Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Steve Moore: The Henge (2008)


THE HENGE (2008)
Steve Moore

As "Introduction" rises like some lost soundtrack to an 80s exploitative Italian splatter flick, Steve Moore's THE HENGE let's the listener know what is about come will be dark and emotive, filled with moments of ambience and moments of whirling electronic frenzy. Moore, member of the cult underground prog-rock duo known as ZOMBIE (notice even their name is an homage to the 70s and 80s grind house movies), has been putting together these textural soundscape/songs for a long time now. His sense of cadence, the ability to get simplistic sequences to rise and fall with a life of their own, and the sense of when to make changes to the tempo and tone all harkens back to the early works of Michael Oldfield and Philip Glass, where sudden switches of tone, and repetition itself, gave life to the music experience. And like ZOMBIE's offerings, THE HENGE displays a strong thread of the Goblin/Simonetti-esque years of horror soundtrack. Unlike ZOMBIE, however, the music tends to come off a bit more light hearted and less confrontational, not filled with as much angst and melancholy. However, this isn't the kind of music meant to allow for free association meditation, or sitting down to a good book and a cup of hot tea. There is a constant atmosphere of dread and menace, like Carpenter's electronic soundtracks for his horror films. For anyone into dark music THE HENGE is a must for your collection.
Check out his MySpace below for free samples of his work.
(http://www.myspace.com/stevemoore2600)

--Nickolas Cook