Mandatory if you’re a Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails fan, eventually you’re into Gary Numan’s music and the latest soundtracks delivered by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Step Between Shadows are the very next artist to listen too and get your hands on his recently released debut EP available now on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc or download it for only $2 USD via Bandcamp. The EP was mastered by Tom Baker at Precision Mastering, Hollywood, CA (Nine Inch Nails, How To Destroy Angels, Marilyn Manson), so, it’s really sound huge!!
Matt John Ryan aka. Step Between Shadows is an artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and his debut EP consist of four solid tracks. This is a post-industrial journey into the world previously explored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, first on the 2010’s score for David Fincher’s “The Social Network” which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and the Academy Award for Original Score; and on the score for Fincher’s adaptation of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, which also were announced as nominees for the 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. “Understanding Your Reflection” definitively deserves a movie and eventually some nominees for Best Original Score!!
But enough talking about Reznor and Ross, let’s focus on Matt John Ryan!
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“Predators” is quite as the title suggest it: a dark intercourse – between shadows – where you feel like have to watch your back permanently. The beat is extremely heavy while the sound layers are waving around like shadows – again – and things are growing from scary to dangerous. Perfect opening.
“Making Soap” is taking down on a more mechanical road with a pretty gloomy Dark-Ambient vibe, it’s half way between Nine Inch Nails and Gary Numan spiced with some very nowadays sounds and wobbling, sometimes Klayton (aka. Celldweller) have a similar sound and approach.
“While They Sleep” comes like a crack on the wall where the sunshine may creeps through. Feels like Alice in Wonderland. Subtle, simple, strangely gentle and delightful.
The title track, “Understanding Your Reflection” is the last cup of poison. The piano is hypnotic and drive you into the sleep, but the pounding drums will eventually waking you up in the middle of a nightmare. Probably I would push it a little bit even further and contorted it more, but this is definitively only a matter of taste!
Very solid, carefully build-up and smartly layered work, every little sound is in it’s right place and the music flows dark and deep throughout. Absolutely perfect for being used for film scores, but stands out by itself and have the power to make you dream and imagine your own films for it as well. Matt John Ryan seems to be a painter with sounds and the picture he delivered is colorful and impressive.
Step Between Shadows @ Bandcamp
Step Between Shadows @ Soundcloud
Step Between Shadows @ MySpace
Step Between Shadows @ Reverbnation
Step Between Shadows @ Remix NIN
Step Between Shadows @ Indaba Music
Step Between Shadows @ Facebook
Step Between Shadows @ Twitter
Dude, you seriously need to learn how to write. This was just mentally agonizing to read.
Try some comics. Dude.