SIXMIXSIX - Videodrome
Review by Karl Magi
Overall Album Impressions
Sixmixsix’s Videodrome is a charmingly nostalgic musical journey through some of the 1980s' most iconic movies. The mixture of first-rate vocal performances by Fludid, the powerful melodic content, and Fabs (Sixmixsix}) guitar skills paint cinematic, exciting pictures while exploring many of the most beloved, engaging films made in the 1980s. This is music by which to reminisce as one enjoys the sounds flowing out from one’s headphones or speakers.
One of the most enchanting aspects of Videodrome is the way in which Fludid’s emotionally engaging, flexible vocals combine with Fabs’ songwriting. The end result is a wonderful interpretation of lyrics that carry the story of each film while adding emotional depth through the way in which Sixmixsix views each movie. I am fully drawn into the narrative as both contributors work their magic.
Another enjoyable aspect of Videodrome is the combination between the musical choices made by Fabs and the melodies he writes. His synthesizer choices effectively evoke different moods and states of mind; he deploys the guitar for maximum emotional effect, and his melodies are memorable and intensely affecting to me. I find it hard to stop listening to the album once I start.
I also have to emphasize how much I enjoy Fabs’ guitar performances on Videodrome. He has a great deal of skill and a good sense for emotional expression. Fabs’ mingles varied guitar tones to evoke different sensations and combines this with finger-bending chops in order to weave a tale and keep me listening.
Fabs’ obvious love and appreciation for the movies of the 1980s shines through in this album. I appreciate the way in which he expresses his love for these classics through music. I am utterly charmed by this album.
My Favourite Songs Analyzed
“Beyond the Veil” comes to life as slowly echoing, enigmatic synth trembles nervously. A steady background light glints softly as haunting chimes float through the track. The tremulous sounds are broken by gigantic, ragged edges and rebounding, rounded notes. Fabs’ electric guitar cuts in with hard edges, and chimes sparkle. The music continues to undulate, and now the kick drum pounds as Fludid's deeply expressive vocals carry the emotive lyrics.
The melody has a tender quality and Fabs’ guitar cries out with howling intricacy, leaping with skillful energy. The drums flow smoothly, and the guitar twists and bends through the music with complex sounds. Fludid’s voice calls out with hope and confidence, despite the darkness faced by the song's protagonist. The drums and bass smoothly guide the music forward as the chorus rises.
The guitar rumbles as tightly wound, glistening synth drifts, and Fludid expresses the feelings that are exuded by the music. His resonant, full voice is deeply pleasing to me as it conveys the emotion in the music. The ghostly chimes ring out as the aching vocals flow with a mournful melody. The guitar growls again as the chorus climbs and the drums pulse above the massive bass.
The vocal performance has a touching directness and conveys all of the different sensations powerfully. The guitar has dark power as the intertwining strings levitate, and the vocal performance drives home the spectral feeling of the track. The song ends on shimmery chimes and deep guitar notes.
The narrator tells a story of Joey, a child who is able to make contact with the spirit world in search of his father. He talks about how one can hear a child's voice in a world of whispers. He adds that "Joey finds a way; it's his only choice." The narrator talks about how his love for his father will never fail or fade as he can "reach beyond the veil."
Our storyteller talks about the young boy's telekinetic abilities as the shadows begin to rise, and "mysteries unfold before Joey's eyes." He battles the forces of darkness with a courageous heart. His bond with his father is "unbroken and never torn apart."
Through gusty wind and trees that whisper, the narrator says that "Joey's spirit roams, carried by the breeze." The boy manages to find strength in his love for his father through "the echoes of the past and the dreams of tomorrow," caught between jubilance and sadness.
Quickly drifting, softly burnished notes trip over each other to open “Escape”. Colossal rumbles and shifts as vibrating notes shiver. The music rebounds in an uneven pulse as the wandering high notes float. Now the kick drum pounds as Fludid’s powerful voice carries the ominous melody, and the flaring notes slide past. The chorus rips out with raw strength as Fludid’s rich vocals capture the sense of danger and threat. I enjoy the way in which he expresses the lyrics.
