Day: October 1, 2017

The Dark Red Seed is the new solo project promoted by the Portland guitarist Tosten Larson, belonging to the band that accompanies live the whimsical King Dude: as always, Prophecy Productions brings to light realities that move along the boundaries of rock and metal, providing interpretations mostly of great interest and that also have the merit of allowing the most curious to expand their range of listening. The short ep entitled Stands With Death, as you can guess from the title, focuses on the relationship of man with death, a topic that many have already discussed but that always offers facets never trivial depending on the angles from which you look at it: Larson offers a vision that would like to be of serene acceptance but that does not hide, however, that veil of unease corresponding to the isolated little cloud that suddenly obscures the sun on an apparently clear day. The U.S. musician conveys all these feelings through a typical American sound, with the opening songwriting and veined with blues especially in the first song The Antagonist, while already in The Tragedy Of Ålesund a first part more rarefied is beaten by a sudden electric outburst, much more robust certainly the final The Master And The Slave, which after a start not exciting immerses itself in its second half in an appreciable psychedelic atmosphere. Personally, I prefer Larson when he assumes the guise of a modern Johnny Cash, as he does very well in the first part of this short work: we’ll see what he’ll be able to offer us when in the next summer a first full length under the name The Dark Red Seed should be released, in light of the good basis laid with Stands With Death.

2017 – Prophecy Productions