Aldo - Stem the Tide
Rock, New Age, Jazz
United States
Overall Impression: The first word that comes to mind is simply, wow! This is an exceptionally dazzling piece of songwriting, combining a beautiful sense of melody with a brilliant eye for detail, Aldo has really come out all guns blazing with this track, and it's brilliant. "Stem The Tide" is nothing short of breathtaking, managing to meld elements of new age, prog, and hard rock/metal seamlessly whilst showcasing strong thematic development and oodles of style. This was a fantastic listening experience and I look forward to hearing what Aldo does next.
Strongest Point(s): As with any instrumental, there are no vocals to connect with and thus follow, it's imperative that the music is written in such a way to ensure that the listener is continually engaged from start to finish, and it's safe to say that Aldo does a wonderful job of making sure the audience is kept invested throughout, this is mainly due to the superb melodic writing, and most importantly, the thematic development that occurs throughout the composition. Melodies are developed in a number of interesting ways, ideas are passed between instruments, rearranged, and fragmented to name a few, a great amount of attention has been given to how the songs many diverse ideas are handled, and it makes for a very concise listening experience that feels very organic and free-flowing in nature. The instrumentation is diverse and very well-chosen, there's a great deal of tonal and timbrel variation on offer and it culminates in an exciting arrangement that has many shades of color, from the softer opening to the harder-edged guitar-driven latter half, there is a stunning amount of contrast throughout. Lastly, the production is excellent, it's not easy balancing such a wide range of instruments, each with their own distinctive character, but it's done very well here, all elements are clearly presented and gel with one another in a way that results in a marvelously rich sounding mix that is full of depth and detail, great work.
Target Audience Appeal: Fans of the prog-rock and new-age genres will love this track.
Artist target suggestions: Yanni, Tangerine Dream, Dream Theater, Kitaro, Vangelis, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, David Arkenstone, Shadowfax, Michael Hedges, Mike Oldfield, Deep Forest
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About the Reviewer:
Andre is a freelance session musician, composer, and sound engineer based in the U.K. Having studied music production and composition at a degree level, he has taken his passion for all things audio-related to a level that has allowed him to become both a competent musician and performer. Being a self-confessed "Guitar Nerd" Andre has been continually studying the guitar, as well as teaching it, helping students both learn the instrument, develop their songwriting, and how to become proficient in home recording.