If you read TNOTB with some regularity you’ve undoubtedly noticed that we’re big fans of several things: one-man DIY bands, free music, and independent artists. You may have noticed our post a couple weeks back about Drewsif Stalin’s new EP, Delusions Of A Greater Future. For the unfamiliar, Drewsif Stalin is better known as Andrew Reynolds, who at the tender age of 17 already has several impressive EPs under his belt. (Drewsif is also an amigo of our buddy Tre Watson. Must be something in the water in Maryland.)

Young master Reynolds has been known to dabble in a variety of styles, from djent to progressive to tech-death, even a little bit of shoegaze. Delusions Of A Greater Future, however, is almost entirely filled with unrelenting modern tech-death, with occasional bits of weirdness and assorted sound bites sprinkled here and there. And the end result is really quite impressive.

‘Festering World’ really sets the stage for things to come, featuring some brutal riffing and impressive guttural vocals. Its follow-up, ‘Systematic Annihilation’, has made an appearance on a previous EP, but fits in nicely here, starting with a quote from Dawn Of The Dead before exploding into some furiously technical leads and riffs with some occasional growls. ‘The Penisberg Massacre’, odd title aside, is a punishing bit of instrumental tech death, full of razor-sharp riffs.

‘Interloper’ is another balls-out heavy instrumental track with a weird, happy break in the middle of the song that leads to more insane riffs. The following track, ‘Furious’, was played on the last Blogcast, and is another ridiculous instrumental track given a brief moment of levity by the sound clip in the middle, plus the surprisingly mellow guitar solo near the end.

Perhaps my favorite moment of the album, however, comes in the form of Drewsif’s cover of Brahms’ ‘Hungarian Dance Number 5′, which in addition to some truly great guitar features what sounds like a horde of Vikings singing drunkenly in the middle. Almost as enjoyable, though, is the closing track, ‘Warface’, which features several audio clips from Full Metal Jacket and the Beastie Boys, a weird jazzy break, and a honky-tonk-esque outro.

All in all, for a free EP, Delusions Of A Greater Future is definitely worth your time. Drewsif Stalin, in his young life, has shown an impressive amount of talent and creativity in a short period of time. Remember his name, and remember it well, because I have a feeling that you’ll be hearing it a lot more in the future.


My score: 5 out of 6


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