FINAL Kornfed / Belong / Not Okay / Poison

Often the most distinctive and interesting art and sound can come from creativity influenced by experience, certain life events, and tragedy. There is something about expressing ourselves via these creative outlets that allows us to feel a little less burdened by our emotions, and at the same time, it gives those who listen or experience our work afterwards a bit of an insight into who we are, how the world feels to us, and what it is to be human. It’s extremely absorbing to listen to music inspired by genuine emotion or experiences, as it is often the most free sounding, and this, in turn, has a somewhat liberating and eye opening effect.

Starting with the track Kornfed, guitarist and artist FINAL offers up, as mentioned, a very distinctive sound. The progression of chords on this track, the distortion, and the particular collection of riffs, play on and loop around in the way that an electronic track might. There’s a simplicity to it, and at seven minutes long there’s really a lot of time within which to familiarise yourself and build an understanding and a connection with the energy and the melody of the guitar line. It’s interesting to hear the sound of hard rock or classic metal unaccompanied by a soaring and chaotic drum line, a heavy bass line, or some sort of lyricism, and in this respect it’s refreshing to hear the essence of the rock sound laid somewhat bare. It also really gives audiences and indeed other musicians a chance to fully grasp the performance and creative style of the artist. The potential for collaboration, in this respect, is greatly increased.

Where Do I Belong showcases an entirely different side to the guitarist’s abilities and musical approach. The drum loop chosen provides a similar rhythmic consistency, but the guitar sound for the intro has a gentle, stripped back and expressive nature to it, which for a moment really lets you feel a little more connected to the softness of the emotion and energy behind the creativity. As the distorted thickness returns the riff has a familiar sound now, different in notes to Kornfed, but undoubtedly similar in nature, and a certain style and character starts to become clear for the artistic direction at hand. There’s definitely a sense of there being room for addition now, the energy and freedom of the loop is appealing and quite comforting in fact, but the potential for collaboration is stronger still, it would be great to hear FINAL come together with some other artists of a similar mindset to see what else could come about.

The length of these recordings has something of a progressive rock element to it, or is reminiscent even of some of the early rock and metal classics such as those from Metallica or the like. The track Not Okay highlights the gentler, more intricate side of the guitarist’s creativity even further, and the opening riff in this case is beautiful, mesmerising even. The sound has a crispness to it that suggests a strong recording and production, as well as a genuinely thoughtful and skillful composition and performance – again reminiscent of many of the greats. The classic energy of the FINAL sound returns with a descending riff of distortion that creates a noticeably haunting ambiance and is really quite striking.

The drum line has more of a live sound here as well, there’s a little bit of a creative overload that increases and intensifies as the track progresses, and it works well. It’s great that the gentler, opening guitar sound returns later on, and in fact that the guitar sound on the whole is significantly varied for this track. The creativity is immense, despite the instrumental simplicity – the drums and the guitar sound alone – the strength of the music is undeniable, and this recording is a definite highlight from FINAL. The music takes its audience on a journey, an intense and eclectic tale of varying emotions and thoughts, and it’s really impressive and hypnotic to listen to.

Poison is the fourth track of the current collection, and by this point you really, genuinely get a great sense of artistry and character from the musician behind it all. The instrumental riffs seem to increase in intricacy and expression, and this is wonderful to witness. Poison has a stunning level of artistry about it, the opening guitar riff is so free sounding in its progression and development, and furthermore, a great point at which to mention; none of the riffs featured in the music of FINAL are reminiscent of anything in particular – the originality is undeniable, as is the emotion and the intensity, the way the music rises and falls accordingly. There is so much about this that is beautiful, and it’s a pleasure to listen to. Hopefully there’s much more to come in the way of new releases or perhaps even a longer project.

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Rebecca Cullen

Founder & Editor

Founder, Editor, Musician & MA Songwriter