the chaos (my personal escape is music and writing, which is somewhat why I created this blog in the first place).

 

Celldweller – Unlikely (Stay With Me) (7): Huh. The title of this song seems oddly familiar. As does the guitar riff at the beginning, though I think that those two familiarities are for entirely different reasons. Well, within context of this album review the title situation is quite obvious. About half the album ago, there was another song titled Stay with Me (Unlikely). So, don’t get them confused. Stay with Me (Unlikely and Unlikely (Stay With Me) are two entirely different songs

 

As for the guitar riff at the beginning of the song, I can’t help but feel like the familiarity has to do with the similarities between this riff and the one at the beginning of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. Am I going crazy? I had this same issue with Ashbury Heights’ Penance and Megalovania a while back, though at least this similarity makes sense as the famous song in question (Smells Like Teen Spirit) was released over a decade before the song in my review (Unlikely (Stay with Me)). Still, it feels weird to notice this connection.

 

Anyway, onto reviewing the actual song, the title does indicate that this song is somewhat of a twisted reprise of Stay with Me (Unlikely). I can see somewhat of a resemblance. There are some similar themes with the paradox of desiring company and also desiring time alone. And I believe this version rips its lyrics directly from the chorus of the former. The only thing is it omits a good chunk of those lyrics and twists what’s left around before resinging them. So while this song is certainly connected to Stay with Me (Unlikely), it feels like a completely different song.

 

But this different song is certainly a good one, complete with a good simple, apparently Nirvana-esque guitar riff (both of a rock and acoustic variety), a few vocal chops here and there, and a decent section near the end involving some heavier guitar riffs and a simple electronic synth melody, painting a simple picture of the line between rock and electronic that Celldweller strides upon.

 

No lyrical analysis here, just go back to Stay With Me (Unlikely) as I’d just repeat myself if I took a shot here.

 

 

Celldweller – One Good Reason (1.5): Alright, it looks like it’s time for some extreme rock with some screaming vocals. Nothing clean and clear here. How do I feel about that? Well, if I’m being perfectly honest, I’m not a fan and it does hurt this song a slight bit more than it would if the song was a bit cleaner. Don’t get me wrong, the high tempo and the overall incredibly intense tone does have its upsides. It’s just a little bit too much here.

 

And the lyrics? Well, this is the edgiest most suicidal song on the album, and I am not at all a fan of that theme. Gets straight to the point. The singer can’t think of one good reason to continue living. I’m really not sure what else to say about the song itself. It’s a toxic mindset and it refuses to budge from that. I think I’ve made my stance against suicide clear in previous reviews (several times in Three Cheers for the Newlydeads. There’s always potential in the future, regardless of the lot one’s given in the present. That’s my reason. And I believe it’s a rather good one.

 

Celldweller – The Stars of Orion (7): The Stars of Orion is… a different song. Not saying it’s bad. I actually quite enjoy it, but it really doesn’t fit at all within this album, perhaps even within Celldweller’s entire discography. Now, I feel the main factor that separates this from most of Celldweller’s works is how instrumental it is. I’m of course not counting all of the Instrumentals Celldweller places on his Deluxe albums. Those are an entirely different story and even this song has an instrumental version later on, as there are some minimal lyrics but they blend in a bit with the creepy atmosphere this song provides.

 

Lyrics aside, this song is entirely about the atmosphere it creates anyway. Two unique lines of lyrics aren’t going to change anything. Here let me quickly wrap them up: this song is about going far away… that’s it. Congratulations. You now understand what this son is about. You might not know of the ambient environment this song creates as the vocals set in. You might not know of the edgy DnB drumbeat that overtakes the song soon after it starts. You might not know of the guitar riff that continuously brings the drums in and out of focus. You might not know of the song’s conclusion resembling atmospheric bookend to match the song’s introduction

 

But at least you know that this song is about going far away do there’s that.

 

Celldweller – Cell #3 (6.5): The Cell door opens.

 

Our Celldweller awakens from torturous slumber

 

Forever wounded, voice distorted to a state of inhuman lack of emotion

 

The end is near.

 

Celldweller – Welcome to the End (6.75): The end is here.

