The Iron Republic

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There’s a whole world of music out there that record companies aren’t going anywhere near, and if that doesn’t inspire us to check it out I don’t know what will! The current had now caught us and there was nothing for it but to head straight into the opening, or be broken to pieces on the icy promontories that stood out like Scylla and Charybdis on either hand. If there is a genre on show with this record it’s the overcrowded one of electronic-orchestral-progressive-synthwave-fuelled-by-middle-aged-rage; in reality, the freedom afforded to musicians like Dave, gives them the opportunity to indulge and explore ideas, free of the constrains of ‘business needs’. The bow anchor was quickly cleared and the lead cast, but there was no bottom and so to cast anchor would be useless. Using Vangelis synths to introduce the tale, Heading South soon takes on the sort of Rush-isms needed for any Progressive musical venture, even down to some of the phrasing during Part 3: Wonders Anew.

This card also appears in your deck and grants an item reward based on what you did to Mr Mirrors in Parabola. These young folks with their Tick-Tocks and their In-Star-Grans, ushering in the Days of Noah, seem utterly alien to me. It’s the Ying to the other’s Yang, giving the track an unsettling atmosphere and the notion that, like conjoined twins, a separation could see either aspect viable in itself. Crystal Wheels begins with some playful keys which usher in a Zeppelin-esque acoustic guitar to compete against an incoming electric one. The Iron Republic probably wouldn’t see the inside of a record company, as it’s devoid of anything resembling a hit single – though Glass comes closest – and the musical ideas need time to sit and be reflected upon.

Punctuated by large percussive bombs to illustrate the seismic affect the loss of Objectivity is having on society, while passive strings signify the inert descent to compliance being widely witnessed.

My heart bounded as we passed between the towering ice walls, and I felt a thrill of excitement such as Columbus must have experienced when the long looked for Antilles lifted on his expectant vision. Director’s Cut has a heavier guitar and carries the layered vocals on from the previous song, hinting at the influence of a band like Rush might have had on Dave’s composing. Not really one-hundred percent sure about the whole Interweb-thing, to be honest, but what I do know, is that it is a Godsent to creators who might not previously have been able to get their art out there.To bring the album to a close is the huge sounding, Truth Rebranded, an obvious shot at the insanity of the Post Truth world in which we now seem to live. Cast Me Out opens with a slow build, almost like a movie’s opening theme, before being joined by harsh slices of chugging guitar that, dare I say, lend the tune some Meshuggah-weight. oliiled (he slory of the Virgin birth from “ Throughout the duration of the opener, there is the juxtaposition of the two, disparate sounds; buzzing guitars compete against smooth keys as prominent vocals are haunted by ethereal voices. Either as fact or fiction, it is a rare story and presents an ideal of society and government that will make the average reader long to be a citizen of the newly discovered Iron Republic.

That said, it was on The Flood that I felt the impact of a certain Canadian Power Trio the most, though the interplay of the rhythms and the guitar lines. Glass is the ballad of the record and uses a heavy bass as a heartbeat to support the sweeping orchestral strings in a simple, yet highly effective, emotionally wrought song. What it does do is show the potential of the Interzones for all creatives to shake the chains imposed by Marketing Departments to earth like dew and to be restrained only by their own creative limitation.

Of the many thousand such home-schooled creators out there, I had the random fortune of sitting next to Dave Ware and his wife at Stonedead this year; following a chat that covered the equally random subjects of the weather, sound quality and Laurie Lee’s Red Sky at Sunrise, Dave just happened to mention he made a bit of music himself. I could be a million miles off, but I’m reading a strong theological aspect to the image of the crystal wheels. EDB Pubs] Publisher’s note: While it is true that some old books can be found for free on the internet, the quality of most `free’ material is not acceptable. I would also suggest Dave undersells himself as a lyricist, as his use of ideas, like the central theme of Director’s Cut being one of Fatalism, or the concept of The Flood being when the Silent Majority is silent no more, are wrapped in allegory.