Artist: Antonio Vivaldi
Release Date: circa 1725
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Title: The Four Seasons Artist: Antonio Vivaldi Release Date: circa 1725 Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Equinox's Review:
I won't lie to you. I don't own many Classical music CDs; there are probably only about five or ten in my collection. Beethoven is in there, Mozart, of course, and several others. I tend to lean toward the more Metal side of the gondola when it comes to this type of music. Yes, there is a lot of Metal to be found in the works of the old masters, and for those of you who ask, "Wait a minute . . . Metal?", I assuredly state, "Metal."Of all the Classical albums I have had the pleasure to hear, Antonio Vivaldi's Baroque masterpiece The Four Seasons has always stood out as one of my very favorites. I'm sure you all have heard some of this recording at one time or another, perhaps as the background music to a Lexus commercial or part of the score to a "Masterpiece Theater" movie. You will hear a few selected sections and say "Ahhhh! So that's who wrote this!" Now, I do not know or pretend to know enough about Classical music to review this opus in comparison to other works of its kind, however, when observed in a metal light, it is easy to explain how very brightly The Four Seasons shines.
Come on now, there's nothing snobby or elitist about enjoying Classical music, especially music as overtly shredding as this. You don't have to be named Smedly McMedley and wear a monocle to enjoy this one, all you need is an appetite for tasty melodic metal morsels. Every time I listen to The Four Seasons, I always picture it "plugged in" and "electrified." The violin playing is the main attraction, and the parts performed are just plain insane, and are just as sweet as any modern sweeping guitar riffs or solos. This music doesn't rely on drums or vocals to intensify the atmosphere, it stands powerfully on its own.
(Mind you, there are no "song titles" listed on the disc, but I will do my best to try and make sense!)
The first of many amazing violin "riffs" heralds the album's opening, and this is the perfect intro song, to "get the crowd going," so to speak. Any Power Metal fan will have to smile at the nobility and kingliness of the music heard here. Tracks 3 and 7 are also Power Metal gems, with that delicious "Dance With the King's Daughter" flair. Track 15 is an unyielding rain of Symphonic goodness that easily puts Rhapsody to shame, and is probably Luca Turilli's cell phone ring tone (actually, Turilli composed a tribute to Vivaldi a few years back, mad props!). Any Gothic Doom Metal fans in the house? Check out the slow and beautiful Track 2 as well as the later and oh so doomy Track 11, which is so maudlin that it will make you need new wipers for your glasses (or monocle). Really, now, can you think of a doomier subject than The Four Seasons? Back me up on this, Requiem!
Track 6 is probably the most Metal piece of music ever written, and, to me, stands out as the best part of the album. This one is two and a half minutes of the most ridiculously technical shred metal I can think of, sans electricity, of course. Very fast, stormy and ominous. I would really like to hear this performed by any of the ultra-talented Progressive Power Metal bands of today, but I don't think any of them would be up to the task. Want a few more of those upbeat, melodic tracks? Check out 9 and 20. You know what? Isn't it more metal not to have song titles anyway? I don't know. But I do know this: it doesn't matter what type of music you are in to, The Four Seasons really has something to offer to everybody.
The particular CD that I own was performed by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra (remarkably well, I might add), but I there are hundreds upon hundreds of other high-quality recordings out there. Go to the record store and dish out the $3.99 for the CD, or, better yet, pick up the vinyl for fifty cents at your local thrift store. This is a truly incredible piece of music, and it is clearly understandable why it has lasted for almost 300 years. Very Metal.
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