Blues Ain’t Dead!

Darren Deicide

The Blues Non est Mortuum

Berenice Records, 2016

Review by Kent Manthie                                                    

Well, 2016 is just about to come to a close but not before we get a chance to check out this new CD from Darren Deicide, The Blues Non est Mortuum. I‘ve been a fan of Darren’s since I reviewed, I believe it was, his first CD, Rockin’ ‘Til The Apocalypse. Listening to it, the whole thing just grabbed me and really made an impact on me. I loved it! I reviewed, about a year later, his follow-up to that great debut. In the time since, I’ve started my own music review blog and I even posted a few videos a while back of Darren performing a few tunes in this graveyard in New Jersey.

Even listening to this new album, I noticed one thing hasn’t changed, at least too much: that voice of Darren’s. He’s got this distinct-sounding plaintive wail that really belts out the blues, mostly accompanied by a guitar, in some cases a drum or other percussion instruments, and the whole thing is fronted by the distinct, readily recognizable voice of Deicide.

The way Darren sings, that emotion he puts into it, is one of the things I like so much about Deicide’s music in general. What this album shows is that Darren’s been developing his sound over the past few years, but, listening to The Blues Non est Mortuum, translated from the Latin as “The Blues is not dead”.

Yes, this album is a delight to listen to. I’m glad Darren still sings with that rough, raw timbre.

With the slide guitar he plays throughout, both on the electric and acoustic guitars, it nicely complements Darren’s eerie, plaintive wail which can send shivers down one’s back. A good example of the acoustic slide accompanying Deicide’s voice is “Devil Woman Blues”.

A few other examples of outstanding tunes on The Blues Non est Mortuum, include “Static”, “Killing the Dead” and “My Star-Spangled Banner” sounds like one’s personal anthem, singing about one’s individual experiences living in the “home of the brave” and “the land of the free”(??). Then, we get a couple great tunes, in the form of “Boom Power Boogie” and the closer, “At the Sound of the Demon Bell”.  The best way to enjoy the album, though, is to just start it at the beginning and listen to it all the way through!

Did I pique your interest?  If you’d like to check out more information about Darren and the new album, along with some new songs one can listen to, from The Blues est Non Mortuum, visit: http://darrendeicide.com/, you can purchase the CD there too! Happy listening! -KM.

Fantasmas: video from Zavala

Just to put music to the review previous, I thought I’d post a video from Zavala for his new tune, “Roosevelt & Letting Go”.  Hope you like it! – KM. (also, read the review, just below). –KM.

His Master’s Synthesizer

 

Zavala

Fantasmas

Fake Four Music, 2017

Review by Kent Manthie                                                                           

Chicago-based electronica producer, Zavala has just come out with his latest work of his own: Fantasmas. It is a real coup de grace for Zavala.

The music takes me back a little way, back in the good ol’ days of the 1990s (say what you will about the 90s: but throughout that decade the US economy BOOMED. It was the 1920s all over again: instead of just richies or institutional investors, regular Joes and their wives were buying stock and, up until the bubble burst in 2000, buying internet/tech stocks was a sure thing. Look at all the millionaires that sprang up overnight!

Anyway, listening to Fantasmas reminds me of back in the 90s, when I was enjoying life, working during the week, and then, letting it all hang out, basically, between Thursday and Saturday night, taking Sunday to recuperate before starting the whole thing over again (i.e., it’s Monday morning again and the whole thing starts again (and it will forever)). It has quite a danceable groove to it. Even if you’re sitting at home and pop this CD on, you’ll still be shaking your head back and forth, bobbing up and down and so on.

That isn’t to say, though, that Fantasmas sounds like a dated work, something that, for today’s world, is just a little anachronistic. No, Zavala, being a seasoned music producer, has taken his talents for getting the most of the studio as well as the back-up singers, session musicians, etc.

On one track, Zavala gets some help in the form of Sara Z. singing vocals on “Chrysalis” and believe it: this is a groovy track. That and then “The IFS” is another really swinging cut. You can’t help yourself. You just gotta dance! It’s all good, but, to pick a couple good starters, check out the opener, “Mirrors”, or the dreamy “Floats Like Empty” or the ethereal, synthesizer opus, “ARPDreamth” (can’t say 100%, because they’re kind of outdated. Those ARP synthesizers, like Pink Floyd used on The Dark Side of the Moon, I haven’t seen or heard today’s musical prodigies using. That isn’t surprising, given the leaps and bounds taken as far as technology in general has come since 1973. Listening to it with, say, good headphones and turned up really loudly, you can really meld with the music! I’m telling you: if you want to be relaxed, turn the lights down low and lie in bed or on a comfortable sofa, then hit “play” with this CD ready and then close your eyes and I bet when the album finishes, you’ll feel at least somewhat relaxed. ENJOY! -KM.