 

Welcome to The End slows down for its ending, making it the only song that’s truly calming the entire way through. Kind of strange to hear Celldweller without all of the heavy energetic guitars and basslines, but then again, that’s what the entirety of his Offworld album is like (which contains one of my favorite songs of all time, but we’ll talk about that one far into the future). This song takes on an almost entirely ambient vibe with what I believe are the sounds of whales accompanying the simple drumbeat and occasional guitar melody. It’s quite an interesting and refreshing vibe compared to the rest of the album.

 

Continuing off of the desire to “go someplace far away from here” from Stars of Orion, this song is a song of leaving. A song that continues that desire to leave the present behind and look to the future. This song ads a few more lyrics to surround that idea, albeit those lyrics are a little bit cryptic in their connection to going far from here. So, I wouldn’t say this one goes more in depth. More like it attaches a strange love story plotline in which one lover welcomes the other home before they embark on a journey, leaving their home behind. Their destination is unclear, though it sounds like the destination isn’t the purpose.

 

The purpose is to escape.

 

Because there is a voice. A small whisper. But even the smallest whisper can hold all the destruction required to break a man.

 

“Welcome to the End”

 

Conclusion: Or that would be the end, if the deluxe album didn’t have 18 more songs and a couple dozen instrumentals to go through. But I think this is a good place to stop for now. Celldweller is a divisive album for me, maybe not to the level as Three Cheers cor the Newlydeads (overdone comparison is overdone), but it does have a mixture of some fantastic songs and some songs that suffer greatly from their lyrics. But most of the album resides in the middle of that range between 5 and 7.

 

Anyways, join me next time as I tear into a few bonus songs added into the deluxe version of the album (released ten years later), as well as some remixes of the most iconic songs and a few demos of tracks that hadn’t quite made it into the public prior.

 

Final Score: (6.5/10)

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Ashbury Heights – Morningstar in a Black Car (2008 album)

Album links

Bandcamp: n/a

Soundcloud: n/a

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/23qyXix4jSKwPcZxR276dB?si=isfukz35ROSEJIhtpD7TwA

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ58A9BSeYlH1FIRtevk9xXHHG3w-qWdm

 

Introduction: Welcome back to the ever-edgy Ashbury Heights. Oh boy did we have fun last time with the abundance of edge to uncomfortable limits. Thankfully, Ashbury Heights’ edge is a bit more tolerable this time around so this review should go a little bit more smoothly. Anyways, there’s no point in wasting an excessive amount of time introducing the duo as I think I did a pretty good and thorough job in the last review. Let’s get on with the music.

 

Ashbury Heights – Morningstar in a Black Car (5.5): Starting off with the title track I see. Actually, this is interestingly the only album in their discography to have a title track (unless they decide to prove me wrong sometime in the next few years). My opinion of this song is fairly similar to Bare Your Teeth, the introductory song of the last album: mostly due to its cryptic lyrics. The music itself is an improvement though, but that might be partly because the piano has more character than the unremarkable synth from the first. The bassline in this one is a bit of a disappointment and I’m afraid it does make this song a bit blander than I’d like. But that’s not too much of a problem as Ashbury Heights have the capability of adding some good lyrics to their songs to save something that would otherwise get an average rating.

 

Except when they’re cryptic like this. I could sum up what’s said in this song in a few bullet points, so I’ll do exactly that.

  • Verse 1. Ander describes himself with a few edgy™ adjectives
  • Verse 2: More edginess concentrating on nihilism and resigning to suffering
  • Chorus: Just says the title of the song and I have no idea what it means.

Regardless, the lyrics are too vague to glean any real meaning (and the song suffers because of it), so I think I’m just going to move on to the next song.

 

Ashbury Heights – Spiders (7.5): This was actually my first Ashbury Heights song (though it was a group effort of some songs off of The Looking Glass Society that really got me into them). Spiders continues the trend of Ashbury Heights nihilism. And like usual for this album in particular, the song definitely has some cryptic lines. I mean, the main theme of the song is clearly about the never-ending passage of time, always marching forward as we near closer and closer to our own ends. That much is clear. But I have no idea how this relates to the duo’s apparent distaste for crawling spiders. That’s fair. spiders are a bit creepy. I do relate a tiny bit too much to the rest of the song. Partly because I have a habit of planning way too many projects for myself, so even at 22 I’m already worried about my mortality. Probably over worrying myself, but it’s there.

 

The music is a bit of a step up from Morningstar in a Black Car. The bassline is definitely a couple steps higher, the melodies are a bit more memorable, and there’s a bit more depth to the song in general. Also, it does help that I find most of the vocals in this version to be a bit catchy compared to the monotone Morningstar.

