JESSY MACH - Asphalt Reapers
Review by Karl Magi
Overall Album Impressions
JESSY MACH’s Asphalt Reapers tells the story of the leader of a rebel group fighting back against the corruption and crime of a dystopian city. Jesse Mach effectively creates an atmosphere full of tension, darkness and moments of defiant hope. He is able to create a gripping level of emotional engagement in this album. Jesse Mach's guitar skills are second to none and his ability to layer synthesizer sounds creates richly detailed soundscapes.
I am especially attracted to the atmosphere that permeates Asphalt Reapers. Jesse Mach paints a picture of a broken, crime infested city and a man intent on pushing back the darkness. all of the various musical components on the album come together to draw me into the story which unfolds throughout. The music's cinematic quality is deeply enjoyable.
The guitar performances on Asphalt Reapers are excellent. I'm impressed by the way in which Jesse Mach can fill his guitar with so much emotional intensity. Of course, he can shred with the best the way in which he expresses himself with his instrument adds another layer to the music. Jesse Mach also uses his guitar to add rhythm and shape to the tracks.
Layers and layers of different synth tones and textures fill this album. The way in which Jesse Mach creates detail, emotion and ear grabbing sonic contrasts engages me even more with this music. Each time I listen to it, I gain new appreciation for the album.
My Favourite Tracks Analyzed
“Asphalt Reapers” comes into being as the narrator speaks about the Asphalt Reapers in the dark city. Aggressive notes slash into the music along with electric bass and slicing,dark synth. Brassy notes trumpet out with intense glow as the slap bass twangs and growling sounds shift far below. The drums flourish and now guitar lacerates the music as shadowed narration echoes out.
A rough-edged, trumpeting synth effectively creates victorious feelings before the music glides into a softly flowing segment as towering, rounded notes float past. Our narrator tells the story of the Asphalt Reapers fighting back against the city's corruption. Smoothly moving, entangling synth calls out as the pounding low end goes on along with the slap bass. A brass section sounds with dark triumph as the guitar cuts in again and the low end presses forward.
The narration continues and a threatening, nervous synth grows in energy as the bass intertwines. Jessy Mach’s churning electric guitar cries out, dramatic and full of fear, before flying into a solo that unfolds with wonderfully engaging motion and intricacy. The gigantic bass keeps throbbing as wild guitar tears into the music. The track ends on a charging, brilliant synth and twanging bass.
Intimidating bass and punching drums join into a powerful flow to open “Eye for an eye.” Radiant synth sings out with a triumphant melody as the drums and bass smoothly throb. Below the lighter elements, slashing weight shifts and distant sounds expand, adding a glowing component. The low end presses forward as oscillating bass wriggles and a luminous synth shines.
Delicate piano trickles out to touch the music with fragility above the expansive bass and ticking drums. Rough-edged, shining synth ripples through the music with a light touch, growing in power. The drums and bass pound while the winding, raised synth shifts in the music.
Ominous sensations pour from the low end as the music moves forward. Tightly gleaming synth flares out with bright light as the drums and bass push on. Drama fills the music as it surges forward and I enjoy the track's cinematic quality. Diamond light permeates the music before the track ends.
“Marie, Sarah and James” commences as a siren howls and towering bass flows beneath delicately drifting, soft-edged synth. Now the drums burst into a steady pulse while the siren keeps howling and the caressing bass glides. Drums continue bursting and the lightly circling arpeggios brush across the music with a calming feeling.
The guitar adds a chugging element and the synth reaches an intense crescendo. Rapidly intertwining notes add a sense of urgency and again the siren cries out above dense bass. Now the narrator reads a poignant letter to his family. In the distance, lightly touching synth flickers through the music as the drums and bass shape the music.
Jessy Mach’s guitar moves through the music with a tangling glow, adding to the track’s melancholy. Medium-high, piano-like synth adds a yearning quality while the powerful low end sweeps past. Sirens cry out again as the low end adds motion to the music. The lead synth bends and cries out with an emotive sensation pouring from it as drums and bass keep pulsating.
