Dark Star Line is an alternative rock project headed up by William Dyson. Black Opus consists of eleven tracks mainly of instrumental guitar flourishes peppered with slices of electronica. The guitar playing is definitely a highlight of the album and the electronic elements give it that cold and calculating edge yet makes sure there are hooks and some warmth stuck in between.
This is William Dyson’s brainchild and he wrote all the songs, played guitar, drum machine and the midi instruments.
The vocals are spoken word and sound like mumbling underneath the music. I am not certain if this was intentional or just a production issue. That does not make it a major deterrent to listening to Black Opus though; in fact I was able to enjoy every other aspect of this regardless. It is not until “Month of May” that there are actually lyrics that you can hear clearly and understand.
I enjoyed the way the album closed out with spotlighting some powerful guitar work on "Setting Son". The song is heavy with a lot of emotion weaved tightly between the notes. I can say that essentially the entire recording has gobs of emotive instrumentals and Dyson has no qualms with taking a chance.
I think there is a good foundation to move on to greater things with this work however if lyrics and vocals are going to be a part of the equation then there will have to be a refocus to bring that component more upfront and use the music to propel it rather than drown it out.
I would recommend this to any guitar or electronic lover of indie alternative music.
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
October 15, 2009