 

Oh, this one also has a music video so I guess that could be worth mentioning. I’m not the hugest fan of most music videos. Usually, it’s because the video sometimes contradicts the vibe I imagine when first listening to the song. This one kind of works, as it does seem to focus on fleeting mortality, assigning countdowns to all of the people appearing in the video. Countdown to their death I presume. Then again, that means that Yasmine and Anders die at the end of the music video as they approach one another. Eh, it’s not the worst video I’ve ever seen. The general message is still there. The aesthetic is just a slight bit more edgy than I prefer. It’s honestly not all that flattering, but music videos don’t contribute to the score anyway, so this is really just an extra little thing to look at if you don’t mind a low budget edgy music video.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COtbOoes2dg

 

Ashbury Heights – Die by Numbers (8.25): Die By Numbers is one of the two upbeat originals on the album along with World Coming Down. Interestingly both songs have to do with how bleak the future is. They also both have an interesting variety of instruments used within the song. This one in particular has the best bassline on the album. There’s a smoother bouncier feel to it, and it’s always rising and falling in pitch unlike the more monotone basslines of the last two songs.

 

There’s also a fair number of synths in the song to keep the song in a constant state of variety. Most of them are quite enjoyable. There are some simple melodies in the first part of the verse and some stabs in the second part of the verse. However, there’s also a slightly scratchier… noise that comes into play along with that first melody. It’s the worst part of the song unfortunately, but the quality of the rest of the song, thankfully isn’t brought down because of it. It’s not even really that bad. I’m just slightly mixed on whether or not I dislike it. A similar synth appears in the chorus as the main, melodic hook of the song, but I think the melody helps make it a little more palatable.

 

Ok, looking at these lyrics, I’d like to offer some constructive criticism to Ashbury Heights’ method of hygiene when it comes to their hygiene. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always found that a good helping of soap and water can really get the grit and grime off the hands. I don’t frequently bathe my hands in blood, but when I do, I find it stains my hands more than anything. But then again maybe I’m doing it wrong because that only happens when I accidentally (important word to include concerning the last album) cut my finger. Does it work better when you use someone else’s blood? I’m not sure if I feel like testing. It doesn’t sound like it would work.

 

Oh wait. Silly old me. It’s probably a metaphor for how societal trends continually make the future look bleaker and bleaker. We live in a world filled with mistrust, division and violence. From what I see, it hasn’t gotten much better. Every day we move through our lives, not knowing what to do in order to reverse this trend. It’s so easy to resign to a mindset where you just assume society is flawed and can’t be fixed. And maybe it’s true. But maybe not. Maybe this division and mistrust can be turned around, provided that new generations commit to avoid following their ancestors.

 

In the meantime, our inaction only guarantees the bleak future this song predicts.

 

Ashbury Heights – Smile (7): A sickening feeling builds in my gut as I hear this love song begin playing, but that’s only because I’m reminded of the toxic nature of Three Cheers for the Newlydeads and I shudder in fear for the edginess that I’d expect from Ashbury Heights. There’s only one love song on this album (two I guess if you really want to count the remixes as separate songs) and it’s thankfully much better than any of the songs on the last album. No toxicity. No suicidal thoughts. Just a nice heartwarming song about adoration of his love’s smile. The lyrics are definitely a bit better in tone. Sure, it does sound like the singer is a bit timid in expressing how much his love means to him. It is Ashbury Heights after all. The song has to have at least the tiniest bit of edge. But timidity is a much more relatable issue to me, and I believe a relationship with a bit of timidity can still work.

 

As for music, there isn’t an excessive amount to talk about. The melodies kind of blend in with the arp which sounds like it could be a bad thing, but I feel like it works well with the flow of the song. The bassline is subtle but definitely present, though it’s kind of hard to judge how good it is, seeing as I just listened to Die by Numbers and comparing this song with that one just isn’t quite fair. But all comparisons aside, the song works well for what it is.

 

Ashbury Heights – World Coming Down (6.5): Alright let’s see if I have any bleak future existentialism left after Die by Numbers. Because World Coming Down is once again quite bleak and yet quite upbeat at the same time. In fact, I’d argue that it takes both of these aspects to greater extremes in comparison to Die by Numbers.

