Sometimes I come to conclusions about people or their music before I have any good reason to. Often it is due to the look of an ad, or something that I read in an interview. I need to keep reminding myself not to pass judgement until I hear the music.
I have been aware of guitarist Dom Minasi for a few years now, but I didn’t actually listen to his music until recently. Something about the way he was presented just didn’t make me think I would dig his stuff. A few weeks ago I received a copy of The Vampire’s Revenge from Minasi’s PR guy.
I like it. The dark sci-fi artwork doesn’t portray the vibe of the music to me at all. I guess one could get into the vampire story parallel with the music and the art would make sense, but I never really developed any vampire fascination, although I did sit near Anne Rice at the Orpheus Ball one year.
This music is enjoyable without the back story. The album is two CDs long, and it does function well as a suite. There is a continuity and coherence that flows through the nearly 2 hours of music. I get some Escalator Over The Hill vibe from this CD, even though they don’t sound much alike. They both use large numbers of musicians, and also make use of voice. That might be the connection my brain is making.
When you are feeling like exploring, give The Vampire’s Revenge a shot. It might suprise you, it suprised me.