Doesn’t one always look for something in music? Beyond just musical virtuosity haven’t all of us at one point looked for something a little bit more and a little deeper? A support system perhaps or a vent for aggression? The list goes on. But what about music as a means of resilience? Music that is willing to test time and give everything a shot only because resilience says so? The Fractured Dimension’s ‘On the Precipice of Many Infinities’ is the kind of music where you would hear resilience intertwined in the nuances of all the instrumentation, and yet it screams the loudest.
The Fractured Dimension features some of the finest musicians on the planet whose efforts made up the brilliant ‘Many Infinities’ album. The band as is consists of Jimmy Pitts on the keys, piano, seaboard and Theremin, Vishal J. Singh on guitars and programming, the legend Hannes Grossmann himself on drums and one of my favourites on the bass Jerry Twyford.
The album opens up with “Foreground of a Wound”- a warm and gentle into that sums up some of the milder elements of Jimmy Pitts’ compositions from the past. I am positive Joseph Campbell would love this album. “Nights of Somber Frost” very slowly elevates the stress and tension from the opening song with the drums and bass adding to the intensity. The song eventually blows up into a myriad of elements and magic. “Presage” is another warm and mild song off the album, it is actually one of my favourites. This song feels like a wonderful time by the fireplace or even like having a nice hot cuppa when it’s raining outside.
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Things start to get a lot more serious with “Light Defiance”. From noise to a variety of textures to melodic lead sections and your typical proggy vibes, this song has it all. “Towards the Mysterium” is another incredible and fun composition. It almost sounds like a very weird fusion that actually works out. Its a very weird jazzy-esqe fusion with a ton of other things. Well, it shouldn’t worry anybody because it sounds hella good! “Mathematics of Divinity” is another favourite of mine. Its fast and super catchy. It sounds epic! Being a long time listener of Pitts and his collaborations, this is kind of the sonic idea that comes into my head when I hear of a Jimmy Pitts involvement in progg and jazzy music. He really is the mad scientist when it comes to composition.
“Mirror Caverns” sounds very different from the rest of the album. There’s very strong emphasis on ambient textures and strings. It is unlike anything else you would hear from the album. What I love about this song is that (as ironic as it sounds) the ambience by itself seems to form a nice rhythmic section, giving pulse to the music. As more percussive elements come in later into the song, the song sounds very different from its beginnings. There’s a sense of comfort listening to this song. Ambiances and atmospheric are almost always unique because of Vishal J. Singh’s magic.
With “Bedevilment and Bewilderment” things return back to typical experiences of bewilderment while listening to The Fractured Dimension. This song is incredibly insane. Stylistically there is a lot happening on this one.
“Triumphant Descent” opens off with a very modern experimental and ambient vibe. This feeling isn’t lots as heavier parts of the music kick in. This song proceeds to become a shred fest with hot and flaming solos being thrown all over the place. “Follow” is the closest this song has come to having any sort of typical metal vibes. While Hannes has played incredibly well all over till now, no album experience with Hannes would be complete without his fast hammering and blasts. The drums and bass really enhance the dynamics of this awesome song. And yes, an album would also be left incomplete with Jerry’s melodic sections on the bass.
“Moonrise over the Mountain” is the last track off the album. Nothing with Jimmy Pitts’s endless involvement would be complete without emotional and extensive piano sections. This is great close to the album. It is bliss all the way even when the heavier proggy parts kick in.
‘On the Precipice of Many Infinities’ by The Fractured Dimension is a masterful album. If the idea of potential speaking for itself had a sound, it would sound like this album. Despite all the complexities in the music, the music doesn’t fall apart by sounding cluttered. The album also includes There’s nothing short of wonder for expectation when an album’s Marcel Coenen, Bill Bruce, Pete Generous, Joe Deninzon, Phyllis Rutter, Tom ‘Fountainhead’ Geldschlager, Jeremy Barnes, Mark Hawkins, Tom Kopyto, Ron Jarzombek, Jason Sadites, Phil Tougas, Danny Tunker and Carl August Tidemann. line up is made up of incredible musicians. It’s a good album but the sheer amount of complexities that go into making this album would have probably made producing this album tough. It is pretty amazing that you can hear all the instruments and all that’s happening in all its glory but the production is a little old school and falls short and hides some of the potential for wonder from the album. I suppose production tastes are each to their own. Nonetheless, listening to this album is a wholesome and positive experience.