Hands up! On the Floor! give me your Omotion!

"Its like playing a piece of music without it being written down"

A few months ago I spoke to Improv at one of his shows. I was questioning when Omotion would be out. He said give it more time they were making sure it was perfect. I made the mistake of saying something along the lines of, "You'd have to fuck up huge to make it suck"

I preordered his CD the day it popped up on the page and waited to get my hands on it.

From the starting track I knew I should've have said those words. The album doesnt suck. It is far from it. I enjoyed listening to the whole thing. From the opening track it sounds like he is coming out fighting. Ready to take on anything. One of the lines is "This is my church and gospel"

That is what it boils down to. A few months ago after waiting 6 months for Omotion I was lacking of the faith. I was lacking of the vision. Dispite seeing him give his heart and soul I doubted. Often times that is what buying an album relies upon. Faith. As a fan your investing 15$ and an hour of time into the idea that this will be worth both the time and the money. Perhaps your paying 10$ cover at a show and investing 2hours of listening to acts you dont care about to hear who you really want.

Was it worth it? Hell yes. From the time when he first debut'd the song "I call your Bluff" I was hooked on the bass. Its the type where you could be standing at the back of the club and it rattles your teeth. It reminds me too much of life is someone telling you that "X will happen if they dont do Y". So often you roll over and take it but sometimes you gotta stand up and call them on it. Goto his myspace page. Select This song. Turn your speakers up and make sure your bass is ready to go. (I kinda wish this song was the one they posted to the 93.3. The idea of people in thier cars thumping along while listening but Miss Hedonist is a better song over all.) The bass deliciousness continues into the following song "Really Real" feating Doc Oscify and Rampage.

Its a solid CD. Each song has an excellent beat to go with it. Ranging from the bass to the sound of an lifesupport machine to a beatbox and random voicemail calls. All masterfully mixed together.

So it boils down to faith. Trust that the goods will be delivered. Trust that one is not going to be disappointed. This CD did not disappoint. Also since he played most of it live I had a good idea what to expect. Overall I give this song 5 heroin needle tracks as it mainlines the bass strait to my ears delight.

Arcanium

So Friday May 23rd I went to a show at Hodi’s Half Note. There was a band called Arcanium (http://www.myspace.com/arcaniumband ) that I wanted to see playing there. They were also having a CD release party to promote their first self-titled CD. Overall I didn’t get to stay for the whole show so much of my experience with them is based off their myspace page and their CD, which I was able to snag before I had to go.

I’ve always been a fan of hard rock music. Slowly over the years my tastes have pushed the heavier stuff into the realm of death metal and such. Things like Hatebreed, Engel (http://www.myspace.com/engelmusic ), and Black Label Society. While my tastes vary the main thing that I need to make something enjoyable to me is a melody or somewhat of a melodic part to the sound.

Arcanium does this by multiple vocalists providing the various bits of melodic singing to support the growling-harsh singer. Some bands use the studio magic and bits of prerecorded sound files to duplicate something that can be achieved by having band mates provide. In Arcanium’s case it works rather well and they are enjoyable to listen to.

They have melody. They have intriguing lyrics. They have the ability and skill to entice and pound your skull into the ground while they perform. Only thing they don’t have is a major record deal in order to get them more exposure. They are also a young band and may evolve into something better. They already have 2 people doing vocals now and then with other band members they could explore that more. The effect of several overlaying melodies can be a sweet assault on the senses.

So I give their CD a rating of a sore neck and 2 bittersweet but hurting eardrums for standing closer than I should have.