Those Sweet Reviews

This collaboration between Black Marine and MX The American was admittedly a very tantalising prospect and on hearing The Vampires Project as a whole album: the mix of classic and experimental elements from Black Marine along with the heavy guitar, bass drums and vocals sprinkled with rap that MX The American brings certainly is a perfect match for a haunting, extremely atmospheric and extraordinarily heavy listening experience. The complete journey through this album consistently surprises and conveys the Vampiric themes incredibly well. It's a spellbinding and enthralling experience. And so choosing a song to highlight from an album which is to be heard as a complete piece was quite a challenge-although "Getting Closer" seemed to encapsulate the brilliant musical mixture that The Vampires Project is. Beginning with a haunted organ piece with a racing string part swelling underneath before emerging from the depths to envelop you in an intense orchestral arrangement equivalent of being swarmed by vampiric bats-scraping strings and dissonance which works as a consonance as well-this is a brilliant opening. We are then led into the full combination here by a marching tom groove from the drums which each element is added to brilliantly and relentlessly into a swirling mass of heavy guitars weaving around the piano and orchestra-a spectacular mix of whispered and melodic vocals from Black Marine and Rad Ray Terrell enter-the refrain of "Getting Closer, Getting Closer..." which by the end of this piece really does give "GETTING CLOSER" it's definitive chilling feeling and atmosphere-another stunningly captured and perfectly evocative lyrical theme is the "I hold the spirit close" section. There's an awesome short rap in between as the music convulses and lurches-love the full orchestral feel underneath the churning and outstanding guitars, the glockenspiel furthers this feeling of being pulled into a swirling sonic thunderstorm. This song conveys a hell of a lot within a short 3-minute burst but keeps you enthralled all the way through. Another example of what can occur when artists contribute and combine their unique gifts with a collaboration. This is brilliant.

I was going to begin this review of a SINGLE track to celebrate the rich abundance of amazing music contained within our always inspiring indie community, yet I’ve been absolutely floored by this EP from the brilliance of the Avant-garde composer and incredibly gifted artist Black Marine that I've ended up turning this into an EP review. Reaching her mind back five years into her back catalogue and like a master magician, this astonishing musician has lifted the veil on her already outstanding January 6, 2020 composition “Shadow” and has taken it much further. Taking her music on an explorative journey, this majestic piece has evolved into an almost kaleidoscopic adventure with the Six track February 13, 2025 updated release of “Shadow”. Walking gently and sometimes running alongside her and you as the listener are the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague, Bernhard Philipp Eder and Ulrich Dallinger. This EP exemplifies the wonders that exploring how many different twists and turns you can evolve a piece of music with, and as all great art does it certainly tells the story of life as it happens-ever evolving, ever-changing yet still retaining the essential essence of what makes us all unique and the people we are. Listening throughout this journey and hearing the song morph and change, you still get the sense this is the same artist and human Black Marine is, gaining in more life experience throughout-as we as human beings do. There are some wonderful textures throughout, from the heavy metallic and harder edged version (That chorus really launches this track towards Space) to the beautifully woven orchestral themes around Marina’s vocal and piano work and the instrumentation within the first exploration on the EP to the electronica mixed with acoustic guitar playing and voice as well as including instrumental versions and through its continual evolution, it’s a marvellous experience. The immensely talented (almost virtuosic) artists Bernhard Philipp Eder and Ulrich Dallinger along with the addition of the FILMharmonic Orchestra Marina Black Marine has working alongside her makes this a fully immersive experience, and it’s so wonderful to hear a track take on so many forms. This is exactly the reason there’s so much to be grateful for. To be able to hear the truly magnificent and magical music our indie community creates is something genuinely special and helps you appreciate the artists we share this wonderful planet with.