A single soul, when fully motivated, can build a mountain much larger than themselves. Hard work and time can bring about great results when given the proper push. That’s the story behind this review today. Nearly 5 years went into creating this effort. Every drop of sweat behind that effort was put in by the aforementioned single soul.
Introducing Matt McDonnell, the Minnesota mind behind the Twin Cities based one man band known as Matyrker. This is a fully independent entity from the ground up. He’s clearly put a lot of work into crafting this album known as “Emanation” and it shows from the sonics to the concepts. This is a force of Progressive Metal just waiting to be heard!
If you wish to listen now, you can find all the music through the videos provided down below. It’s also worth noting that all the music is currently available for a “name your price” download over on Bandcamp! You can also grab and listen on iTunes and Spotify respectively. Go get it!
“Emanation” opens the LP up with epic flair, as piano and various forms of stringed instruments build to a higher view. The introduction is titled “Things That Fall” and, as the story always goes with gravity, it inevitably comes to a crash with the track “Alchemy” which also served as the album single (and appropriately so!). It’s a rather catchy and hard hitting introduction to the metal side of this record. It also effectively serves the purpose of letting the listener know what they’re getting into as a great representative of the Matyrker sound!
With that in mind, this album has a tendency to show shades of the modern Progressive Metal greats. Names like TesseracT, Uneven Structure, and Monuments come to mind while listening to Matyrker. This project reminds me of the intensity and scope found on projects by all those bands. When it’s not proudly wearing these influences upon its sleeve, this project does emit its own energy as well.
It’s certainly the type of LP I would recommend listening to from start to finish as it guides the listener into an experience which clearly has a narrative attached. There’s also a certain flow to the project from track to track which makes this approach optimal.
Speaking of which, I had just mentioned how this album likely takes influence from TesseracT. Sonics aside, it does something similar to the contemporary band’s debut releases with the six parts of “Concealing Fate”. Likewise, Matyrker has a five part concept story dug into the middle of the album called “Emanation”. In the case of both of these records, this section is thoroughly awesome!
In regards to the full concept of this portion, Matt described it to us like this, “The middle Emanation section is a conceptual story I created of an outcasted, young boy falling in love with his imaginary friend-a girl to fill the gaps of loneliness in his life. As he grows older, his subconscious buries the memories and sends him on a life of anguish and isolation.”
There are plenty of other great moments to be found here as well! With the concept section aside, the album boasts a total of six standalone tracks that really compliment the overall execution of this record. There are many pieces to this puzzle despite one being an extra large title track!
As mentioned, I think every song serves a purpose within the greater picture of this LP. However, if I were to pick favorites, they’d probably have to be “Alchemy” for its catchiness and overall representative approach, “Emanation Part I: Presence” with it’s epic feeling and awesome female vocal cameo (also found on Parts II & IV), “Emanation Part III: Anguish” in its pure anger, the sense of finality and composition of “Emanation Part V: Complacency”, and the sheer intensity of “When a Sliver Cuts Like a Shard”. And in doing that exercise, I just named over half the album! If that’s not a good sign, I’m not quite sure what is.
The musicianship and songwriting on this album are quite engaging and enjoyable. There’s an intelligent control of tension and release within the composition found on “Emanation”. At times, the sound is staggeringly massive, pummeling the listener over with refined walls of sound. The atmospheric approach adds to this, serving as a catalyst for the central sounds while waves of reverb wash the ears. The emotions of this record tend to range between sadness and anger with moments of ascension, triumph, and regret as well. In short, there’s a lot to be found here.
The production can be slightly rough around the edges at times. Certain segments may sound loose or certain virtual instruments may sound a bit off (in the intro track before the guitar kicks in, for example). However, all in all, this is very well done for a starting solo effort. There is definitely clarity and careful attention to detail put into this record.
The singing on this record can be hit or miss. On the bright side, it isn’t covered up or compensated for in any way – showing true, raw emotion through its approach. However, at times, the notes can be a bit flat. That’s not to say that some sections aren’t great as well. In fact, some of the singing on a track like “Alchemy” got me interested in this record to begin with. On the other hand, the harsh vocals are wicked and enjoyable. At times, Matt’s voice even walks the lines between these approaches with some powerful pitched screaming – for example, on the track “Emanation Part I: Presence”.
There is great promise and potential in a project such as this. “Emanation” serves as a great first step on what will, hopefully, be a longer journey. It’s not a perfect release but it certainly puts points on the board as a debut record. I feel that an 8 out 10 would be an appropriate score here (and not to sound cliché, but a serious 10 out of 10 for effort. Not many people craft an album of this magnitude as a solo endeavor… let alone as a debut!).
Once again, if you would like to give a listen to the work Matyrker put in to make “Emanation” happen, you can check out the streaming links up above. Also, keep in mind that the album is currently available for a “name your price” download on Bandcamp! You can also go through iTunes and Spotify! If you wish to follow along with Matyrker and see what may be cooked up next, check out his pages on Facebook and YouTube. Show some support and let Matt know if you enjoy his work!
Links: Facebook // Bandcamp // YouTube // iTunes // Spotify