The narrator's letter expresses his love for his family and hopes that they can survive the nightmare surrounding them. he leaves each of them a message about how he feels and his affection for all of them. he expresses a wish to hold the ball one final time but says that “fate has other plans for me, I'm trapped in a fight I can't win."
Our storyteller speaks of being surrounded by people who lost their humanity, but in the face of that he refuses to be overtaken by fear. He states that he'll face his end bravely and knows that “my love for you will endure beyond this life.”
The narrator asked his family to remember him as he was not as he's become. he wants them to know that he “fought to my last breath for you, for our family, for everything we hold dear.”
Howling guitar and pounding drums open “Escape to survive.” Angular bass and smoothly bursting drums shape the music. The bass rushes on in the technological sounding tumble as the drums create a heartbeat underneath. Now sparkling synth creates dramatic tension as it twists above the low end’s relentless pulse.
Jessy Mach’s guitar cries out with twisting power, adding momentum as it intertwines. Angular bass presses forward as the guitar roars out with thundering strength. The whole track exudes energy and charges forward unrelentingly.
I enjoy the way in which the guitar wheels through the music with intricate engagement, climbing to the sky. The drums batter as the guitar slashes in between. A guitar solo soars upward with richly intermingling notes creating a need to keep moving with speed and urgency.
“Never Surrender” comes to life as drums flourish and dense bass oscillates with authority. Broadly bursting drums join the throbbing base and cosmic, hazy synth slides past. Medium-high, softly shining synth carries a hopeful melody, tinged with melancholy. The lead synth’s slight roughness emphasizes the melody’s mixed emotions.
I am drawn to the way in which Jessy Mach weaves together aspiration and yearning within this melody. Shimmering guitar intertwines with the glistening lead synth while the drums and bass push forward. softly rounded sounds move as drums flourish and an expansively gleaming synth carries the melody again.
The main melody embodies a sensation of struggling against the odds as it unfolds. Wind sweeps through and the music moves into a segment in which a lambent synth flows along with peaceful ease and bass forms a supporting well. The drums grow in power again before establishing the beat as the expanding, shining synth rises to full strength again.
Jessy Mach plays a solo bursting with expression and wide-ranging emotion. His guitar skills allow him to imbue the music with a plethora of feelings ranging from pain and sorrow to a sense of resolve. After the guitar winds down, the track ends on soothing synth flowing out into silence.
Hectically tumbling synth rushes into open “Glowgutter.” A synth forms a surging pulse along with intimidating drums hitting the music hard. Seething notes fall through the music to increase the intense propulsion. Ghostly, slowly gliding synth floats through above the throbbing drums and gigantic bass.
The way in which this track delivers an unbearable sensation of lurking evil pulls me into it. A broad-sounding, metallic synth flows out with a feeling of looming danger. Now bass cuts with razor edges as the drums keep pounding. In the distance, the tumbling, rounded synth descends again.
Spectrally gliding notes slip as the low end radiates deadly force. Tremendous bass rumbles in a steady heartbeat as twisted, growling noises shift. Flashing synth carries a deadly feeling through the track. Creaking notes cut into the music with serrated edges before the dark lead synth ends the track.
“Abyss” begins as Stygian bass expands beneath crystalline notes shimmering out into space. Tenderness touches the glistening synth as it flickers above the huge shadows heaving far below.
The melody is hopeful in spite of the great darkness below, ringing out to challenge it. The chimes have a piercing luminosity that cuts through the blackness. Warmly rippling arpeggios glide gently through the music in a superb contrast to the ominous bass as the track fades into silence.
Conclusion
Asphalt Reapers takes the listener on an emotive journey through one man's struggle against a city riven by crime and corruption. The way in which Jessy Mach draws me into the world he's created through music keeps me coming back for more.
