Zak Vortex - Back From The Dead

Review by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Zak Vortex’s Back From The Dead is an album that delves deeply into the core of human emotion. It is a musical reflection on love, life and mortality, spurred by Zak Vortex’s experience of suffering a severe heart attack and being in a coma from which his family was warned he might never wake. The way in which Zak Vortex weaves together powerfully affecting melodies, expressive guitar performances and layers of beautifully intertwined synth creates music that moves the soul and touches the heart.

At the heart of Back From The Dead is emotional openness and rawness. There’s a clarity to the expressions of fear, worry and loss, as well as affection, love and tenderness that fill the tracks. Zak Vortex channels all of the complex emotions with which he must have struggled through the experience into music that is poignant, emotive and full of undeniable caring.

One way Zak Vortex expresses his emotions effectively is through the melodic writing on Back From The Dead. Each melody dives fully into the welter of feelings that must fill him as he contemplates the events that transpired. Every line of melody has an undeniable beauty, delivering a heady punch of sensation.

Another strong element of this album is Zak Vortex’s guitar work. He captures the palpable ache and sense of loss that touch the music, while still managing to convey hopeful aspiration and a sense of unbelievable gratitude for what he has in life. I must admit that the guitar gave me moments of melancholy contemplation as it moved through the music.

All of the different synth tones and textures mingle to draw me further into the musical landscape Zak Vortex paints here. Each synth is carefully chosen to capture a different mood or feeling, layered one upon another to create imagery that is touching and full of moving sensations I find irresistible.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“How Do I Say Goodbye?” starts off with bass that ripples richly and glittering chimes which twirl and grow in strength. As the chimes flow, a peacefully expanding chord glides with luscious warmth and a rhythmic cadence bursts. The lead instrument glows, exuding caring emotion as the beat raps. The main melody moves me, poignant and full of loss, while satin tones in the distance shine with caressing radiance.

A brighter synth trembles, slowly shimmering, as the distant backing notes wrap me in a cloudy blanket. The low end guides as gleaming tones tumble and ache, while a wordless cry rises, capturing longing and hurt The bass washes with tidal depth as brilliant notes sparkle like stars in the firmament.

Floating voices wander while the percussion locks into a steady beat and a diamantine synth flickers with starlight. Roaming tones create peaceful contemplation against the sharp percussion. Bell-like notes ring as the drifting vocals slide over the clean drumbeat. Meditative sensations permeate the music as the artist considers the possibility of leaving this world. The low end throbs like a heartbeat while elevated notes exude serenity before the track ends.

A soft female voice carries a mournful melody as scintillating light suffuses the track to open “Falling”. Serene notes drift above the heavy bass throb, turning in slow motion as the . A steadily repeating, glowing synth joins a cascading melody carried on a refulgent instrument that spills brightness through the track.

The low end drops as female vocals exhale wistful dreaminess above a lambent background. A glockenspiel sings with affectionate, brokenhearted melody, touching my heart as it flows through. A heavy pulse rebounds while a medium-high, glimmering synth transmits a hypnotically enticing melodic pattern.

The glockenspiel adds distant luminosity as the shaping bass and clean drums press on. Glistening notes call out with tragic tranquility as the track progresses, percussive elements falling away until the exhalations of the female voice bring it to a gentle close.

“Let Me Wake Up” commences with a trembling synth and deep bass before a sax cries out with exquisitely soft emotion. A shining synth drifts as the sax breathes with powerful feeling, full of pleading. The beat strikes while the gliding bass curls softly around the sax, which pours out a soul-deep ache I find poignant.

The rhythmic pattern taps lightly before driving harder as the sax’s emotive voice carries all the hope wrapped in the melody. Wordless vocals and string-like tones intertwine to create calming sensations while the bass flows with lush depth.

Clean low end vibrations support crystalline notes that ring out, echoing through the track, heavy with hurt and hope. Exhaling vocals join the sax as it expresses love, fear of loss and fierce affection before the track slips away.

