DreamReaper "Astro Blaster" EP Review

This is a belated review of the second and most recent EP from one of my favourite up-coming artists, DreamReaper, based in Phoenix AZ. It is quite timely as he is now making noises about new music in the not-too-distant future and I was excited to read that he supported GosT's Arizona visit this year too. His latest EP was released earlier this year, and I’m glad I have finally set aside some time to check it out properly, it doesn't disappoint at all. Rather excellently he has released a couple of limited edition cassette versions which you can view at his bandcamp.

Astro Blaster EP

The Astro Blaster EP shows obvious evolution from his self-titled debut. The darksynth soundscapes here have more subtlety, relying less on wall-to-wall distorted riffing, but the aggression is still there when songs reach the peaks that require it as the tracks "Astro Blaster" and "Gridlock" prove.

One of the more noticeable progressions is the increased abundance of keyboard solos, which expand the dynamics and make the EP sound more organic than the debut's predominant speeding riffs. "Earthbound" is a good example of this with its relaxed pace and emotive pitch-bend solos at the end. Compared to the debut's grinding heaviness, "Lightspeeder" is one of his most up-beat creations yet, evoking '80s dancefloors with it's heavenly synths and occaisional slap bass hits.

This adventurous musicality imbues each track with more individual identity and in my opinion, any record really needs this variety between tracks to make it memorable as a whole, and keep you listening from start to end.

To sum up, this is just as good as the debut while being a clear development, it shows that DreamReaper is growing more confident to innovate and go in his own direction, so he's still one of the most exciting new names to watch out for.

Last year's Synthallica DreamReaper Interview

Links:
DreamReaper on:  [Bandcamp] - [SoundCloud] - [Facebook]
[DreamReapermusic.com]

New EP "Astro Blaster" from DreamReaper, reviews to follow!

New EP from Arizona's DreamReaper, who I interviewed here. I will review this, and some other new music soon!

Synthallica Mix Tape 002: Mirrorball Massacre, Halloween compilation

Happy Halloween Y'all! Here's a fitting selection of Dark Synth and Horror Synth for the ghoulish season...





TRACKS
01. Dress-2-Kill - Grim Sleeper [feat. 20Six Hundred] (2014) from album 'Boo'
02. Power Glove - Night Force (2010) from So Bad - 'EP 1'
03. Magic Sword - In The Face Of Evil (2015) from album 'Volume 1'
04. Double Dragon - Rebirth (2015) from album 'Double Dragon'
05. The Hunt - Unface (2015) from album 'Beyond The Gate Of Hell'
06. DKMD - Mirrorball Massacre (2015) from album 'Sacrificio'
07. Futura Synk - Someone In The Elevator (2015) from 'Kitt Nash EP'
08. DevilRazor - FutureHell (2016) from album 'Repent your Synths'
09. Hexenkraft - Inspirati a Diabolo (2016) from 'Hexenkraft'
10. Patient Zero - Zombie Hookers (2015) from 'EP 1'
11. Supercode - Assassin (2016) from 'Haunted Churches EP'
12. VHS Glitch - The Evil Inside (2016) from album 'Demoniac'
13. The Night Terrors - Lasers For Eyes (2012) from album 'Spiral Vortex'
14. Tommy '86 - The Last Judgment (2016) from album 'Transhumanism'

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DreamReaper interview

Artist: DreamReaper
From: Phoenix, Arizona 
Latest release: DreamReaper EP
Label: self released
Bandcamp: http://dreamreapermusic.bandcamp.com




I came across DreamReaper while scouring Bandcamp and the immediacy of the sound grabbed me straight away. This is hard and fast synth rock which never lets up, while keeping the melodies and dynamics interesting all the way through. It's a winner! As with Vulta before, DreamReaper uses some great distorted riffs to keep the head banging.

This is the kind of synthwave which should appeal to a lot of rock/metal fans, but whereas Vulta's smouldering atmosphere has more of a doomy foreboding feeling at times, the DreamReaper EP keeps the ferocity going at full throttle from start to finish, like hanging on to the steering wheel by your bare knuckles in some desperate car chase. The occasional movie quote makes this high-steaks tension even more apparent. Before you know it you are hitting repeat to remain in the vortex of chunky riffage and frantic arpeggios.

I was lucky enough to get in touch with the DreamReaper himself and ask a few questions for this exclusive interview!

01. Hi! Who are you and what musical endeavors have you been involved in before DreamReaper?

My name is Troy and I currently live in Phoenix. I've been making music of some sort for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty sure I've made music in every electronic genre at this point. Also I was in a punk band, we were the best.

02. Why did you start DreamReaper and where's the name come from?

I've been listening to synthwave since Drive. I made a few of the Miami-palm-tree-summery-type tracks but never really tried seriously until I heard Carpenter Brut at which point I knew I wanted to be a shitty Carpenter Brut ripoff.

I actually have a really hard time coming up with names and sat on these tracks for awhile before coming up with the name DreamReaper. It doesn't mean anything I just thought it sounded cool.