 

Starting off with the music, it only takes a mere 5 seconds for this song to kick into full overdrive at BPM soaring above 200. This is admittedly a bit excessive and I’d be a tiny bit more into it if the drum design was a bit better, but that snare doesn’t work very well when played that frequently. There are some points where the song dies down a bit to slower BPMs but it’s not a common occurrence. I’m not going to hold this too much against the song. Snares are kind of tricky to do after all, but I feel like this song would’ve done just fine as a kick. That’s just the drumbeat though the rest of the melodies are plenty energetic enough to fit that BPM. Whenever they are able to get the spotlight like at the very beginning of the song, the outro or any other point in the song where the snare isn’t dominating my attention. Unfortunately, that just isn’t often enough. Admirable concept, but the snare ruins it all.

 

How about them lyrics though. They are about bleak futures, right? I seem to have implied that much. And the song is called World Coming Down after all, so that doesn’t sound like the dup has the highest hopes for our future. Well, this song is incredibly clear about what it has to say and incredibly vague the rest of time. The only clear thing is that one only has to look around them to see that this world is deteriorating. The signs are everywhere. That much is clear. What’d not clear is what Anders sings of in the verses. There’s a lot of distorted religious imagery with repeated mentions of heaven, Lucifer, crucifixion and likely some others that are seeping under my radar. But what does it all mean? My only possible assumption is that the distorted religious imagery refers to how anything in this good has been distorted beyond comprehension into the mess that we find ourselves lost in. That’s kind of profound. I think I’m going to go with that. Still not fully certain though. Songs like this and Stormbringer from the last album are just impossible to figure out sometimes. Thank goodness I don’t have to review that one ever again

 

Ashbury Heights – Stormbringer (Aerial remix) (6.5): Wait…

 

So, the second half of this album is a small collection of remixes. What’s annoying is that both Spotify and the Youtube playlist I linked don’t display these songs any differently than their original counterparts. Only immediate visible difference is that this song in particular has different album art on its face (seeing as its origin comes from Three Cheers for the Newlydeads). Thankfully, with some digging I was able to find a track listing with some more details on where exactly these remixes originate from and have therefore been able to add the remixer on to the end of the title to help differentiate them from the original. This won’t help you when listening to the album in either of the linsk I provided, but perhaps it will help slightly in the second half of this review.

 

I find remixes to be a little bit trickier to review. Listening to this song in a vacuum it’s pretty alright, not too much different from what I’d rated the original. There’s a reason for that. This remix is almost exactly the same as the original. Let’s go ahead bullet point the differences

  • Intro is 5 seconds longer
  • Bridge is 5 seconds shorter
  • Verses bring the choirs more into the forefront of the song, which I enjoy.

That’s it. There’s really not much for me to say here that I haven’t already said in the original review. If you want to know my opinion of the lyrics check out what I said on the Three Cheers for the Newlydeads review. This is an example of the most disappointing type of remix. So little changes, that if you don’t compare the songs side by side you won’t notice much of a difference. This version is slightly better musically, but it’s such a slight improvement, I’m not sure if I really want to change the rating.

 

Ashbury Heights – Spiders (UnterART remix) (8): Spiders on the other hand is the good kind of remix. Instead of doing next to nothing with the song. UnterART adds his own unique spin on the song. And I say that this version is the better one of the two. Lyrics and vocals share the same vibe as last time, so I won’t go over them again, but the music is entirely different and it’s definitely an improvement.

 

The other version of Spiders was pretty good, but it was still lacking in some of the categories that this version excels in. The bassline in particular is noticeable throughout the song. In the original, the bassline was only a couple steps up from the titular song. Here however, the bassline improves a couple steps even higher with its smoother groove. In addition, there’s also a fantastic 15 section that stands out as one of the best moments in the entire album, excluding anything that happened in Die by Numbers. The original version of course, not the…

 

Ashbury Heights – Die By Numbers (Agonize remix) (2.25): Oh dear. This is unfortunate. Guess we can say goodbye to Yasmine because, Agonize decided she wasn’t worthy of this remix. Instead they decided to replace her with their own gritty pseudo-screamo vocals in the chorus. I’m sure some people are into this, but like I said in the last Ashbury Heights review, I have a limit to my edge. And overly gritty vocals can really ruin a song. Case in point. The verses aren’t as bad as the chorus. They have more of a distorted technological feel to them (think Mind.in.a.box but not nearly as good. These vocals just blend into the background and is barely noticeable).

