[ Genres: Rock / Alternative / Ambient ]
Let’s get it out of the way: Gandalf’s Fist is arguably one of the greatest band names of the past decade. The music could consist of nothing but looped chords and grunted vocals and I’d probably still attempt to dig up some musical merit on strength of the name alone. Fortunately, their sound is both rich and accomplished. The band also has an enticing bio: the band is a self-described collaboration between lifelong friends, attempting to create “medieval space rock.” One dude is a multi-instrumentalist, the other does mixing and vocals. “If you like the stuff Simon Cowell would lap up,” the band states, “don’t listen to us.” Indeed they’ve got a complex-but-accomplished sound that calls to mind more guitar-heavy indie acts like My Morning Jacket, Destroyer, and Wolf Parade. What separates the band from even these acts are the ethereal quality of the vocals and a sly, effervescent focus on narrative interwoven throughout their songs.
[ Sounds Like: Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Jethro Tull, Wishbone Ash, Ayreon ]
… read the rest if this author’s review below …
“Emerald Eyes” by Gandalf’s Fist rated on a 5 Star Rating Scale
Author Rating: 4/5
Composition: 4/5 Arrangement: 4/5 Performance: 4/5 Production: 4.5/5 Hit Potential: 3.5/5
Founder (Music Producer & Publisher) Rating: 4.6
Composition: 4/5 Arrangement: 4/5 Performance: 4/5 Production: 4/5 Hit Potential: 3/5
“Emerald Eyes” is the second track of their 2011 album Road to Darkness, ostensibly one of the opening acts of an album-spanning story, but even removed from this context it makes for some pretty impressive listening. It’s very crisply produced, very cleanly played; sort of hazed by dream-like reverb and layered vocals that come together to give the song a very absorbing atmosphere. The images and audial landscapes aren’t necessarily concrete, but they’re there: this is music that transports, that spins an emotional experience in your head before you even stop to parse the lyrics. Once you do (and you will, because it’s music that demands multiple listens) a hazy narrative emerges, vividly animated by a soulful delivery and vivid imagery. There’s a long, winding road, somebody with shallow eyes peering from a hill, a fairyland that’s gone colorless and grey: it feels like a desolate post-industrial Oz captured in bursts and glimpses. Not everybody’s cup of tea, but for any more imaginative listener, this is prime stuff.
Whether or not you enjoy “Emerald Eyes” is almost directly correlated to your ability to want to enjoy it. Gandalf’s Fist feeds the imagination, that’s for sure, but they also tease it: they’ve done their job, now it’s your brain’s turn. Every listener will take something different from this song—some proclaiming it brilliant, others finding it too vague and impenetrable. In my experience, this betokens quality stuff that will only accumulate fans as time goes by. Hop on the bandwagon now before they go big.
Artist Bio
Formed at a nightclub in 2005 when a mutual friend invented a silly band name to try and impress a geeky girl, Gandalf’s Fist is the creative collaboration of multi-instrumentalist Dean Marsh and lyricist/vocalist Luke Severn. Meeting at University and becoming good friends, drinking partners and pub-quiz teammates, the duo spent the subsequent two years releasing experimental instrumental tracks, however, the origins of their music go back much further. They start, depending on your point of view, with the golden era of Prog in the 1970s, the birth of English folk centuries before or, even in the time before time inhabited by Tolkien’s fantastical characters… And what would Tolkien say about all this? With a pint of Mead in hand, one might suggest he would say; “Hell Yes!” And proceed to rock his socks off!
Dean and Luke draw on their mutual love for classic rock bands such as Pink Floyd, The Who, and even the likes of Iron Maiden. While the duo became increasingly captivated by bands in the resurgent neo-prog scene such as Porcupine Tree, they were inspired to try and forge their own musical identity, creating music that, whilst not appealing to the masses, (and certainly not their neighbors) was the kind of music that they, themselves, wanted to hear.
After successful releases of the LPs Road to Darkness and From a Point of Existence, winning widespread acclaim for their mix of Neo-Prog, Folk and Hard Rock, Gandalf’s Fist are their latest opus:‘A Day in the Life of a Universal Wanderer’
The record, seemingly transmitted from a derelict space station in the far reaches of the galaxy using instruments salvaged, is a cosmic jam across space and time exploring a mythical figure from the 26th Century – “The Universal Wanderer” – who’s legend tells of a figure who has wandered the cosmos from the birth of existence to the end of time.
Even when caught out of time and stranded beyond the borders of a decaying Black Hole, you can still expect Gandalf’s Fist to deliver the goods with their unique brand of Medieval Folk Rock! Tracks such as the epic doom-laden jazz of “The Nine Billion Names of God” fit perfectly alongside the anthemic choruses of “Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet” and the renaissance-whimsy of “The Battle for Tannhäuser Gate,” creating one of the most engaging albums to be recorded from the far side of the solar system.
As Gandalf’s Fist’s reputation continues to grow around within the Prog-Rock scene it is difficult to imagine what the future holds for the two, but what is certain is that it will be worth sticking around to find out!
Follow Gandalf’s Fist on the web & these social networks
@GandalfsFist Twitter – Reverbnation – www.GandalfsFist.com – Facebook – Youtube – Myspace
Label: Musik and Film / Musik and Film Records