Black Bridge

The percussion on this album is absolutely superb! The cadence that it brings carries the strings forward into a momentous, swelling orchestration that blows you back at every twist and turn, all before subtly retreating into an ominous and sweeping score as the drums pick back up on their continuous onslaught to dominate your turntable. The ancillary guitar twangs and orchestral tones drudged to the surface pierce past the drums and into the despairing foreground, creating a heroic dynamism that really drives this album forward. All the while, a percussive cadence drives the whole album out of the depths into this perilous, one-way journey, spiraling forever upwards. Each time you flip the records, this album picks up the pace into this sort of swashbuckling tempo as more and more melodies spring to life. The sheer range of sound that this album explores really shows off Yoann's repertoire as a composer. The percussion is definitely the highlight of this album and my personal favorite. This background hum of rhythms carry you deeper into the siren call of this album.

Hand of the King

Laced Records’ presence in 2018 was incredible, and this album was definitely a surprise highlight on top of their DOOM release. The amazing work that when into making this release definitely shows from all sides of the creation process! The art and design work by Thomas ‘Carduus’ Vasseur of Motion Twin, the game's developing company, is as stunning as it is charming. Mastering here is wonderful as always from Laced Records — little to no surface noise, and crisp clean dynamics all around. The tracklist on deck here is, in my opinion, a perfect curation of Yoann's work on this album as a whole.