Urgency fills the music as the bursting drums and steadily delivering synth vibrate. Fludid carries the threat-filled melody, with siren screams and quickly washing notes flashing past. Fabs’ guitar cries out with massive power and dramatic energy as the song unfolds. There's unbridled wildness in the guitar performance as the drums erupt again and the guitar shreds with inimitable style. The percussion slams hard as the guitar solo whips through the music, intricately interwoven.
The low end is fierce as the music surges and growls. Tiny motes of light leap through the music as the bass pulsates and the drums smack. Fludid's voice leaps out again with an impassioned feeling as the trickling notes run past. The kick drum throbs hard again, and the twinkling notes rush before the chorus jumps in once more, charging the track to an end.
Our storyteller opens the tale of Snake, who has to venture into a dystopian New York City, which is being held prisoner by wild gangs. In the midst of the chaos, our hero is "called with a mission so dire, to save the president from the city's fire." It's an escape from New York as they "run through the night and struggle for their lives in the dim city light."
The narrator says that the clock's ticking down and the stakes are high "in a world gone mad beneath a blood red sky." In order for Snake to rescue the president, he has to "battle with warlords in the urban decay," which makes every step forward a fight as the night begins to grow into daylight. The line between friend and foe is blurry in this situation.
Our storyteller wonders if Snake will be able to last through this fight as he stands strong and faces the battle "with courage and grit." He slices his way through the darkness as he shelters the president from harm.
"Hellraiser" starts as dark chords rise and a hang drum-like synth spins out in a hypnotic pattern, echoing through the music. Rounded chords rise in the distance as the bass flows out. The drums erupt into a powerfully accelerative beat as the ringing, metallic synth spins out, and Fludid’s expressive vocals carry the shadowed lyrics.
The low end punches out as the vocals leap and fly. A continually whirling hang drum-like synth adds more dynamic motion. I enjoy the contrasting gentleness of the vocal melody and the ominous lyrics as they unfold. The growling synth adds support as the trance-inducing lead synth twirls and Fludid lets his strong voice loose on the lyrics.
Now the ringing synth continues to add energy as the lead singer emotes. Fabs’ guitar carries a melody combining yearning and softness as hollow percussion ticks. The hang drum continues to spin out as the guitar climbs with lambency, and the softly tremulous vocals call out again.
The narrator talks about "dark dreams" that intertwine in "the shadows of desire." He says that a "puzzle box of torment" will open the unbelievable to you. He adds that "chains and whispers call from beyond the mortal veil," and one steps into a maze full of screams and whispers. He goes on to say that "pain is pleasure…for ever and ever."
Our storyteller speaks of allowing the forbidden in "with a touch so light" as the borders between darkness and light are close to one another. He talks about being "lured by the promise of desires attained," but points out that once the damned have a hold of you, you'll never be the same again.
The storyteller says that inside "a house of secrets with a blood-stained floor," there's a soul trapped within the walls that craves "more and more." He concludes by saying, "Angels to some, demons to the rest; in the heart of agony, everything is confessed."
Sharp-edged, flaring synth moves with quickly tumbling bass to kick off "Light It Up." Fabs’ guitar leaps out with dynamic strength, exploding above the rapidly rushing drums and thick bass. Fludid’s strong vocal performance captures the excitement and drama of the lyrics.
The drums and bass throb heavily as radiance pours from a full-sounding synth. Delicate chimes flicker in the distance as the wordless vocals drift. Fludid uses his flexible, strong voice to drive home the lyrics’ message.
The twinkling notes spin out, and the guitar erupts again, uncoiling in freewheeling motion, expressing the excitement and danger within the song. The low end continues to drive forward as the guitar jumps forth. Fludid’s vocals are cinematic in scope in a way that engages me.
Our storyteller talks about how the song's main character becomes trapped inside "a world of circuits, glowing lines." In this digital world, "a realm of programs rules the night" as the song’s main character fights for his life.
