Celldweller - Transmissions: Vol. 01

Electro-rock producer Celldweller has stepped out of his comfort zone to come forth and hit us with an album that not many would have been able to even guess he would come up with. You can forget about his tendencies of putting out riveting electro-rock material, and just embrace this instrumental electronic album that spans nearly an hour. Get ready, tighten your shoes, and let's go on a journey through another world.

First thing I'd like to say is that I can see this being a polarizing albums for fans of Celldweller; this really doesn't sound like his other material, but it still comes out well. After all, being a musician is all about being experimental, and he has pushed that issue far and beyond the call of duty with this album. Anyway, onto the music.

To make it clear, production values are high on this album. This is expected, as he does have the funds for his very own in-house label, Fixt Music, so to have it any other way would be disgraceful. Thankfully, it all comes out very smoothly, very well sounded, and caught me off guard with clarity at first.

Regardless of production, it really came down to how the music would sound overall. Forming tracks that run from electro sounds to more IDM focused products, the music can sometimes have an ADD resemblance to it, never sticking to one bend or another. I noted that first on the second track, In the Middle of Nowhere, where flashes of brilliance combine with light electronics and some heavier bass notes. The first track, Metropolitan, was actually the most dance centric song, and felt like the odd one on the album.

The Halls of Valhalla comes off as a dark ambient song, with a very deep pitched, and echoing like noise. And, while it was a good effort, I just can't help but feel that for the genre, it needed some work. I've heard one too many tracks in that field that sounds like this one and it needed something more to make it unique.

Moving on past another IDM flavored song, which was The Last Question, I got to Snowcore. Ambient sounds riddle the field, but they aren't dark, but bright. It's pretty much the opposing track to The Halls of Valhalla. I sometimes felt as if the pitches were placed a little too high, as I found myself throwing my earphones off when I had the volume at a level in which I listen to all my other songs on.

Broken Clock came off tremendously noisey, which is a good thing, and the random effect scattered throughout did very well on their own, but the overall attractiveness of the song was somewhere in the middle of being okay and good. Not a bad effort, but not the best, either. The Descent of King Ghidora was a drone track, and wasn't the best, either. Then again, it is very hard to make a drone track that won't dull the audience after a good bit, and there were some nice charms in it that attempted to keep me, but overall I didn't get all too into it.

The eleven minute wonder that is Shapeshifting Nebulae refreshed the album a ton for myself, even though it did use some similar sounding tricks used in previous songs. It still formed its own sound and came out lovely. And, lastly, we're sent out on a final, space ambient journey through clouds and motions of the blackness called Daydreaming at Night.

But, overall, for an experiment, this went pretty well. I mean, this was a complete change in sound for Celldweller, so I don't blame him for some things not coming out completely perfect. Some tracks were amazing, such as Daydreaming at Night, In the Middle of Nowhere, and even The Last Question (though I really didn't say much about that one). But, if you're looking for something different from this artist, now's the best time to do so.

He's trying, and I wouldn't doubt it if he really went ahead and mastered the genres he threw himself into with this album one day or another. Until then, go check this out and see what you think for yourself. Jan 28 2015