Style: Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Video Game Music (Instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Sithu Aye, Danny Baranowsky, Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu
Country: Washington DC, United States
Release date: 16 August 2024
A longstanding aspect of the metal community is its undying seriousness: all it takes is the lightest quip about Dave Mustaine’s silly voice on “Sweating Bullets” or a friendly jab about how campy and over-the-top classic Iron Maiden album covers are to have three hundred angry men jumping down your throat1 about your abhorrent disrespect for metal and its iconography. Thankfully, many figures in modern metal eschew this machismo grandstanding2 for a more tongue-in-cheek approach, like Devin Townsend and his proclamation of, “Well, it’s just entertainment, folks!” on Terraria’s “Earth Day,” or his piss-take of Homeric proportions on “Deconstruction,” featuring manic pontification on cheeseburgers interrupted by literal diarrhea sounds. It’s a little much for me, but metal as a genre is undoubtedly better off with this imparted sense of silliness. While not going quite as far as Heavy Devy, Feras Arrabi is happy to take a lighthearted spin on metal with his latest EP, The Grind, relying on late 90s video game aesthetics to create a fun and easygoing experience: does it whisk the listener away into carefree JRPG escapism, or is The Grind more akin to grinding gears?
From its introductory synth arpeggios and charming MIDI bass tone to its maximalist SNES album art style, The Grind leans heavily into 90s video game musical choices and juxtaposes them against instrumental prog and jazz fusion: for example, tracks like “Level 2: Random Mouse” combine crunchy and compressed guitars with smooth fusion licks and the bleeps and bloops you’d hear while shopping for helms in Chrono Trigger. Follow-up “Level 3: Boss” takes a more restive angle, pitting the listener against a looming evil boss with up-front guitarwork, tense synthesizer stabs, and frenetic keyboard arpeggios. The Grind oscillates between calm and anxious moments, loosely following the story of a protagonist who finds a magical guitar axe (get it?), honing their skills in anticipation of defeating a wizard who is terrorizing the kingdom. Certainly nothing we haven’t heard before, but as a story it’s sufficient at defining The Grind’s narrative structure, appropriately lending itself to its musical motifs.
The Grind is at its most engaging in the solo sections: the video game music backbone does a decent job of creating interest without demanding the listener’s attention, but the the glossy fusion guitarwork on “Level 2” and the urgent keyboard/guitar interplay on “Level 3” demonstrate that soloing is without a doubt Feras’s wheelhouse. Even though the attention demanded by the VGM and the metal are a bit asymmetrical in favor of the metal, Feras has the songwriting acumen to integrate them in a way that feels natural and cohesive: “Level 3”’s introductory guitarwork, for example, clearly suggests a battle to the listener through its composition, but the focus on melodies that convey determination over anger or overwhelm wholly lend the track to The Grind’s aesthetic while also melding with the MIDI-esque instrumentation beautifully. Moreover, story ideas are conveyed in interesting and fun ways, such as on opener “Level 1: Minimalist” when the protagonist finds the axe of interest and the track employs a riff remarkably close to the Ozzy Osbourne classic “Crazy Train” to denote the moment, integrating this riff into later parts of the track. The Grind takes many opportunities to signal the care that Feras put into tying aesthetic ideas and music ideas together.
Feras’s dedication to staying within the boundaries of The Grind’s world is admirable and one of the biggest strengths of the album but also betrays its biggest weakness, as many moments come off too safe: “Level 1: Minimalist” does a sufficient job of establishing the experience, but much of its runtime meanders despite its interesting narrative moments. “Level 4: The Grind Part 1” suffers similarly, its few engaging ideas undermined by a lack of a central focus, resulting in not only a grind for the protagonist, but also for the listener. Conceptually, it makes a lot of sense to have these unfocused downtime moments as free exploration is fundamental to many video games, but in practice, the end result doesn’t translate as well into a listening experience as The Grind’s weaker tracks degrade into easy listening at the hands of incohesive song structures.
The Grind is a decidedly cute experience that sells the video game aesthetic hard, and would likely make a great soundtrack to whatever grind the listener may find themselves in. I greatly appreciate how well executed The Grind’s concept is, from the full-of-personality album cover to the dedication to overarching themes of lighthearted adventure. However, closer inspection betrays some stumbles in songwriting, particularly an imbalance between whimsical charm and musical interest, that hold me back from giving a fully glowing review. With a bit of grinding of his own, I am confident that Feras Arrabi can deliver something closer to a triple-A experience in the future.
Recommended tracks: Level 2: Random Mouse, Level 3: Boss, Level 5: The Grind Part 2
You may also like: Andy Gillion, Lucid Planet, Pleasures
Final verdict: 6.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Independent
Feras Arrabi is:
– Feras Arrabi (everything)
