The Neologist – Between The Darkness and the Fade
Self-released
Release Date: 10/11/23
Running Time: 55:03
Review by Oli Gonzalez
9/10
The Neologist. The product of one man’s passion and creative outlet. To be fair, I’m somewhat on the fence with one person projects. Some quite frankly are terrible, being the epitome of amateur efforts. Looking at next year’s Fortress Festival line up though, many of these international touring bands with global fan bases started off life as just one person bedroom projects. Like anything in music, the scope is there if you’re willing to put the graft in. As such, I was curious to see what sole member James Ryan had produced with his project The Neologist and the latest album “Between The Darkness and the Fade”.
Well, I’ll get straight to the point; this VASTLY exceeded my expectations! I revisited this multiple times and found new reasons to admire it each time! Some projects sound like they were recorded with a baked potato or a very amateur set up. I honestly think the production values for “Between The Darkness and the Fade” could challenge some of the bigger artists out there!
Musically, there’s so much quality here. When I was around 16 years old was when I was first discovering bands such as Soilwork and Scar Symmetry. Melodic Death Metal bands who had that balls to the wall aggression and heaviness but could easily switch things up with soaring lead vocals and instantly memorable melodic passages. That’s exactly what I could see with The Neologist’s latest album, seamlessly switching between jaw droppingly gorgeous and jaw droppingly heavy!
James demonstrates so much versatility in his voice throughout with some incredible clean passages and devastating growls. Whilst so many songs could demonstrate this, I feel ‘Forest Of Shadows’ is his strongest vocal performance, with an instantly memorable and catchy chorus. One that’s going to be implanted into my subconscious for days, and will do for you too. Some of the blistering lead guitar work in this song is worth a listen to also, where elegantly simple yet devastatingly effective riffs and tones are the order of the day. That’s not to say that James can’t shred. Listen to ‘The Darkness’ or ‘Echoes & Silhouettes’ for some examples of more technical and refined guitar work. As well as more groovy and crunching riffs.
Overall, I find that the songs are just simply well composed and crafted. Definitely one for fans of Melodic Death Metal artists such as those I mentioned above (Soilwork, Scar Symmetry) and Bleeding Through. As you’ll find yourself being swoon and enamoured with some delightful melodic passages, with just the right amount of intensity.
Whilst this album has already been released (sorry for my late review James), hopefully this is enough to persuade you to get over to your preferred streaming platform of choice and give this a listen right now. Do it now. I’ll wait.
For me, “Between The Darkness and the Fade” and The Neologist are the living embodiment of what can be achieved when one person has a solid vision for their music and can work towards this goal without the needless diversions and politics that can come from others within a band. With that being said, I’d be delighted if this could ever become a fully-fledged band and bring albums like this to the wider public.
TRACKLISTING:
01. The Darkness
02. A Perfect Dystopia
03. Our Hearts Diverge
04. A Starless Sky
05. Eclipse The Dawn
06. Forest of Shadows
07. Dreamstate Deception
08. The Bleakest Night
09. Echoes & Silhouettes
10. The Fade
LINE-UP:
James Lewis – All music, lyrics and production
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Oli Gonzalez and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.