 

I’d go more in depth with the music itself, but it’s so uninteresting, I can’t figure out anything to say about it except how it’s incredibly disappointing seeing as the original version is the best song on the entire album. This low point unfortunately brings the album down a notch. I’d rather pretend it doesn’t exist, but I’d be deluding myself.

 

Ashbury Heights – Smile (Marsheaux remix) (7): Our final remix for the album is a fairly decent one. It has a slightly different tone from the original and therefore is able to stand out unlike the Stormbringer remix. However, it isn’t necessarily an improvement like the Spiders remix (or an awful downgrade like that Die By Numbers remix). It’s really on the same level as the original, just with a focus om some new aspects.

 

For example, if we start with the bassline, it’s clearly a bit more prominent in this version, allowing for a slightly bouncier feel. Progressing onwards to the leads of the song we have one synth playing a slow-paced melody and the other playing lines upon lines of quick staccato notes. That second synth is used the most within the song, staying present throughout the whole vibe, while the other one is really only important at the beginning and the end. Instead the majority of the song replaces that melody with some variation on the bassline here and there.

 

Like I said, this is overall a fine remix. It definitely has a different vibe compared to the original, but it’s equally as good.

 

Conclusion: Overall, this album is a bit better than Three Cheers for the Newlydeads. There aren’t quite as many strong songs on this one, but the only bad song we have here is the one remix that ruined the best song on the album. Overall, that’s definitely an improvement. Still has the edge that seems to be an integral part of Ashbury Hearts style, but this one doesn’t go nearly as dark. No fantasizing about suicide and self-harm here. Just contemplating crippling mortality and the bleak future that society faces. Much more uplifting!

 

Also, worth noting is that this is Yasmine’s second and last album accompanying Anders as the female singer of Ashbury Heights. Of the three females to be part of the duo so far, Yasmine is likely my least favorite. She’d left following this album in favor of working on her modeling career. Fine by me. The vocalists improve as time goes on. I’ll talk more about them when they’re introduced.

 

But regardless of Ashbury Heights transitioning out of one age and into another, Morningstar in a Black Car turns out to be a quite good album. There’s a dip in quality here and there (Can you say Agonize?), but that doesn’t prevent the album from getting a score well above average.

 

Final Score: (6.5)

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Infected Mushroom – The Gathering (1999 Album)

 

Album Links:

Bandcamp: n/a

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/infectedmushroom/sets/the-gathering

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5Oqb46QRDn3RpaWToqjuzk?si=jJX7-ah6QSKo4jguVbzpDg

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lNUOtcibniKkj1nQRqI4rpZOG0tRpTpec

 

Foreword: Oh dear, the cover art for this album is a slight bit more risqué than I remember what with the thorny bosom and the upskirt mushroom with a phallic stem… What a lovely first impression I’ve made on you all… Well, this was the initial impression Infected Mushroom made to the world and they’re currently at the top of my favorite artists of all time, so hopefully this initial impression of myself has a similar effect, though perhaps becoming your favorite music reviewing hobbyist is getting a bit ahead of myself. I am, after all, only getting started. And for my first review, I’d like to start, fittingly at the beginning of one of my favorite artists of all time.

 

Infected Mushroom – Release Me (7.5/10): Release Me is a great opening track to The Gathering for multiple reasons. I feel it does a good job of introducing the dark and somewhat ominous tone that resonates throughout this album. This tone wouldn’t last the entire Infected Mushroom discography, and I will admit that I prefer their last decade or so a bit more, but it is still a well-done introduction. Also, the fact that the front song of their first release is literally titled “Release Me” is rather amusing, regardless of whether it was intentional or coincidental.

 

Now at eight and a half minutes long (normal length for an Infected Mushroom song to be fair), this song has a lot of space to fill, hopefully with a variety of patterns, be they basslines or melodies. We, of course, have the psytrance drumbeat driving the song forward from beginning to end. That’s a given on this album and shan’t be mentioned again. Besides that, we have some good guitar riffs in the first half of the song as well as some strings providing the groundwork of the ominous vibe that the duo was likely going for. My personal favorite moment of the song is the slightly calmer section with the strings at the song’s midpoint. The tone at the beginning of this section as well as the harp in the middle just provide a nice bit of flavor that’s always needed in these longer songs.

