Katarzyna NINa Górnisiewicz | Detailed or mini-review submissions: song, EP/album | Suggest an artist

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Lord Marius - Modern Warfare (song review)|self-released, 2013|

Lord Marius, a professional guitarist and composer, played with a variety of famous Greek folk and rock artists in 2005. He began composing his own music based on classical and rock arrangements 4 years later. He's been extensively publishing new songs through social networks to let people discover his musical talent since 2012.

Some listeners pay attention to technical arrangements, while others enjoy the overall moods better. "Modern Warfare", one of Lord Marius’ newest tracks provides a specific type of emotional tension that’s skillfully developed within the composition. You could visualize a dark place with a torn-down wall and a strong warm light coming from the hole. The light would eventually touch, open and uplift your spirit, then turn into a fast-moving spiral, drag you inside and let you feel its inner pulse.

Technically speaking, the composition opens with a cold, vibrating, and then 'wavy' guitar riff. It is then supported by drum beats and joined by a truly rocking mix written for bass and guitar. These two part ways later on to focus on individual lines while giving priority to the guitar.
The vocals work very well. They fill the instrumental arrangements quite tightly and are properly balanced - neither too much in front of the instruments, nor drowned out by the guitars.

After the first 2 minutes, you should be convinced about this song’s genre classification. You may sense some Megadeth, but also 70s hard rock influences. However, there's quite a provoking surprise hidden here. Lord Marius gently utilizes vocals typical for rap music and adjusts the leading arrangements accordingly. If you're a purist, you may think the new element may have killed the initial mood of the song, but you should not rush to conclusions. Indeed, it does make "Modern Warfare" sound less classic than expected. Yet, this part is brilliantly balanced with the original theme and your favourite riffs eventually return with even more power.

The song gives you a taste of Lord Marius' technical and compositional skills. If you like it, you will also cheer the news about his debut album Shout that he's been working on. According to Lord Marius, the songs on the tracklist refer to social and psychological oppression, as well as his personal experience and speculation related to global issues. Such awareness is always crucial - you can find Lord Marius' updates on that matter on his Facebook or YouTube pages. The musician is also looking for a record company in order to release this album.

(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, Fabryka Music Magazine, October 10th, 2013. Proofreading: Mike 'Vesper' Dziewoński)

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