TEARS IN THE ACID RAIN

After my time with Czyszy's most recent release, UwU Slaughter, I have been rather interested in his other albums. While I thought UwU Slaughter wasn't the best, I did find it pretty good, and it definitely peaked an interest for me. I wondered what this man could give in terms of more Prog rock releases, and I was pleasantly surprised with this release. It strangely solved the problems I had with UwU Slaughter ten folds, and I can probably say with certainty that this is a very great album and release by him.

The problems I had with UwU Slaughter are still present with this album, but very much less so, heck even some been nullified. I said that the sound felt to much like the 70s symphonic Prog sound which causes it to feel unoriginal, but with this album, it feels more like a bonus. The sound is still 70s adjacent, but it feels more original and more like a tribute than an album that is just trying to be something you'd hear from Genesis or Focus. Furthermore, everything feels a lot more instrumentally complex. The main reason I really liked UwU Slaughter was the instrumentation and Czyszy's use of midi instruments, and this really does sell the scores that Czyszy clearly wants to deliver. I could tear it apart due to the whole midi programming, but what fun is that. You can clearly hear the hard work put into these songs to where the fact that there is a midi program being used doesn't matter. I feel like it is best representative with the 30 minute long suite track, Nostalgia Demise. It is such an enigmatic track with amazing progression, especially to the end, because that last part is super enigmatic and awesome. A long track well spent.

Now there are still some persistent issues at play here, and the main problem is still the vocals. Honestly I feel like Czyszy should ask or pay a vocalist for these songs, either that or work on his singing because it is still kinda bad. It's not as bad as it was in UwU Slaughter, but I guess that's due to the different feelings and mixing of this album compared to that of the one I just talked about. It's not unlistenable, but it definitely needs some polish. I also feel like some of these tracks go on for a bit too long. I know I praised Nostalgia Demise so much, but it being 30 minutes is kind of a turn off for me. I can listen to it, and I love it, but some parts can be shaved off a bit and it wouldn't loose the charm the song had. 20-25 minutes feels more appropriate than 30.

For my overall opinions on this album, it's very good. I love how Czyszy works with his use of midi programs and instrumentation, but I do feel like he needs to work on some issues present on this album, especially his singing. So overall, I really dig this album, but it definitely needs a bit of polish, but this so far might be my favorite release by him, and I am interested in seeing what he will do in the future.