Frank Klepacki – Infiltrator – 4/5
http://www.mediafire.com/?
Now, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that for most this name means nothing to the majority reading this. Most notably known as the composer for the “Command and Conquer” series, he is a solo artist in his own right. Something of an oddity, his music can perhaps best be described as an instrumental fusion of hard rock, hip-hop, electro, and funk. Attached to no label (disliking the thought) and releasing all his material himself, this sees him drawing inspiration from his earlier C&C material, if you belong to the majority unaware of his existence, this – his most recent album – is as good a place as any to become acquainted with his unique style.
The diversity between the tracks is what gives this album such depth, with a variety of tempo’s he utilises bass lines so funky they make funkadelic look bad, to the boisterous hip-hop drum beats. The soft and calming keyboard lines, to the all out hard rock fury, complete with heavy, grinding distortion of the guitars, wailing cymbal crashes and even a guitar solo, to adequately describe everything he accomplishes in the space of a little under 40 minutes is a mammoth challenge. Each track achieving a completely unique tone, he will make you nod your head, groove to the funk and transport to a world of calm with each passing track, and then he’ll start all over again. Not that those aspects are mutually exclusive, frequently (at least) two of the four major genres he draws influence from will take precedence, resulting in an assortment of odd blends as you swoon to a calm funk, groove to hard rock and relax to a crunchy blend of rock and electro, and as confusing as all that sounds it works unbelievably well.
Whilst this can certainly be considered experimental, at no point does it feel as such. Everything fits nicely into place to create a multi-layered composition, as fans will be able to attest. Those who know of his works can expect some of the finest music the man has made since those early ‘Red Alert’ days. As for the rest of you, listen as he makes an impossibly complicated premise seem simple.
Highlights: Militant Funk, Ownage, Odd Funk, The Reaping
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