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Review |
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As a title, "At The Dream's Edge" could
have some kind of cosmic undertone to a ludicrously
looking and epic video game. However, it could also
refer to the 5 years of work that has been put into
this album as an individual project, and a "dream"
for Paul Antonio Ortiz aka Chimp Spanner. It is
an orchestral, ambient metal project based around
virtuoso guitar playing, which nods towards the
outlandish sides of jazz/prog/rock. It is bundled
together with a myriad of time signatures and programmed
drumming.
Part man, part machine, Essex based Ortiz is Basick
Records very own Frederick Thordendal, and one of
many intellectual "bedroom" guitarists
who perhaps spend the majority of their time sitting
in front of a digital audio workstation recording
endless amounts of music, watching sci-fi and playing
games. This is album could quite happily sit alongside
Thordendal’s ‘Sol Niger’ and Devin
Townsend’s more accessible work. Some critics
have been branding him as the next messiah, but
let's put some things in perspective. Ortiz is no
stranger to music production, neither has he just
sold his soul to the devil and became a well seasoned
multi-instrumentalist overnight. "At The Dream's
Edge" is second release with his debut 'Imperium
Vorago' being released in 2004. His family background
also consists of multi-instrumentalists, and it
is this lineage that has given him the means to
produce this album - and even more so through the
family run music production team Heavenly Media
Services.
I should make a point that this should not take
anything away from what the Ortiz has achieved
on this album. It is extremely well produced,
balanced; the guitar solos soar through the mix
whereas the extended range guitars give off a
pungent metal smell amongst the dense low end.
But isn't a good sounding record probably what
you would expect from someone who does this for
a living? One of the main issues I have with this
album it seems that parts of the album seems a
little too, well, perfect. Or maybe just a little
too over indulgent. Either that or some of the
tracks belong on a cover disc of Future Music
where you can copy construction kits, shove into
Cubase and build your own ambient metal masterpiece.
In places it sounds too quantised and too much
like a bunch of test tones for the latest pod
range or guitar pedal. Only a few tracks (The
Mirror, Harvey Wallbanger) really stand out with
a spark, the aggression, and more importantly,
the feeling. “At The Dreams Edge”
is technically fascinating in places, but also
at times a little stagnant. It is albums like
this that sometimes underline the importance of
a vocalist and a live drummer.
3.5/5
Review by Rich E |
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| Band
Members |
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| Track
Listing |
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1. Galaxy Rise
2. Supererogation
3. At the Dream’s Edge
4. The Mirror
5. Bad Code
6. Harvery Wallbanger
7. Ghosts of the Golden City
8. Far From Home
9. Terminus Pt 1
10. Terminus Pt 2
11. Terminus Pt 3
12. Under One Sky
13. All Good Things
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Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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