Distant notes float with a misty sensation as the throbbing percussion slowly grows in power to start “Will I See You Again?” There is a tentative quality to the melody before it becomes full and rich, repeating in hypnotic motion as shards of light flicker from the lead synth.

The supporting beats are dense, adding shape while the crystalline melody aches with remembrance and regret. The track slides into a quiet moment of reflection before the rhythm returns and the shining notes spill brilliance.

The guitar cries out with passion and haunted emotion, full of yearning and reaching. The continually repeating synth hypnotizes while the percussion and bass intermingle.

I am touched by the palpable affection and fear of loss within the melody while the scintillating notes sparkle. The music takes shape through the dense low end before the track ends with rapidly oscillating notes fading into silence.

“Dream” begins as a synth trickles with a softly oneiric sensation while the bass rumbles in rolling waves. Breathy notes drift with graceful lightness as the main melody sails past with disconnected, hovering sensations and an aurora of tones spills through the music.

The percussion moves with steady rhythm as the guitar intertwines with broken emotion, weaving unmoored, hurting sorrow. Chimes bring encouragement, hinting at the possibility of hope despite tragedy. The melody is fragile and melancholy, conveying to me all of the gentle emotions within the track before it finishes.

Lapping synth waves wash through to commence “Wires”. Bass oscillates with lugubrious motion as a xylophone adds metallic brilliance and ever-growing chords expand into wide, sweeping motion. A steady pulsation beneath the other musical elements adds form while the rising synth glows with encouraging, soothing emotion.

Metallic notes glitter like a mirage, dazzling me and moving me, above the clicking snare and rumbling bass. Sunlight suffuses the high notes while the low end swells with weight. A melody mingling love, gentleness and a hint of emptiness calls out.

Once again, the percussion slices with shaping accuracy beneath the raised notes that flare with hopeful illumination. Shiny synth sparkles and flits while the bass adds luscious support. As the track closes, a sense of progress and escape permeates the music before silence falls.

“Corridors” opens as a graceful synth ripples with soothing smoothness. Coruscant tones skip in hypnotic patterns as the colossal rhythm rebounds and powerful chords add strength. Triumph and rising confidence permeate the melody as it fills the music, while the twirling figures add depth and motion behind it.

Shimmering accents glint with tenderness while the drum beat guides the song with assured power. Luminous tones drift in flowing arcs as the warming synth glows with rich illumination. I enjoy the sense of growing ease and victorious progress which fills the melody while the low end pulse drives forward.

Celestial luminance spills from the entrancing patterns as flickering tones spark. The rhythm steadies, grounded and unwavering, before it fades into sharp-edged bass and delicate chimes, suffusing the music with sensations of wide blue skies. The snare and bass surge once more as the synth soars skyward. As the track ends, I am left with hopeful anticipation for days yet to come.

Reverent choral voices rise above looming bass and the saxophone cuts into the music with expressive warmth to start “Miracle”. The rhythm pulses like a heartbeat while the jazzy sax fills the soundscape with soul and reverberant chimes exude light.

The low end heaves with shaping motion while the ethereal sax sighs with haunting emotion, as faint ticking textures add definition. A drifting synth glides with tranquility while the echoing sax lingers with ghostly delicacy.

Metallic tones pierce the air with soft brilliance while the worshipful synth choir calls out wistfully. Floating chimes hover as the electric guitar creates a sense of hope, the steady drumbeat throbbing beneath.

The sax quivers before the gliding tones entwine with fierce chimes, flooding the track with effulgence. Deep with longing, the sax reaches out in a way that touches me profoundly. The drumbeat continues its heavy heave as gleaming notes flare one last time before the track fades away.

Conclusion

Back From The Dead captures the wild rush of emotion and all the complexities associated with a near brush with mortality. Zak Vortex manages to capture emotions that run the gamut from fear to affection with heart, soul and an authenticity that cannot be denied.