The narrator speaks of lighting everything up, lighting the dark, and "in this grid ignite the spark." He speaks of "racing through the neon maze" and "fighting battles in cyberblaze." In the end, with true friends and fading enemies, our main character seeks to "find his rightful place."
“Phone Home” commences with ethereally sparkling synths, while a gently familiar melody throbs underneath. The propulsive pulse grows stronger as the dreamy melodic line slips past, and now the entangling guitar sings out a heartwarming melody as the synth mingles with it to add luscious fullness. There’s a wistful quality in the melody that adds emotional depth, as Fludid’s heartfelt vocal performance captures the wonderment of the tale.
Fabs’ guitar flashes out again with encouraging light as the lead singer touches me with his tenderness. The twinkling lights sparkle like distant stars as the chorus flies with uplifting energy. Brilliantly glimmering synths echo out as the vocals fill the song with childlike hope, and the drums and bass shape the music. I enjoy how Fludid’s vocals double the female vocals behind them.
The guitar cries out again with a melody that is affectionate and full of friendly sensations. Broadly sailing synths dance in the background as the guitar unfolds in a tightly intertwined and skillfully played solo, then descends. The hauntingly drifting opening melody shifts past as twisting sounds move and sharp-edged synth cuts in.
Drums drive forward again as a saxophone adds a touching, jazz-inflected melody while the low end continues to shape the music. The sax jumps with impassioned energy before the song ends on glittering chimes and Fludid’s engaging vocals.
The narrator talks about the young protagonist, Elliot, who finds a strange new friend with "gentle, glowing eyes" after a light falls from the sky. Their friendship grows stronger, "a secret they must keep." The promise to keep that secret runs deep because of Elliot's new friend’s alien nature. In the chorus, the narrator says that E.T. wants to phone home and "never feel alone."
Our storyteller talks about how they fly on bicycles, "riding through the stars" as they chase their magical dreams while the world passes by. They have "heartbeats in sync" and a pure, honest friendship. The storyteller concludes by saying that "a glowing heart will guide them through."
Roughly trembling synth echoes into space as “The Time Machine” starts. Slightly melancholy synth chords plane out along with a guitar that coruscates into the music with intense light and a happy feeling. Smooth chords sweep past as the guitar floats out into the openness around it. Fludid’s voice soulfully conveys the song's message as the lucent synth is joined by softly echoing guitar notes.
The song accelerates into an easily loping drum and bass pulse as trickling xylophone dances through the music. A medium-high, effulgent synth sings the yearning and gentle melody. A chiming synth echoes with a light touch as the xylophone continues to twirl past. A steady background glow illuminates the music as it quickly throbs along with the tumbling xylophone. Sixmixsix’s guitar slips tentatively through the music as Fludid's emotive vocals drift out.
A synth slowly shifts in pastel clouds as the guitar intertwines with it, contributing more luminosity. Unevenly throbbing drums and bass shape the music as the xylophone cascades. The chiming notes glide past as the guitar exudes twilit illumination. Fludid’s vocals move again with a message of nostalgia and maintaining our sense of wonder.
The background flickers with tender luminosity, and again the main melody moves in on a slightly sharp-edged synth. Hollow sounds shift, and the drums tick as the chimes glitter and a saxophone cries out with deep feeling. Sixmixsix’s guitar flits through the music with smooth expression before the track ends.
Our narrator talks about neon trails that weave through space as a “synthwave pulse ignites the night.” As they move with echoes in graceful motion, they find their light “in time’s flux.”
The storyteller speaks of “electric dreams like falling stars” as past and future come together in a radiant light. He says that “holograms of things once ours guide us through the maze we dream.” In our musical time machine, “yesterday and future blend” while “eternal wonder has no end.”
Conclusion
Videodrome is an earnest, genuine musical tribute to 1980s movies. not only does it work on an emotional level, but the way in which all of the different musical elements combine creates an emotional and enjoyable listening experience.
