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review by Dene Bebbington The shortest album ever to come my way, A Thousand Years is a real gem and an example of good things coming in a small package. Greg was spurred on to complete the music after a family bereavement, so not surprisingly the album is themed towards the subject of death, and though it's an example of hard ambient music the emotional tone is both mournful and hopeful. Clocking in at less than twenty-four minutes the seven tracks are therefore all short at less than five minutes each. Greg previously played guitar in a hard rock band, and so there is a slight rock music feel at times when the electric guitar gets lively and drums are used (albeit in a generally restrained manner). The first, and also shortest, track "Into the Woods" is perhaps the darkest as it has a sense of foreboding that comes from entering the unknown, but then the mood lifts in "Land of the Living" where mild percussive drums provide a background over which a positive melody plays on acoustic guitar and slightly harsh synth lines reach across the soundscape as though trying to fulfill a yearning. Many of the tracks create an otherworldly atmosphere of another realm of existence where angels and spirits reside, seemingly familiar but blurred by our perceptions in this world of matter. This is especially true of "Angel Overcome" where a subdued syncopated metallic sound that has an almost voice like quality forms a base over which an electric guitar plays a striving melody. I have no hesitation in recommending A Thousand Years, sonically it has an unusual harshness that isn't unpleasant because the emotional input to this album has provided a heartfelt resonance of loss, yearning, and hope. |
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