03. What Synthwave artists influence you, and what other music styles?

I listen to all kinds of different stuff but my main influence for this project is definitely Carpenter Brut. There's a lot of talent in this scene, he's the best by far if you ask me. Besides that, Perturbator, Dan Terminus, Justice, Uppermost.

04. Any particular movies/books and other art forms important to your sound?

I do read a lot and watch movies, but I'm not sure how much they influence my music. I read the Prophet of Silicon Valley recently, it's about Sequential Circuits. I'd really recommend it if you're into nerdy synth stuff. Dave Smith is a G.

05. How do you go about composing a DreamReaper track?

Usually I just hit random white keys until something sounds good.

06. How do you achieve the great distortion in your riffs and what hardware/software do you like to use in general?

I use Ableton for my DAW and Sylenth1, TAL Elek7ro, and Korg Legacy M1 for most of my sounds. The distortion is made by turning random knobs in Ohmicide until it sounds like the speakers are splitting open. I have a few hardware synths but they are only to impress women that visit my apartment.

Troy debut's his GosT remix for this interview, and here it is!



07. How did your remix of GosT’s “Through Thine Eyes” happen.

His new album came out around the same time I was trying to think of something to remix. Seemed like a good idea. It's unofficial, hopefully he doesn't hate it. I think I'll do more remixes in the future, this one was fun.

08. How was your track ”Terminal” picked for the game “Slick: Rough Justice”.

I think it's just in the trailer, but they just asked and I said yes. I'm always down for things like that. So if you're reading this, don't be afraid to hit me up!

09. What are your plans for DreamReaper and will you play live?

No current plans to play live but shout-out to The Grid in Mesa (AZ), they're doin' it right.New EP is coming very soon. Definitely by the end of the year, but hopefully much sooner than that.

10. Anything else you'd like to say to sign off?

I'm gonna try and start doing that whole social media thing more so find me there and expect a lot more DreamReaper in 2017. Big thanks to Rich for featuring me on Synthallica!

Thanks Troy! Check out DreamReaper on Bandcamp, Soundcloud and Facebook.

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Synthallica Mix Tape 001: Nothing Is Real

 

01. 00:00 Mac Quayle - 1.9_6-Nothingisreal.Ra
02. 02:46 GosT - I Am Abaddon
03. 07:12 Vulta - It Was Underground The Whole Time
04. 11:56 Dan Terminus - Avalanche
05. 17:21 Dance With The Dead - Scream and Whispers
06. 22:04 Mega Drive - Exoskeleton
07. 27:38 MASTER BOOT RECORD - FILES=666
08. 30:42 REZNYCK - Chevrolexomyl
09. 34:24 Ultra Sheriff - Leviathan
10. 40:26 Carpenter Brut - Turbo Killer
11. 43:54 Volkor X - Masked Death
12. 50:00 Perturbator - Neo Tokyo
13. 54:10 Mac Quayle - 1.0_8-Whatsyourask.M4p

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The Wrath of Dan Terminus

The Wrath of Code LP

Dan Terminus is one of my favourite artists from the current scene. He started out in music with classical training at a young age, but was also exposed to electronic visionaries like Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre by his music-loving parents at the same time.

According to interviews he got into Heavy Metal early-on but was also making music on early home computers as a hobby. He lives in France, which of course has a rich history in synthwave and electronic music.

Dan on stage

All this adds up to the perfect grounding for an artist making music in the same circles as Perturbator and GosT, both of which he has performed live with and counts as friends and inspirations.

Dan States Noir Deco as a big influence too, and this can be seen clearly in a mutual love of Blade Runner, the movie's themes and atmosphere, and Vangelis's amazing soundtrack (Dan even has a track called "It's too bad she won't live" on his latest record).

Each of Dan's records have a unique theme and sonic style, and with his latest, "The Wrath Of Code" (on Blood Music) he has chosen to focus on heaviness and speed although there are still a couple of mellower tracks. I find his exciting use of arpeggios, no doubt helped by his classical training, to be one of his signature skills, injecting flashes of melody and hope into the thick distorted electronic riffs that tell the cyber-punk story of Code, a sentient consciousness that escapes from server captivity to exact her wrath on her captors.

The fact that Blood Music, a Finnish extreme music label that has also backed Perturbator and GosT, has picked Dan up too is an indicator that Dan and friends are bringing aggressive, emotional electronic music into the same realms which heavy metal has been lurking for ever and this is a great thing for heavy music fans whatever they are into.

Check out Dan's latest record track-by-track on Bandcamp. His previous three self-released records can be heard here. One more point of interest is Dan's choice of eye-catching cover art, which has been commissioned from Luca Carey for the last two LPs. They certainly capture the imagination and look great printed on physical mediums.

In a few days he plays at this show in Paris with GosT and Horskh. Dan has already announced work on a new record so keep an eye out for that!

At the end of this article are a few links to interviews that Dan has partaken in.

