“All Things Are of the Mind” by DJ WARBEATS
Spoiler alert: DJ Warbeats is none other than the prolific and talented Vinnie Paternostro. He says the music on “All Things Are of the Mind” is “designed and recorded for the gaming community” and, if you give this a listen with that in mind, the sounds you hear make perfect sense for that world. All the tracks feature heavy “drums of war” percussion that is blended with electronic and production elements that give it all a big screen cinematic feel. You can just take these songs as they come and enjoy this dramatic album like any other music you might listen to or, perhaps, it will inspire visions where you start planning your own game.
“Live Stream of Consciousness” by Michel Kristof and Vinnie Paternostro
Vinnie and Michel team up again with, predictably, great results; this time it’s with five tracks of free jazz. Everything is underpinned by a very appealing deep bass and drum noise bed that adds a nice industrial or funky edge (and sometimes both simultaneously) to these songs. The music drags you into a maelstrom right out of the gate on “Space between Spaces,” led by Vinnie’s saxophone. At times the music can be a bit unsettling (like with Michel’s fractured guitar interjections on “The Far Side of Sound”) or when the interactions get more “out there” (“One Small Giant Step”). It all closes with what feels like a lamentation on “All Roads Lead to Nowhere.” Stellar.
“Asteroid Extinction Cult” by Asteroid Extinction Cult (Vinnie Paternostro with Scott Nyedegger and Paul Beachamp)
It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I don’t feel fine. At least that’s the vibe of the trip Asteroid Extinction Cult takes us on. Instrumentally, AEC gives us lots of heavy, dirgy, grinding bass-guitar-and-drums sound, mixed with some embellishing electronic enhancements. Vocally, there’s lots of multitracked and distorted spoken word. And if you like your lyrics with heavy doses of misanthropy, disgust, gloom, disdain and death, well, cult member, you’ve come to the right place. Other than mid-record palette cleanser “Blood Quill” (with its short interlude of drumming and space noise), this is one heavy slog, but it’s well worth persevering for the strong hearted.
“The Distant War Drum, Ever Nearing” by Michel Kristof and Vinnie Paternostro
This long track from Michel Kristof and Vinnie Paternostro. “Distant War Drum…” is an “under heavy manners” statement for our time. The idea behind this is to represent “the rise of authoritarian political regimes, of the destruction of democracy” through music – and it is well done. This track has snarly electronic noise, violent effects-ridden guitar, and a leaden rhythm track that frequently erupts in the simulated sound of explosions or gunfire. You’ll periodically hear some unexpected elements in the mix (like hand claps, for instance) or experience some very brief moments of respite. And that guitar may be top line, or modified so much in the mix as to be almost unrecognizable as a guitar. Overall it’s a grinding, intense, and rewarding experience.
“Jerk the Curtain” by ANDROID VOID (Vinnie Paternostro and ScttNottoBeNamed)
If you like weird electronic music and crazy vocals and palindromes, well buddy, have I got just the thing for you; this 4-song, EP length effort has it all. The music is at times futuristic, arty, beat driven, industrial, or many of those at once. The vocal delivery is varied and mostly odd. It adds up to something like The Residents’ “Mole Trilogy” if they had gotten really, really “out there.” And as for those palindromes…there’s the obvious (like the track “DRAWKWARD”) and some “palindromes in spirit” elsewhere. So when there’s that tattarrattat at the door, nurses run because it might be Android Void. Let ‘em in, madam.