Rating: *****
Jeremy Allom who mixed Massive Attack's "Blue Lines" is on board as the engineer for this Chris Lastovicka remix effort called "Fortune Has Turned".
I don't know much about Lastovicka's stuff other than the reputation as a masterful composer, but Allom's work on "Blue Lines" is the stuff of legend. That is truly a masterpiece.
From what I read, Lastovicka is a master of dark, contemporary classical pieces. I like that on paper. But what will it sound like? And remixed? I'm going in here blind and I kinda like it.
Let's listen to it and see what the fuss is all about.
Watch the music video for "The 7th Chapter of Job (REMIXED)" on Youtube here:
"The 7th Chapter of Job" starts with haunting strings. I mean it seriously sounds like the beginning to a horror film about demonic possession somewhere in Connecticut (possessions always happen in Connecticut). By the time the vocals kick in, you're already kinda freaked out, but this takes it up a notch. Chilling stuff that should not be played in the dark. "Abraxas" has such gorgeous piano and strings that you don't even realize it's an epic 12 minute-long affair. Jeez. That's two Bohemian Rhapsodies back-to-back. Oh, this song is also scary, so there's that. Track three is "The Tender Ones" and it's a little slow for my liking. Not enough going on. It's gorgeous in it's own right, but it just didn't grab me like the others. This one is scary too. We are three-for-three! "Shanti" isn't as scary as the others, but it does have a darkness to it. It's a beautiful piece that sounds like the end of a long and arduous race where the competitor finds out that he only just begins once he's reached the finish line. Good stuff. "The End of Tyranny" is the last song on the record and it's the most romantic of the bunch by far. Note-for-note this might be my favorite song on the EP.
If classical music is your bag, this is gonna rub you the right way. I think fans of classic horror scores will also dig it a lot. It's amazingly well-played and produced and stand on its own as just excellent music regardless of your genre tastes.