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Written
by Jason Hillenburg, posted by blog admin
A
mix of American and English influences powers the debut release from Cyborg
Asylum, an electro post-industrial alternative rock duo featuring the talents
of David Varga and singer/songwriter John Tumminia with some additional
collaborators contributing from the fringes. Varga’s classical music education,
production acumen, and vast experience providing music for television, film,
video games, and commercials proves to be an indispensible tool for the twelve songs
on the duo’s first full length release Never Finished, Only Abandoned. Varga’s
musical vision is enough to ensnare the audience’s attention, but Tumminia’s
lyrical and vocal contributions are the deciding factor in presenting this
collection as an all-around rewarding listening experience. It’s, in turns,
lush, melodic, ominous, and brimming over with emotion. Never Finished, Only
Abandoned is a debut of immense artistry and sets up Cyborg Asylum as one of
the most promising acts working in this vein that have come along in many
years.
The
album opener and first song Varga composed for the release, “Blitz”, kicks off
with a bellowing air raid siren between transitioning into a dissonant and
brief classically themed introduction replete with the sound of falling bombs.
The song properly begins and we’re drawn into its churning web. Anyone
expecting Cyborg Asylum’s material to neatly follow a path from point A to B
will be disappointed – there are musical asides and flourishes galore lain over
a relentless percussion and bass pulse. This fine instrumental is an excellent
way to begin the album and contrasts nicely with the comparatively restrained
second number “Synergy”. There’s a more traditional drive to this song, but it
pursues challenging ends as well with the fluid course of its arrangement and
the assortment of variations it applies to Tumminia’s vocals. The lyrics are
exceptional and well suited to the arrangement. The brief, clocking in at just
a little over two minutes, “War Machine” might promise to be a bulldozer of a
tune based on title alone, but Varga and Tumminia instead opt for a much
subtler feel and effects laden vocals.
“Angle
of Incidence” is even shorter, not even reaching the two minute mark, but
proves to be a gripping musical interlude regardless. It packs more musical
firepower into that confined space than many much longer songs are able to
muster. There are hints of a human voice straining to be heard through the
electronic attack, but they are warped by streaking electronic colors that
transform them into something much darker, even vaguely threatening. “Steampunk
Highway” opens with a splash of synth driven atmospherics joined by acoustic
and electric guitar tracks. Tumminia’s singing has one of its more emotive
moments with this performance and backing vocals further strengthen its
effectiveness. One of the album’s longer numbers, “Asymmetry” has an attention
grabbing backbeat given some extra bit thanks to its forceful electronic
attack. The arrangement frames Tumminia’s vocal in a variety of shades and
permutations certain to hold listener’s attention. The finale, “Paradigm Shift”,
is a sleek and uptempo number making great use of the interplay between
guitarist Phil Jones and the percolating, assertive synth lines. The drumming
has an invigorating live snap and Tumminia’s lyrics are among the album’s
finest. Never Finished, Only Abandoned is a resounding first effort from this
duo surging with boundless promise.
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