Ametrom - Falls The Shadow

Review by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Ametrom’s Falls The Shadow is intensely interwoven, mingling Ametrom’s guitar skill with well-crafted melodies and complex synthesized soundscapes. The end result is engaging and full of unique musical moments as it unfolds.

Falls The Shadow is anchored by Ametrom’s guitar talent. He plays with confidence and poise. His performances are effortless and his choice of guitar tones and his approach to the music creates emotional power and expressive depth. I enjoy how he evokes a wide range of moods within his playing on the album.

Richly nuanced melodic writing is another signature part of Falls The Shadow. Each melody tells its own tale as it unfurls. I am impressed by Ametrom’s ability to craft melodies that carry me through a series of different moods within a single track. He shades from darkness to light, melancholy to uplift within the melodies and I am glad to go on the journey with him.

I also enjoy the painterly way in which Ametrom layers sounds. His auditory palette combines so many tones, textures and colours into a lush whole. I find my ears constantly excited by his musical approach. Every time I listen to a track, I find something new to intrigue and entertain. It makes this album a good one for repeat listening.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

"The Scene and the Herd” opens as a wobbling sound ramps up through the track. Explosive snare drum joins brassy synth that carries cascading melody out above the drums. Intense light pours from the melody as the drums punch.

There’s a pleasingly playful quality in the metallic lead synth as twisting sounds flare through. The drums keep up active motion while the main melody dances with a celebratory feeling as the lead synth glows.

Nasally singing synth jumps before thick bass sits in the pocket with the drums and the hi hat skips along. Trembling, medium-high synth bends and drums flourish, punching in. The opening melody returns, dynamic and leaping, as the drums and bass fade out.

A fat kick drum and quickly jumping snare join medium-high, lambent synth singing a descending, slightly shaded melody to start “Telefunk.” Groovy drums and bass support jazzy organ that carries a funky melodic line, locking in with the rhythm.

String-like synth adds shimmering accents while the low end keeps things thick. The jazz organ melody exudes pleasantly cool ease and the minor key tinge in the medium-high, open-sounding synth adds contrast. The snare and kick drum add form as they sit in their groove.

Strange, distorted sounds howl and the low end flows on. Now warm chords with a soothing quality are carried on the organ. A soft-edged, shining synth carries ethereally glistening chords out into silence.

"A Single Silent Point” begins with clear, sharp-edged synth that flares into the music, crisp and luminous, before smoothly slipping drums guide the track. Airy, relaxed synth pulses intertwine to create easy going motion above gliding drums. Now Ametrom’s guitar sails in, mellow and summery, as it flows past.

I let the guitar’s peace wash through me as gleaming synth pours out coruscating light above scudding drums. Rounded, medium high synth carries a melody that is gently energizing. As synth chords flicker, the guitar solo has jazzy life and peaceful float in it as it tastefully curls through the track and silence falls.

Open-voiced, vibrating synth distantly floats as hi hat and snare drum create a metallic, brushing beat as bass creates a steady heartbeat to open “The Monk’s Tail.” Swirling synth touches warm toned guitar playing bending notes.

Ametrom plays a nostalgic and tranquil melody that drifts above the richly filling drums. The guitar tone has a wavering quality as it carries the melody. High, tightly wound synth glides out in a relaxed line that slips over full-sounding, distorted guitar.

The guitar melody takes on a charmingly encouraging tone as it sings out over rounded synth notes. The hi hat taps and guitar trails through as electric bass notes shift. The guitar sails along with a loose limbed grace the percussion provides a hissing tide below it as the track fades to quiet.

“Endless Gerald” commences as medium-low, resonant synth carries a shifting melodic pattern above ticking percussion. Illuminating, gently flowing synth carries a caressing and caring melody that I am drawn toward. Wide-open, gleaming synth trembles in the distance.

The guitar has a open tone as it carries an energizing melodic pattern as bass throbs and drums skip lightly. Now the track slides into a calming cloud of intertwining, breathy synth before the drums and bass groove along. Ametrom’s guitar cuts in, twisting a little above the cloudy background.

The hollow-toned guitar repeats a quick figure before an effulgent glow rises. The guitar carries a bursting pulse that adds lively motion and the drums tap along. Cosmic-feeling guitar slips along before the groovy percussion and bass lock in again below calmer high notes as silence falls.

Confident, Exuberant synth with a flashing brightness leaps out over strong drumsthat form a steady pulse to kick off “Prism.” Radiant synth pours crystal light out as rich bass interlocks with the pulsating drums.

Descending synth illuminates the music with a lively melody. The track slip into a tranquil flow before the well-crafted, dynamic main melody returns with muscled drums and solid bass. Hopeful emotion fills a glimmering synth as it sings out above the track’s low end.

Nasal, caramel-warm synth sings a gentler melodic pattern and now the drums thunder. Open-sounding, bright synth quickly slips in and now the main melody moves in, full of soft emotion and sunlight as the punchy drums keep moving. The main melody twirls through before the song ends.

“Substation Nebulae” begins as gruff, deep synth slowly is cut by mysterious notes floating in a spectral glide. Gigantic, rough-edged bass pulses and guiding snare drum beats. Trembling, sharp-edged synth slices through the ghostly trailing sounds around it as the drums and bass keep shaping the music.

A rounded, hard-edged sound snarls in as the active bass shifts. Rough-edged, triumphal synth towers in, driving powerfully, in a way that I find engaging. The grunting synth pulsation has the dancing main melody leaping around it. Airy background notes drift and a quick, jazzy synth lick echoes before the drums fade out.

Dominating bass slams in as ethereally glowing notes drop through and drums add active motion to open “Tokyo Dust.” Bass clots in a thick line underneath flashing notes that add brief, intense light above surging energy below them.

Resonant, medium-high synth sings a pleasing, enfolding line above a hi hat steadily adding metallic energy while muscle-bound bass seethes below. Diamond light flashes from a high synth and drums tick smoothly on as rippling notes trip through.

Bass grits as drums hit hard and warmer synth slips through easily. The drums drop out as intimidating bass rises. Radiant notes leap out and fade, the drums returning as the track ends.

Conclusion

Falls The Shadow takes me on a twisting, engaging sonic journey across a plethora of different musical landscapes. I enjoy the way that Ametrom mingles the auditory elements of the album to create ear-catching, mind stimulating music that pulls me in.