Member:
ffroyd
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by ffroyd)
Date:
3/4/2007
Format:
CD (Album)
One of the things I like most about discovering new music is finding something challenging that is unlike anything I’ve heard before. Christopher, a multi-instrumentalist and singer from Toronto, has released a CD that would certainly fit that bill. To describe Smoke and Origination in a nutshell would require a long list of genre-descriptive adjectives and would probably still not adequately illustrate the contents of the work.
The music is very diverse having avant-garde, world music, soundtrack qualities at times punctured by blistering metal power chords and strong driving rhythmic patterns. Christopher’s vocals are deep and clear with a similarity to many different metal singers like Geoff Tate and James LaBrie with a nod to some prog crooners like David Sylvian and Peter Hammill and there are also similarities to folks like David Gahan of Depeche Mode and Peter Steele of Type O Negative. Although there might seem to be some overpowering influences, his style is definitely not a copy of any of these.
Although he’s a classically trained guitarist, there’s not much in the way of shredding lead guitar work that would normally be associated with prog metal. Christopher tends to deal more in creating atmospheric moods with the music. There are lots of moody keyboards and intricate arrangements. I was surprised to find out when doing some research for this review that each song is based on a Bach motif and is all in one key. I would have never guessed that! Several moments have a really cool gothic metal flavor and I guess this is where the Bach comes in.
At nearly 70 minutes, there’s an awful lot to digest in this album but he seems to keep the flow interesting and adds quite a few unusual elements from time to time. One of my favorite parts is the song “Spaghetti Terrorist” which contains some really mesmerizing Middle Eastern percussions coupled with spooky drones and a stunning vocal chorus. The disc is full of unusual arrangements like these. While there are lots of unusual moments to be heard, Christopher also has made some very accessible parts on the album. The real beauty of the disc is how it all merges together as a seamless whole.
The CD comes housed in a large DVD case with some really cool abstract artwork by a company called Ikonwerk with artist Lana Tutino. While this album definitely won’t appeal to everyone out there, those of you reading this who appreciate interesting and unusual music with a metal edge should definitely give this one a shot. There are some really nice tracks from the album on Christopher’s MySpace page. Check it out.
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