By Monk
Hailing from the historic Irish city of Limerick, Keith McCoy has been releasing music as a solo artist since 2020, including a number of synth albums/EPs, horror film scores (including a track on a John Carpenter tribute album), four progressive metal EPs and various other projects/session work with the likes of other local acts such as Mysteries End, Hedfuzy, Soylent Chiba… In other words, he’s quite a busy chappie. But, with such a prodigious volume of work in such a relatively short space of time, is it a case of quantity over quantity?
As it’s title might suggest, this five-track offering is a concept work, based loosely around the emergence of AI..but, simultaneously, it turns that concept on its head, with the titles of both the intro (‘The Turing Test’) and outro (‘Imitation Game’) pieces giving a massive clue to both the inspiration for this opus, which has to be viewed as very much a singular entity (something I’ll come back to in a sec) and the transitional lyrical thematic.
While this is a concept work, each of the three main tracks stand on their own two feet. ‘H.U.M.A.N.’ is very much rooted in the traditional Seventies prog soundscape, with genteel atmospherics building with a natural ebb and flow, before ‘Hear Me’ takes us forward in time, reminding initially of classic Styx before evolving into a heavier, more Dream Theater groove, especially in its heavy guitar lines. Starting off with a more indie pop vibe (for reason the name Tears For Fears popped into my head during the opening bars), the title track evolves into something that feels like a cross between an industrialized version of Mercyful Fate, especially in the vocal phrasing and delivery (although obviously without King Diamond’s characteristic falsetto screams) and a traditional proggy guitar vs keys workout.
I said above that this EP has to be heard as a contiguous entity. Yes, each of the main tracks is a solid entity in its own right, but they also possess a homogeneity that nods to McCoy’s extremely obvious love of the likes of John Carpenter. So, all in all, a well put together, well crafted and expertly delivered slice of trad-meets-modern prog. DJ Astrocreep will probably love it…
- ‘Dawn Of The Machines‘ is out now.
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