Brutiful_ViXn
Reign In Metal
Zodiac :  Metal Reputation : 88
Join date : 2012-01-05
Location : Vacationing in Hell
 | |  Fantasist – Fantasist (2013) Album Review | |
Fantasist – Fantasist (2013)
Rocksector Records -- Running Time 49:31
My next Rocksector band proves that this label do not confine themselves to one area of rock or metal, actively seeking good music from all corners of the genre. Enter Fantasist and their second, self titled album. How would I describe Fantasist? Well the first word that springs to mind is quirky, but that doesn’t really help you lot! If you take ‘Primus’ and ‘Freak Kitchen’, put them in a wrestling ring with ‘Eldorado’ and ‘Psychothermia’ and then pit the winner against ‘Clutch’ and some early ‘Sabbath’ then you might just have some idea of a sound, but of course I’m sure you will all hear your own influences. What I can tell you is that this trio from Manchester in the UK are different and their combination of rock, metal, funk, jazz, doom, stoner, progressiveness and subtle humour hits the mark in a very refreshing way.
That humour comes to the fore immediately with opening instrumental track ‘The End’ which leads nicely into first song proper ‘Watch It Crumble’ and the scene is set for a very enjoyable fifty minutes. All three band members are listed as vocalists, something that also adds to the unusual flavour of Fantasist, but their voices all work very well together. What strikes me initially is the bass of ‘Robb Sutcliffe’. He really does come across sounding like ‘Les Claypool’ of Primus on certain occasions and that is meant as a huge compliment, of course being part of a trio means the bass has to shine through. Joining Robb are guitarist ‘Ollie Cordwell’ and drummer ‘Seb Sweet’ and enough weirdness emanates from all three musically and vocally that you really need to take the time to appreciate what they are trying to do here. What I really like about Fantasist though, is that amongst all the strangeness, there are some extremely catchy songs and choruses, which stay in your head long after the album has finished. To me it’s all about the song and if you can do something different and still make it memorable, you’re on to a winner. Just listen to the tracks ‘Drugstore Cowboy’ and ‘Thump’ and tell me I’m wrong! Famous last words from a reviewer!
Crisply produced by guitarist ‘Cordwell’ and with great mastering by ‘Stuart Eastham’ Fantasist the album is a joy to listen to and Fantasist the band are going straight onto my ‘ones to watch’ list. I would also like to mention the cover and booklet artwork which gives an almost ‘Grindhouse Cinema’ feel to proceedings and the lovely dedication to ‘Dean Hocking’, bass player with label mates Nightvision, who sadly passed away earlier in the year. A very nice touch indeed.
https://www.facebook.com/fantasistmusic
http://www.mwaweb.com/fantasist_homepage.htm
http://www.mwaweb.com/rocksector.htm
Written exclusively for Brutiful Entertainment by Rick Tilley: www.facebook.com/richard.tilley.351 | |
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