Bad Brain, Sam Mooradian‘s debut album is a venture into the realm of progressive metal that showcases his guitar talent that can further be seen in his guitar-centric YouTube channel.
Inspired by the complexities of the human brain, Bad Brain feels as if it’s a jam session between Sam and his own mind. There is a back and forth groove that is at times jolting and at times harmonious but it’s the way that Sam is able to blend both together to create fusion of sound that just melts into one’s ears.
On the album Sam says,
Bad Brain feels like a musical companion to emotionally difficult times. It’s the result of years of trying to hone my own sound and style of prog metal while also navigating significant life changes and events, so it’s very fulfilling to have it finally released. I’ve always been driven to push all the elements of songwriting and structure to the absolute limit while keeping the music catchy and enjoyable; I think Bad Brain does that pretty well. Lots of crazy time signatures and tempo changes. Lots of untraditional arrangements. It’s dark, it’s melancholic, and it takes some interesting twists and turns. Hopefully, it’ll break your brain a little.
Skillfully exploring the dark crevices of the mind with aforementioned time signatures and tempo changes, Sam increases their velocity when the mind may feel agitated or excited and decreases when not in a flight state. The incalculable music journey is best listened from start to finish as Sam said he wrote the album in order and wants one to experience the risks the album takes.
Without giving Sam’s journey away, aka the plot of the album, Bad Brain is a two fold journey…one a musical guitar journey through rock and progressive metal and two a mental journey through the human brain.
Whichever journey is your choice, unplug from the matrix and enjoy the ride.