 

Lastly, just a quick nod to the namesake of this song, a sample from the alien interrogation scene of Independence Day. Many of the songs on this album feature little clips like that. Independence Day is the only one I’ve seen and while this sample does fit in with the vibe of the song, I don’t really have any further thoughts on it.

 

Infected Mushroom – The Gathering (6/10): The titular track of the album is a slight step down from Release Me. Not saying it’s a bad song. But it is certainly one of the lesser songs of the album. There’s simply less to offer in my opinion. Yes, it’s still a decent psytrance song with the little distorted splashes of style that one would expect from Infected Mushroom, but very little of the song actually interests me. There’s some decent percussion here and there and I do enjoy the section around the 5-minute mark with what I believe is a marimba, but there’s very little to make this song stand out from the rest.

 

Even the vocal sample in this case is rather bland, perhaps even detracting from the quality. I would assume that these vocals (which apparently comes from Grand Theft Auto), were not originally recorded at the pitch you are hearing right now. Infected Mushroom likely distorted it to their liking. And while I absolutely adore the way they play with vocals in modern days, this pitch-up is rather uninteresting at best and slightly annoying at worst.

 

Infected Mushroom – Return to the Shadows (8/10): Return to the Shadows is, in my opinion, the most memorable track from Infected Mushroom’s debut album. Perhaps it’s the ominous ringing synth played at the beginning of the song. Perhaps it’s the percussion that sounds like a clanging of metal accompanied by the yells of men hard at work. Or perhaps it’s how they play with the bassline throughout the song. Every melody that’s played feels like it branches well off of the bassline and it all meshes together quite well. However, the melody that stands out the most is perhaps the one that also differs from the bassline the most. At the six-minute mark, the drums fade out to reveal nice funky pattern of notes that contrast a bit more than usual from the bassline.

 

And then there’s the sample hailing from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: Are you afraid of the future? A common fear, I must say. Or at least, it’s a fear I happen to have. I always find myself wondering exactly what my future has in store for me, but I’m never quite certain if success is awaiting me or if I’m always edging on towards a spiral of failure. And before I ramble on into endless existential mode, perhaps we should move on to the next song…

 

Infected Mushroom – Blue Muppet (6.25/10): This is one of the lower points of the album to be perfectly honest. Once again, not a bad thing, just not quite as enjoyable as the rest. The main reason for this is that for the first 6 minutes of the song, I really am not hearing anything of note to talk about. Nothing that makes this song stick out to me. Well that is until we get to the sample from what I’d assume to be a favorite movie of the Infected Mushroom duo (it appears two other times on the album), The Island of Dr. Moreau. The sample itself isn’t what improves the song. It’s the guitars that follow that bring the song back to the good quality I’d usually expect from Infected Mushroom.

 

Infected Mushroom – Psycho (6/10): I remember this being one of the first classic trance Infected Mushroom songs I heard when I first discovered them. This was likely due to the fact that my edgy teenaged mind was as attracted to the title, “Psycho” as it was to the title, “Becoming Insane” (my first Infected Mushroom song overall, but I’ll cover that much later). Oh, who am I kidding. The person I am in my twenties is still incredibly attracted to edgy stuff, perhaps even more so.

 

Interestingly enough, despite this being the first song I’ve heard in this album, it’s also probably one of the least memorable. Only part of the song that really jogs my memory at all is the screaming of the word, “Psycho.” To count that might be cheating though, as that’s the title of the song. I can see why I don’t remember much of anything else though. While this album is enjoyable to listen to, a lot of the songs sound quite similar except for a few small differences here and there depending on the song. This song doesn’t really have any such differences. There’s some ambiance that sounds like a plethora of sci fi doors opening and closing. Judging from the information I’ve scrounged up from Wikipedia. I’m guessing these sci fi doors samples come from Star Trek: First Contact. The means that the Psycho scream comes from Batman and Robin. As the uncultured swine I am as far as cinema goes, I am unsure what to do with this information.