Dan on Facebook.

From NewRetroWave: Dan and GosT on being metal fans and performing live: http://www.newretrowave.com/news/2016/3/14/an-interview-with-gost-and-dan-terminus

From Sensation Rock: Dan talking to a French magazine about his origins:
http://www.sensationrock.net/2015/11/05/interview-dan-terminus ¦ (english translation)

From NeonVice: Dan on signing to Blood Music for newest album:
http://www.neonvice.com/blog//interview-dan-terminus-blood-music

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Vulta interview

 

Artist: Vulta
From: Belgium
Latest release: Nabla I. EP 
Label: self released
Bandcamp: http://vulta.bandcamp.com/

Vulta is a promising new Synthwave act from Belgium. I came across the most recent EP "Nabla I." a week or so ago and dug it immediately. It has a good mix of hard Synthwave and Horror Synth with great layered song-writing that might even have some classical influence too. For instance, the track "It Was Underground The Whole Time" has a long subtle build-up worthy of a classical piece, with melodic twists and turns to match. I figure it's the kind of thing that's a really good entry point for rock/metal/doom fans to get into this style of music. The EP also features a thumping cover of Dance With The Dead's "Invader" which more than does it justice.

Vulta main-man Jim has been kind enough to answer a few questions exclusively for Synthallica!

Q1. Hi! Who are you, where are you from and what is you musical background?

Hi! My name is Jim and I'm from Belgium. I started learning music when I was 7 with the piano. All my cousins are musicians and I thought that I should learn too. Around 14/15 i bought my first electric guitar, so i was interested in both the classical and the rock scene. It's around that age that I first started to learn a little bit more about electronic music, but not seriously. Only to pick it up a couple years after, this time with the desire to learn more!

Q2. What musical endeavors have you been involved in before Vulta?

Got my fair share of bands as a teen, from rock to death metal. Just before taking Vulta seriously, I made a couple of essays in Electronic music to pin point the intricacies of the genre, from EDM to Drumstep and all in between! I'm also in a Goregrind band called "Brutal Sphincter" (link) We plan to do lots of mini-tours through europe. So... yeah... another MetalHead with a foot in Synth music!

Q3.  What attracted you to starting a Synthwave project?

A couple years ago, while in France, a friend of mine made me discover Perturbator. Fell in love with the style instantly, so Carpenter Brut, GosT, Dance With The Dead,etc. were not too hard to find and like after that.

I knew that Synthwave existed, but I did not really care very much. After listening to old projects, i found an old track that i made back in 2010 and was pretty much the Synthwave cliché. So it started ! For the Distorted bass, it was also a bit of the same story. I remember challenging myself to make the heaviest synth/distorted bass as if it was a 9 string guitar! *laughs*

Q3. What influences do you have from Synthwave/electronic artists or any other music styles?

As said above, I think Perturbator, Carpenter Brut, GosT and DWTD played a big role in the birth of the project. On the other hand, I'm pretty much a sponge when it comes to music, so every good music can be an influence. Of course, Classical, Fusion jazz, EDM, Metal and such are a turn-on for me, but I don't care that much when I compose, if a song still talks to me after a week, I keep it!

Q5. How about movies and other art forms?

Big fan of the 80's movies as you can guess. B movies, even Z movies ! Scifi and fantasy are my favorites! Huge fan of video games !

Q6. How do you go about composing a Vulta track?

It can go from higgledy-piggledy to very well organized. Most of the time it comes from a melody or chords that I have in mind. While composing, I always have a scene/story in my head, that helps a lot! I often start with a simple beat and i add everything step by step, I do lots of demos and only a few are selected.

Q7. What hardware/software do you like/use?

I mostly use Software. From time to times i use old cheap synths in conjunction to VSTs and for guitars I use a 7-string Schecter Hellraiser with an Hughes & Ketner amp+cab, or through an amp simulator. I do all my stuff in FL Studio and Reaper. been using them for years!

Q8. How did your Dance With The Dead remix come about?

I love this track very much, so I've decided to remix it, made it by ear, I showed it to DWTD and they liked it, so i released the track!

Q9. Who is Current 218, featured in the final EP track?

Current 218 is the friend of mine who introduced me to Perturbator. He really wanted to write guitars for one of my tracks, it's the least I could do in return!

Q10. Do you have any specific plans for more Vulta music?

I'm currently writing my first LP Album, even tho' the process is slow. it seems that most of the tunes will hit hard as F**k!

Q11. Would you like to play live with Vulta?

I'd love to! Even if right now I don't know anything about DJing. It's on the wishlist for sure!!! I think doing a Live set performance With 4 musicians could be fun, but it's definitely not a priority and would be too much work imo.

Thanks a lot Jim! Anything else you'd like to say to sign off?

Thx for having me ! Stay weird! Do what you like, the way that you like and don't forget to do rites in the name of the dark lord!

--------------------

Make sure to check out Vulta's EP at Bandcamp

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