After Thomas Dutton was left as the only member of “Forgive Durden”, he has a lot of free time on his hands. Instead of calling it quits, he sat down with his brother and penned “Razia’s Shadow.” This two years effort didn’t just bring an interesting story behind it, it also brought guess artist from different bands throughout the “scene” (if you want to call it that…) and shaped a wonderfully unique experience. From artists like Max Bemis (Say Anything) all the way to Casey “Fucking” Crescenzo (The Dear Hunter), this album has it all.
The sound of the album, just as the name of it implies, is that of a skillfully executed musical. Although, I’m not too familiar with the normal styles of a musical, the whole album is beautifully done. Even for a band with a very limited budget, Dutton managed to pull it off with little to no flaw. A musical, however, needs more than just good music, it needs great voices, and as you
would have guessed, this album has many to share. With a total of 14 artist, including Dutton, all the characters have a great voice that brings them to life with a beautiful harmony that brings a chill to your spine. The lyrics themselves are written wonderfully, telling the story flawlessly and painting the scenery with all the colors in between black and white.The story, in case you wanted to know, has two movements. The first movement deals with Ahrima, an angel who feels like he’s not getting the respect he deserves. So, in a moment of rage, he destroys the world he helped create and is forced to live in “Darkness” of the aftermath, as the rest, including his love Nidria, live in “Light.” The second movement takes place about a century later when Adakias, who feels something bigger in him then what is known, leaves his home in the Dark and travels to the city of Light. There he falls in love with Princess Anhura. She, however, falls sick and they travel to find a cure for her. Where and how will they find a cure? All your questions can be answered throughout each song.
I, however, do have a few small problems with the album itself, the first would have to be the lyrics, which at times are a little cheesy and as well confusing. They are clever, but even with the “
script” handy they’re still confusing, as well with a few plot holes. Likewise can be said of some of the choices in singers and their characters, it’s confusing. A good example would have to be Chris Conley (Saves the Day) and his character, “Toba the Tura.” While Toba is a big, bad dude, Conley’s high pitch voice doesn’t fit. I would also have liked to hear some of the other singers in more than one song. Crescenzo’s character is the god like figure in the story, but he only appears in only one song. How can you have a voice like that only once?Even through the little flaws, this is an amazing album and has not left my mp3 player from the first day I got it. You’ll be sure to find a song on here that will catch your ear and draw you in. Whether it is the main songs or the soothing narrations of Aaron Weiss (mewithoutYou), there’s something in here for everyone. I’m proud to give this a full “5 out of 5 stars” rating. Download it, buy it, just listen this album.
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