Amplified is a weekly column focusing on new and emerging artists. Got a band that fits the bill? Email amplified@metalinsider.net.
Here’s an Amplified feature-in-waiting that I’ve known about for what seems like ages; I’m not sure exactly how I ended up liking California shredder Dylan Furr’s page, but we’d been Facebook friends for a couple years before this showed up in my inbox! I’d seen some mind-blowing covers on Youtube (this is a guy that’s nailing Rings of Saturn songs without studio help, to put things in perspective, and the record ends with a ROS cover as a bonus track) and his first solo record, Nostalgia was a promising debut that covered some interesting musical ground while still being all about the infinitely important, “I am a 15 year old rock god cranking a Marshall stack on the top of a mountain and ripping this guitar solo for god himself to hear” moment.
His latest release, Juxtaposition, builds on a great deal of the musical ideas introduced on Nostalgia. A great deal of the big, djenty grooves that form the rhythmic backbone of the record are actually a lot more straightforward and are attacked with a neat, rock and roll sort of sensibility. Dylan’s vocals have come a long way here too, experimenting with some death growls and an overall improved vibe to his singing voice with far more interesting melodic choices and a sense of confidence that wasn’t always there in the vocal department on his previous release. Don’t be surprised if a vocoder pops up here and there as well. The leads, of course, are not weak at all, but even the most techy, spaced out moments of shred here are still pretty musical, even if a lot of the melodies are on the abstract side. It’s shred that’s very easily digestible and has an actual sense of the song behind it, rather than just existing as an hour of warm-up exercises.
Stream Juxtaposition below!
