Music News: Yukon Metal Musician Rick Massie Releases Debut Album “Eclipse” Today
Yukon’s, Rick Massie, releases his debut album, “Eclipse” today, May 1, 2020 and it’s not to be missed.
“There is hope, that amidst the dark, you can find your own glimpses of light – sometimes suddenly – in the most unexpected of places.”
The album is a mix of influences and genres; exploring the intricacies of progressive metal, black metal, death metal, electronic, rock, and symphonic music. The stories within gaze upon moments of joy, moments of darkness, moments of fear, and ultimately, moments of hope and uncertain triumph. This is metal that unabashedly embraces all emotions and many non-metal styles of music.
Check out our review of Eclipse here.
Rick Massie states: “This album is made up of influences from all styles of metal, and many styles outside of the metal genre. Each song grew on its own – taking on a life of its own. It had been 15 years since I had written a song, however, once I started the first one, the ideas just kept flowing.”
“The songs took shape in ways that I never expected. I went into this album with the intent of writing simple songs with both dark, heavy sections, and melodic, epic sections. Those sections are there, but the structures are far from simple. I intended for the songs to have a “Standard” song structure, as a way to ease myself back into creating music. However, the songs quickly veered off the beaten path to become musical journeys with very few repeating riffs and musical ideas. Musically, it probably fits best in the Prog category. But not because it’s flashy, technical, or weird. Really, it’s just because I can’t really think of any other artist that this sounds like. Or maybe the truth is that it sounds like all the artists I love, all at once.”
The album has 8 tracks, and clocks in at nearly 72 minutes, with each song flowing smoothly into the next. Eclipse focuses on messages of positivity and hope. In some ways, it is a soundtrack to life – a mix of darkness, fear, and sadness, offset by many moments of joy, love, triumph, hope and light. The theme of the album is eerily appropriate given the current world crisis – it reminds us all that this current darkness is just a temporary shadow, and light will return to us all.
The album is also accompanied by an Android App ( available at the link) with lyrics and credits. A Digital Booklet with complete album artwork will be released soon as well. Rick Massie explains the reasoning behind that:
“I miss the days of opening a cassette or CD and being greeted with a booklet filled with info about the artist and the stories about their musical creations. Like many today, I purchase more digital music than physical copies. And I want to bring back some of that experience to digital buyers. I’ll never be able to recreate the smell of that newly opened CD, but I’ll definitely find a way to make this album experience close to the experience of getting a physical product, but in a digital way.”
Check out the video for the album closer Following the Rain, an epic 14 minute journey through hope, fear, anger and joy, below.
Rick Massie Links
Website – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – YouTube – Bandcamp – Spotify – Apple Music
