Guilherme Arantes - Kyrie
Latin, Pop, World
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Overall Impression: With it's eclectic mix of styles, coupled with a highly ambitious sense of melody, "Kyrie" is a sprawling symphonic rocker that is both conceptually fascinating and marvelously grand in scope. Guilherme Arantes has crafted a deeply poignant piece of instrumental writing, effortlessly weaving it's many ideas together with an accute attention to detail and high level of care, this was a fantastic listen and look forward to hearing more from this artist in the very near future.
Strongest Point(s): Opening with a stunningly beautiful yet haunting choir section, "Kyrie" begins with an incredibly atmospheric ambience that sets the tone for this adventurous instrumental perfectly, the delicate and graceful harmonies flow seamlessly and provide great contrast to the bombastic section that follows. A well placed tom fill and distorted guitar slide pave the way for what I can best describe as an epic hybrid orchestral segment, combining chugging rhythm guitars, a fanfare style brass section, and thick low strings. The combination of rock and classical styles is excellent, it reminds me of the 80's neo-classical guitar era that paved the way for many virtuoso guitarists such as Malmsteen, melodies weave in and out of another beautifully and make for a particularly grandiose presentation. The music takes another fascinating turn at 1:35, firmly delving into prog rock territory with it's diverse synth sounds and quirky lines, the melodic interplay in this segment is brilliant, various synths bounce a multitude of interesting ideas off one another whilst the underlying harmonic movement makes for a fantastic backdrop for the various lines to flow over, I particularly love the rising diminished arpeggios beginning at 2:23, great stuff! The final section of the piece is a superb culmination of the tracks many diverse ideas and sounds, the orchestral rock style is combined with the prog like elements that just preceded, and it results in an epic conclusion that nicely and elegantly brings the piece to a satisfying close.
Target Audience Appeal: This will undoubetdly appeal to fans of symphonic rock and prog, there is a little something here FOR everyone who is interested in instrumental rock and it's diverse range of sub-genres.
Artist target suggestions: Trans Siberian Orchestra, Yanni, Apocalyptica, Gentle Giant, Camel, Yes, Rick Wakemen, Triumvirat, Caravan, The Moody Blues, Focus, Genesis, Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, ERA
Interested in having your Song Reviewed by our Professional Staff? Head to your RadioAirplay.com dash and click Song Reviews under the Special Offers menu!
About the Reviewer:
Andre Avanessian 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.