 

Infected Mushroom – Montoya Rms (7.5/10): I will not be speaking of any of the samples that appear in this song. For this time around, Infected Mushroom forgoes any vocals and simply takes me and any others who might be listening on a splendid journey over the course of about eight minutes. What makes this song work so well for eight minutes is the amount of variety compared to everything else we’ve heard so far. Yes, each of the songs (except perhaps Psycho) have some bit of flavor that helps differentiate it from other songs on the album, but Montoya Rms goes all out and makes every single moment stand out from the rest. I am unable to truly choose a favorite moment to point out nor do I desire to go over each and every one of these elements one by one. Not only would this be a tedious task, but it might just take away from the enjoyment of this song. Half the fun is wondering exactly where the song will go next and letting every intricacy of every melody flow through your soul. Perhaps I am overselling it a bit, but I would highly recommend listening to it for yourself. One of the best songs this album has to offer.

 

Infected Mushroom – Tommy The Bat (7.25/10): Of the nine songs on this album, I feel that Tommy The Bat resembles the vibe of modern Infected Mushroom the most. Oh, it’s still drastically different. But there are elements in this song, that Infected Mushroom has played with in similar ways to this very day. The most notable of these elements is certainly the distorted vocals. Yes, I did mention that the titular song of this album had distorted vocals as well. But that was just high pitched talking. Here, Infected Mushroom chops up the vocals (apparently from a song called Tommy The Cat by Primus), spreads them across the song, and adjusts their pitch to create an entirely new melody. Much of the rest of the song is a few steps closer to modern Infected Mushroom as well. A good example would be the bass at the beginning of the song that’s a bit slower paced, focusing on distorting the sound more than playing the notes rapidfire.

 

The sample which again comes from The Island of Dr. Moreau. states “Please tell them that I am God.” An ominous prideful statement that given the right fire, could spark a theological debate, but I believe that’s too large of a jump in the flow and tone of this review and I’d rather not wander too far into existential territory yet, so perhaps I’ll cut myself short and move on to the next song…

 

Infected Mushroom – Virtual Voyage (5.75/10): Virtual Voyage is a fantastic song name. I like to go on several virtual voyages myself. Or at least that’s what I like to call them. In reality a better description would be lapses into procrastination on the internet, but eh, it’s something I’m working to overcome. Regardless, Virtual Voyage is unfortunately another run of the mill song with very little to specifically note. I did expect to have a few of these while jumping into this review. Unfortunately, I am not prepared to figure out what to say about such songs. I could very well copy most of what I had said about Psycho. The song simply doesn’t have enough unique about it for me to pick it out among the rest of the songs on this album. In fact, this song is even worse off as it has neither any unique ambiance to it, not does it have any memorable vocal samples of someone screaming “Psycho!” There are some parts that diverge from the pattern here and there. A slight melody graces us with its presence about midway through the song but it’s not particularly memorable as it fades away from my memory as soon as it’s over (and it’s honestly, not the most graceful melody to begin with Overall, this is a relatively average song that could have come from any psytrance artists in the 90s

 

Infected Mushroom – Over Mode (5.5/10): Over Mode serves as the closing song to The Gathering. I’m honestly not a huge fan of this one. Not only does it not serve its space well with any unique pleasures to make it stand out from the rest of the songs, but there is also something I find a bit bothersome about this one. And unlike The Gathering, which only bothered me with the occasional pitched vocals. This annoyance is a bit more constant. For a good half of Over Mode, I find myself subjected to the sound of something clinking against glass. Almost as if this song is perpetually calling for a toast that never comes unless perhaps this toast is in dedication to there being “no more scientists, no more laboratories, and no more experiments”. Then again if that were the case, then the clinking would stop after this last Dr Moreau sample was voiced. It does not stop. It keeps going. I will admit that there is still a significant amount of time absent of this clinking, but its presence is still quite irritating to say the least and holds this song back.

 

The rest of the song is relatively decent, not exactly exceptional, but not quite as underwhelming as Psycho or Virtual Voyage either. There’s a fair amount variety to it that allows it to stand out in pleasant ways. The section starting around five and a half minutes into the song with the wavering melodic synth is particularly enjoyable. However, all of this is, again, held back by the clinking, which unfortunately makes it my least favorite song on the album.

 

Conclusion: Over all, The Gathering is a fair debut album for Infected Mushroom though it is admittedly a mixed bag. For every great song on the album, there’s one I’d consider to a bit more average for one reason or another. Still, the album has aged well enough despite being over two decades old. Over those two decades, Infected Mushroom has changed and grown, transforming their music into something new again and again, and while I may prefer later iterations of their style, it is still an enjoyable experience to come back and look at where it started.

 

Final Score: (6.5/10)