Search - Patrick O'Hearn :: Metaphor

WHEN THE STARS STARTS TO FALL

peter | pasadena | 04/17/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"It does not take a genius or a hard-core fan of POH to notice the decay of his ability to compose classical-rate pieces. It started with the CD TRUST as one feels and sees POH's gloomy vision of this planet and its human cargo. "Trust" had a message imbedded in it and it is an honest and profound message for mankind of what is to come to this planet. Metaphor on the other hand lacks a message or a theme and in my opinion reflects POH's lack of exuberance towards life or music, ergo, the music in Metaphor is a stew of sound going nowhere. Yes, there are a few short catchy melodic bars but the melodic flow of each piece stagnates like a broken record repeating over and over and it gets boring. The musical soundscape of Metaphor is 2 dimensional compared to POH's previous works that are vividly more 3 dimensional in musical and sound layering.I don't know, but based on Metaphor, POH's musical well is starting to dry up. It is not a bad thing, we all go thru the same thing. It is part of being human...so did Mozart, Bethoven,Dvorak......"

Patrick O'hearns weakest album but it's still a five star.

Distant Voyageur | Io | 09/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have heard that a fair number of fans are not too much into this album. That's understandable because on Metaphor, O'Hearn goes further away from the electronic space sounds of his first two albums and into more acoustic instruments giving his 90s works a more of a medievel & tribal sound. This CD is his most obscure and least accessable album that he's ever put out. While I respect that a fair number of people don't like this album at all I have to disagree with them saying that it's a mediocre album. On the contrary, it's actually a beautiful album. It just isn't as easy to get into as alot of his other works. The leadoff track Patience My Friend is probably the song that has the most of his more trademark sound with electronic keyboards and blipping sound effects but overall it's a very medievel sounding track. The Dividing Line is far more tribal with strong acoustic guitar strings and tribal beats. Peace Be With You is a gorgeous jazzier track with a much stronger Native American flavor and jazzy basslines. This one is probably the brightest song on this CD. The Women Of Lachaise has more of a sound that is more in the field of 3 Circles with similar sounding drums but where 3 Circles has a spacier sound Lachaise on the other is very tribal sounding. Drive is by far my favorite song on this entire album. It starts off with echoing sound effects and then turns into a strongly ambient groove with heavy bobbling basslines, tribal drums, & mezmerizing echoing pianos. Let Truth is another track that is more in the vein of his earlier Ancient Dreams-esqe sounds but even this one has a strongly medievel sound to it. Images In Stone is a dark haunting track with little rhythm. Instead there are haunting, ominous ambient crescendos throughout the song. All Quiet Now is a very mournful song with a Native American flavor and lots of tribal drums. This is one to play on a dark cloudy evening. The final track Faith & Endurance is a bizarre track that has strange guitars and fast paced beats giving the song a more intense feel. The loud clang at the ending brings Metaphor to a close. This CD is by far the least accessable album he's ever put out. It's kind of a shame that it would be five years before another album would follow but 2001s So Flows The Current though was worth it. This CD is strongly recommended. :)"