Raphael Weinroth-Browne is a cellist and often has other instruments to play around (Musk Ox, Leprous or Kamancello) or at least a voice to hover atop (The Visit). However, in his eponymous project he is appropriately alone but sounds far from it.
His music is an impasto painting, building upon itself with his bow (and fingers) serving as the brush. Sure, eventually you may be hard-pressed to recognize the starting point, but it is always there; it just hides under lovingly formed layers. “Tumult” starts with a subtle percussion, which the Canadian musician builds up by tapping on his instruments. Simple layers are added slowly. An early melody is eerie in a similar way to the theme of The X-Files, while the pulsing bassy tones that follow add a sense of foreboding.
Weinroth-Browne really shows how similar metal is to classical music. A shredder could easily transpose any given lead to a headbanging riff. However, the song doesn’t just go full bore. Instead, it peels back its layers and rebuilds. By the song’s end, one could cut throw the thick slab of paint and see a kaleidoscope.
Weinroth-Browne dives into the piece with as much attention as he pays to his music.
“Musically, this piece contains some of the more metal-influenced sections of the album as well as some percussion loops, which I created by tapping rhythmically on the bridge pickup and running the signal through a delay pedal. This results in a unique sound reminiscent of electronic/programmed drums, but with a more organic quality. My aim with this portion of the album was to create something both cinematic and heavy, juxtaposing long hypnotic groove sections, guitar-esque solos, and cascading melodies.
“The video was once again created by Andrew Robillard and shot at the coincidentally-named St. Raphael’s Ruins near Cornwall, Ontario.”
You can watch the video in the player below.
Worlds Within is out January 24 and can be pre-ordered here.
