My Thoughts On The DAGames Heart Of An Artist Album

Cyri I am not qualified to make this.

Okay, right off the bat I want to say that album reviews will NOT be the norm for me. People already handle them far better than I ever could. Kempokid, consider this a shout-out. You inspired this post.

Ah, Heart Of An Artist. In my humble opinion, it's one of the most meaningful musical works of art to other artists I've ever heard. DAGames has come a long way with music. From a FNAF 3 fan song to these. This album and what it means to me and the artist are why I like him as a content creator. He says what needs to be said for all artists.

Now, before I begin, here's how it's going to work. Each one will be judged by, in order of priority, meaning (it's YOUTUBE music. It's not going to be as good sounding as, say, Metallica), sound, how it fits between adjacent songs, and importance to the creator. The scores will be a fraction with a denominator of ten (say, 8/10 or something.) I'm not going to be as harsh as if I was reviewing a mainstream artist because, again, guy on YouTube. He's one guy making a whole metal album on his own. Now here we go!

1) Descend Into The Iris
This is the album intro. Although very brief at a mere 14 seconds, it's meant to symbolize entering the point of view of the artist. It also has guitar leading directly into the first full length track. My only complaint is the brevity of it.

Score: N/A (not reviewing introduced and outros)

2) S.O.S
Possibly the heaviest song on the album, it has a virtually seamless transition from Descend Into The Iris. The meaning of this song is the feeling of being caged and prodded by your audience as if you're some kind of circus animal. The screaming parts were a highlight in this song, but it falls flat with mediocre vocals otherwise and over reliance on the guitar that Will (the guy at DAGames) plays so well.

Score: 6/10

3) Draw The Line
Coming back strong with a song made way back in 2017. The meaning here is giving your tormentors a piece of your mind and telling them where you stand. Now for the sound. I like it a lot better. It has a more complex rhythm, better vocals (both screaming and normal), and has easily one of my favorite verses on the whole album about two thirds through.

Score: 8/10

4) As The Lights Go Out
Reviewing this is complicated. On one talon (I've been bringing the persona back), it's a deep and beautiful song about how an artist feels behind the scenes. You see, as the lights go out, we're more than your show. We're people with our own feelings that people ignore, favoring seeing the masks we wear on stage or on the page. Wait a moment, the meaning is only part of the review. Here's the rest. The song is very soft. That's the flaw here. It doesn't feel like it fits in an otherwise metal album. And for that, the score I give it is...

Score: 6/10

5: Kings And Queens
Here we go with my least favorite to review. Let's go then. This song is boring. Although it has a good meaning (overcoming the pressure from outside to become your own ruler), the song's beat is so repetitive and the vocals so weak that I just skip over it half the time and forget it exists. But alas, I had to listen to it again for the review. Darn.

Score: 3/10

6: Why Do We Hold
This song sounds epic. The fast pacing, the choir in the back, EVERYTHING works together to form the coolest-sounding question I've heard in a while. This song asks us one thing. Why do we hold on despite everything? It leaves us to answer. And with the best guitar work from a YouTube musician I've heard in years, I'll be happy to think about this for a while.

Score: 10/10

7: Lost Now Found
This song is one of the most emotional on the album. I have had trouble finding an exact meaning to support this best; all three that I have do it well. First, it could be about being in an emotional rut, a proverbial ditch of sorts, and someone helping you out again. Second, it could just be about depression. Third, it could be about finding that special someone when you feel at your worst. But no matter what, the meaning isn't changing the sound. It's slower than Why Do We Hold, which serves it well to stir emotion while still being a good metal piece by YouTube standards. The guitar in this rivals Why Do We Hold, maybe even surpassing its quality in a solo to go down in DAGames history.

Score: 10/10

8: Too Dangerous
You know how sometimes things are great until they have this one massive flaw? Here's that. The meaning, you ask? It's about how some people are - you guessed it - to dangerous for your mental state to keep around. These are the manipulators, the liars, you get it. Now, for the sound. Here's the flaw: After the march-like beat and growl-ish vocals, the chorus actually sounds a bit whiny and that ticks me off. Besides that, though, great song.

Score: 7/10

9: Castle That Never Dies
It's an interlude. We didn't need one, even if it's about fighting by fixing the problem instead of destroying the destructor. This is just Will (again, the guy) talking with acoustic instruments in the background!

Score: 1/10

10: You're Just Making Us Stronger
This song rocks. It's the fastest on the album, and sounds more raw and untamed, if I can call it that, than the others. The meaning (This is getting repetitive) is taking in the insults and pressure and emerging stronger for the next challenge.

Score: 9/10

11: Heart Of An Artist
The title track is also the oldest, having been made before the conception of the album, way back in 2016. I may be alone, but I can just feel the anger at the people trying to control his art. And that's what it's about. Lastly, although it sounds dated, it fits the intended mood perfectly.

Score: 7/10

12: Ascend From The Iris
The one-minute outro. It has the same instrumental as S.O.S., and really serves as a fitting conclusion. It plays its part to tell the listener that they're leaving the artist's perspective and hopefully understands it better now.

Score: N/A

That's the end of the reviews! Here's the final score.

Final score: 6.7/10

See you in mid 2019 for his next album, Goliath's Throne!

Comments

Pretty decent first attempt at a review - visitor

Great, he's making a 2.0 version. More work. - Cyri