Tag: James Wise

Single Review – The Oculist – Lavender

The Oculist returns with their captivating new single, Lavender, following their acclaimed debut release, Swan Dive. Prepare to be mesmerised by Adam Dunn’s songwriting genius, weaving a tale of platonic love, drama, and blood reminiscent of classical literature.

Joining Adam on this musical voyage is the extraordinary Kerry O’Dowd, whose electrifying vocals breathe life into the characters of Lavender. O’Dowd’s voice effortlessly captures the essence of the song and projecting its emotion.

To further enhance the sonic landscape of Lavender, The Oculist enlisted the talents of Belgian percussionist Evert Van Eynde, who recorded the enchanting sound of marimbas.

The Oculist is Adam Dunn and Çağrı Tozluoğlu. This track features extraordinary talents of Simon Fitzpatrick on the bass and James Wise on drums.

“Following on from the dynamic prog-metal of Swan Dive, The Oculist show a more measured and thoughtful approach with the symphonic wonder of Lavender. A wonderful, near eight minutes, of musical drama where the amazing vocals of Kerry O’Dowd add an almost Celtic vibe to the song. Scintillating musicianship is a given, of course, and the whole track just leaves a feeling of immense wellbeing coursing through your very soul.”

Released on July 14th, 2023, you can get Lavender at bandcamp here:

Lavender | The Oculist (bandcamp.com)

Single Review – The Occulist – Swan Dive

The Oculist is a boundary-pushing prog metal project that defies conventions. With their unique fusion of musical styles and genres, The Oculist is set to make a mark in the metal scene, their debut single, Swan Dive, is just the beginning.

The Oculist has been formed by two longtime musical collaborators Adam Dunn and Çağrı Tozluoğlu (aka Philamelian). Duo started their journey for this release with spontaneous recordings which lead to instrumental pieces influenced from the vast waters of metal fusion and prog. While these demos were progressing by added sections and developed arrangements, the idea of adding vocals to these songs came up as they were in one of the writing sessions and talking about their common interests of politics, true crime podcast series and altered state of consciousness.

The project’s backbone, the groove department, features two extraordinary musicians, Simon Fitzpatrick (Carl Palmer Band) on the bass and James Wise on Drums.

Prepare yourselves for six minutes of a modern metal and electronic soundscape, ebbing and flowing as Adam’s precise vocals deliver a stentorian, primeval assault. Çağrı’s mellifluous keyboards fly around incessantly, it’s a full on musical onslaught with Adam’s thunderous, monumental guitars and James’ dynamic drums a superb driving force. The electronica and ambient textures blend perfectly giving a feel of a manic melding of Threshold and Machinae Supremacy to my ears, and that is definitely no bad thing! This track is certainly one of the freshest pieces of music I have heard this year and I cannot wait to hear the full album when it comes out as it is highly promising indeed!

The single is released now, check it out here:

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