Soulful, conceptual, concise, and smooth ‘Point Five’ delivers at the highest level an EP profusely packed with personality. Geno Five teams up with Alejandro for a full project that flows conceptually and sonically, literally starting with ‘Gettin Familiar’ to ‘Gettin Hurt’ and every other phase in between. Geno Five’s signature multi-level metaphors and subtle lines are on full display as well as soulful harmonizing and a sung delivery on smooth sample chopped soul beats worthy of both bars and soul ballad bellowing. ‘Gettin Thru It’ finds Geno severely introspective, open and baring it all detailing personal tragedy and despair while maintaining optimism. ‘(Never) Going Back’ is beautifully ironic in the fact that each beat switch warrants an immediate repeat, each leg of the song expands to an even more soulful and heartfelt piece of the puzzle, once the trilogy is complete a complete song-restart is a necessity. ‘Point Five’ in it’s entirety is a time capsule to an era when creating a classic was a benchmark, the formula of one producer and one artist, complete realization of a concept, and skits further tying together ideas and subject matter- ‘Point Five’ has all the makings of a modern classic presented in 20 minutes.
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Adrian Prath ‘Lake Ontario’ EP
Adrian Prath, the 25 year old from Karlsruhe (Germany), releases his amazing ‘Lake Ontario’ EP a optimistically wistful ambient adventure. At times spacious and atmospheric and at times upbeat and groove heavy, the fast pace and dance-able rhythms on ‘Rupert Station’ kick the EP into high gear, a stark contrast from the chill down tempo ambient DreamPop that sets the foundation for ‘Lake Ontario’. The track ‘North’ has a haunting guitar melody mixed with psychedelic reverb and effects and crunchy drums that sound like a classic cassette recording. The ever evolving instrumental expands past psychedelia and tip-toes into down tempo experimental funk, another interesting departure from underlying substrate set in the sequence of opening tracks. The closing track ‘2nd Floor’ is indie heaven, dance heavy and heartfelt, the chorus and spacey guitar melody put the listener in a trance-like state. Immediately upon finishing ‘Lake Ontario’ you want to restart it, hearing the tape be inserted one is relieved on the beginning of ‘Hat Away’ , the lofi Indie ballad, not having to actually rewind to revisit this riveting work.
Last Temptation ‘Last Temptation’ Album
Last Temptation, Butcho Vukovic, Peter Scheithauer, Stet Howland and Steve Unger, continues their ascent, after a riveting set at Hellfest Main Stage One this summer the band continues to add more and more successes to their collection. The opening track ‘I Win I Lose’ almost seems misleading with all the wins they have racked up recently, signing a worldwide deal with Ear Music, releasing a heavy hitting album with the raw energy of old school Rock and Metal -featuring amazing guests like: Don Airey (Deep Purple, Rainbow) on Keyboards, Vinny Appice (Did, Heaven and Hell) on drums, Bob Daisley (Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore) on bass, James Lomenzo (BLS, Snakepite) on bass as well as Rudy Sarzo (Whitesnake, Quiet Riot) and more. Raw riffs, hard driving percussion and stadium ready vocals all combine on the eponym album ‘Last Temptation’ released September 27 2019. The live feel and tangible energy felt on the LP can be witnessed by fans far and wide in the near future as Last Temptation plans a US and European tour as well as festivals in the upcoming months. The powerhouse is the brainchild of guitarist Peter Scheithauer (Killing Machine, Belladonna, Temple Of Brutality) and singer Butcho Vukovic (Watcha, Showtime) who teamed up with talented friends Steve Unger (Metal Church) and STET Howland (WASP, Lita Ford) , their classic Metal sound is infused with the core energy of earlier times and amalgamated with the present feel of today. Shredding on ‘Blow A Fuse’ is transcendent, the sway and swagger of ‘Lock Into Myself” is almost visual, the gritty groove and trudging drum beat is hypnotic simultaneously invigorating. The aesthetic is akin to legendary bands with ominous imagery, dark tone, and lucid lyrics – all present on ‘Nobody Is Free’ and ‘Coming For You’. Last Temptation keeps the spirit and energy of classic Metal alive with their latest release and only show that there is much more to come from this band that is on a war path to an absolute take over.
https://lasttemptation.lnk.to/LastTemptation
Karl McCann’s ‘Kxi’ Album.
Somber, haunting and rhythmic all describe the opening track to Karl McCann’s ‘Kxi’ album. ‘Good Things Will Rest’ sets the tone with a ghost-like vocal delivery over a raw guitar melody and rugged drums. ‘Ask For Forgiveness’ keeps the momentum going while slightly brightening up the tone the rough vocals add personality to the recording, similar to the idiosyncratic cover art- original, unique, sparse and complex all in one. ‘Kxi’ sonically translates to a beautifully mysterious painting, a consistent color palette and deep dark depth in the few colors used. Stripped down and raw Karl McCann delivers an honest album packed with character. ‘Just Another Shot’ upbeat in sound but dark in content- another interesting mesh in a painting of combined complimentary colors. ‘Kxi’ is an outstanding album with consistency and familiarity welded together with range and risk, the distorted acoustic beginning of ‘So Save Yourself’ coupled with the crisp programmed drum sounds creates a unique sound for Karl McCann. McCann has an LP that can be played from start to finish with depth enough for an immediate restart leaving the listener wanting to re-experience ‘Kxi’ right away.
Salloum ‘Energy & Rhythm’ Album
Right out the gate Salloum’s ‘Energy & Rhythm’ begins with a spark of the metaphysical, the intro track ‘Gamebreaker’ is full of audio clips of interviews about otherworldly topics. Accompanied by a full website http://energyandrhythm.com/ ‘Energy & Rhythm’ is a project that details a level of depth easily forgotten today. ‘Join Us’, the first track, is a mission statement and call to arms, a spiritual anthem enveloped in passion. ‘Heart Of The City’ is a triumphant autobiographical banger, with an instrumental with a haunting piano loop, heavy drums and blended synths on the hook. ‘Reagan’s United Nations (interlude)’ ties in the political with the conspiratorial a chilling segue into ‘End Of The Road’ a track with a slight Hip-Hop meets Nu-Metal mellow alternative aesthetic. Famed comedian George Carlin has his own interlude again emphasizing the possible extraterrestrial influence on our society. ‘The Setup’ has a ghastly instrumental and even more altering lyrics, exposing the esoteric to the listener. Epic, enlightening, intoxicating and energetic all describe ‘Energy & Rhythm’ at title alone with more depth than what is immediate, Salloum delivers a Hip-Hop album that is a wealth of knowledge, an LP that can be studied like an ancient book holding the mysteries of time.