What do you get when you mix the Castlevania soundtracks, death metal, Arjen Lucassen, progressive rock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra together...? You get the one-man composing powerhouse that is Kadenzza.
Kadenzza is the solo project of Japanese musician and composer, You Oshima. I compare Oshima to Arjen Lucassen (the man responsible for the progressive metal project, Ayreon) because Oshima provides the entire instrumental line-up of each album he records. But, unlike Lucassen, Oshima also provides the vocals and self-produces all of his music.
Although Kadenzza holds strongly to the neoclassical genre, it is far too intellectual to be labeled by anything but its very own sub-genre. Described in the words of Oshima himself, it is “Grand Orchestral Kamikaze...sophisticated full orchestra, razor edged screaming insane vocals, astral Japanese soprano, solemn church organs, furious blast beats, hyper-speed neo-classical guitars, dancing intellectual piano with complicated rhythms.” It sounds like a hell of a lot to handle all at once, and trust me it is. I definitely wouldn’t recommend listening to this unless you are already deeply introduced to the progressive style.
“War Phantasma (Suite Opus 4)” is a 13-minute power ride of an epic. The introduction is almost like a slowed down mix of Dream Theater’s “As I Am” and “Constant Motion.” The lyrics make a hasty entrance presented with obvious inspirations from Chuck Schuldiner of Death. After a quick guitar solo and an exponential increase in tempo and intensity, the song goes into a very King Crimson style of play. The minimalistic segregation of the piano solo plays much like the first half of “Moonchild” from King Crimson’s progressive masterpiece, In the Court of the Crimson King. After a few more minutes, the song begins to incorporate aggressive stock audio until the lyrics enter back in. The vocals are lot more brutal now and rather than bringing the guitar with them, this time, the solo is provided by electric organ synth. The song then continues to rise with anger until completely dissolving away, leaving a short bit of silence before the solemn piano returns. Ocean waves in the background, the piano begins to transform into a music box song, slowly fading away over the last minute of the song.
The song definitely leaves the listener in awe, especially because it was all conceived and provided by one man. As I said, this music is incredibly intellectual and leaves room for an endless amount of interpretation. For a prog listener, this is the best part. So, if you love progressive music as much as I do, please give this song a listen and tell me your thoughts. And while you’re at it, why don’t you give the entire album a chance. “War Phantasma” is actually the last track of Kadenzza’s Into the Oriental Phantasma. You may find that listening to the rest of the album will help you in your journeys through this week’s song.
I apologize for this Sunday's review being a little shorter than most, but the song truly speaks better for itself. Here's the link to the album:
It definitely sounds like I want to check this one out. Unfortunately, I already used all of this months plays on Napster. Oh well, July is just around the corner.
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