Like an alternate soundtrack that is straight out of the graphic novel of Gail Simone’s 2014 Dark Horse gem Leaving Megalopolis, Jason Blake has proven to himself that he’s not backing down without a fight. He has predicted the vision, the imagery, and the dangers that’s brought to the forefront on his latest work Infinite Fade. Following it up to the Candles Burn EP which was his collaboration with cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne, Blake has proven himself that he’s more than being a band member with Aziola Cry.
It doesn’t go into the majestic progressive rock route, but into a deeper, darker territory that Blake has showcased in this dystopian nightmare that Orwell and Simone had visioned between 1984 and the Megalopolis story. There are moments where it becomes this intense cat-and-mouse chase, like something straight out the Tom & Jerry shorts that is evidential behind the two tracks; ‘Into Despair’ and ‘Into Disarray’ whilst going into this hypnotic mind of a person having a nervous breakdown which is shown on ‘Nocturne for a Collapse’.
Blake is almost a story-teller, blending into the city that’s already a hot target for the once super heroes who were once the saviors of the city, have now become mass-minded criminals, and cold-blooded killers. Getting out of a city like a Megalopolis, that’s the hard part. With its Oldfield-sque approach ‘Foreshadowing the Past’ sees a channeling vision of what the future will hold for us in the 23rd century as we move forward and never looking back in the past.
But the last two tracks which features Aziola drummer Tommy Murray, he brings in the power behind the closing tracks ‘A Lost Beacon’ and ‘Into Decay’ which sounds like something out of a score straight from the Sega Genesis consoles you would hear whilst playing one of their games during the 1990s when it was cool during that time frame.
For those who like to get into the dooming power and complexity that Jason has endured with his majestic fingers throughout his Warr Guitar, then prepare for the Infinite Fade to begin, because it’s going to be one hell of a ride that you’ll never, ever forget.
