I gotta be honest, here. I have no--well, ok, very little--idea of what's going on with these two. I think The Words Repeat is the "band" name, although it could be an album title. Maybe it's both. The two halves of this whole are self-described brothers Brad "The Bishop" Thompson and Slim Gillian (aka slimtronic5000). I did spend some time on this. Sadly, Facebook sucks now. But, near as I can tell, the two currently reside in Florida though, for a time, West Virginia was home. They've played (and still do) with numerous other bands and projects--sounds ranging from hard rock to Celtic to Indie progressive. And, now, they've determined to work together as a self contained unit. For their first project, the pair has chosen to do a Christmas album. When officially released this November, the album will be a digital affair, though there will be a handful of hard copies (that you and I will never see).
Now here's the good news. Brad and Slim have released two "pre-release" tracks as free downloads. And they're really, really good. A little extra remastering, a bit of spit and polish, and they'll be amazing. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel", featuring The Bishop on vocals, is arranged as an incredible dramatic and haunting ballad. It's exactly the kind of track I love to listen to in the dead of a winter's night. You could absolutely lose yourself in the silences between the notes. Beautifully done.
The instrumental "We Three Kings", on the other hand is a Heavy Metal anthem, with guitar work that, on the shredding scale, fits somewhere between Joe Satriani and August Burns Red.
As different in sound as the two tracks seem, they're really two sides of the same coin. Both songs are sonic landscapes. The best analogy I could make would be that it's the difference between a movie house screening and Imax. Soundscapes are intentionally bigger and wider--they're meant to be experienced more than listened to. Anyway, I liked 'em, for whatever that's worth. And they're free, so go grab 'em. If you like them, feel free to follow along on Facebook or even contribute to the project. If not...don't.
I can't wait to hear what The Words Repeat do with the rest of the album. Here's the working playlist--subject to change:
1. We Three Kings
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
4. In the Bleak Midwinter
5. Away In a Manger
6. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
7. My Favorite Things
8. What Child is This?
9. Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies
10. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Now here's the good news. Brad and Slim have released two "pre-release" tracks as free downloads. And they're really, really good. A little extra remastering, a bit of spit and polish, and they'll be amazing. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel", featuring The Bishop on vocals, is arranged as an incredible dramatic and haunting ballad. It's exactly the kind of track I love to listen to in the dead of a winter's night. You could absolutely lose yourself in the silences between the notes. Beautifully done.
The instrumental "We Three Kings", on the other hand is a Heavy Metal anthem, with guitar work that, on the shredding scale, fits somewhere between Joe Satriani and August Burns Red.
As different in sound as the two tracks seem, they're really two sides of the same coin. Both songs are sonic landscapes. The best analogy I could make would be that it's the difference between a movie house screening and Imax. Soundscapes are intentionally bigger and wider--they're meant to be experienced more than listened to. Anyway, I liked 'em, for whatever that's worth. And they're free, so go grab 'em. If you like them, feel free to follow along on Facebook or even contribute to the project. If not...don't.
I can't wait to hear what The Words Repeat do with the rest of the album. Here's the working playlist--subject to change:
1. We Three Kings
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
4. In the Bleak Midwinter
5. Away In a Manger
6. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
7. My Favorite Things
8. What Child is This?
9. Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies
10. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
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