Worwyk - In Solitude
Self-released - Demo
By Brandon Strader
Worwyk began as a one man project by Tom Vitacco, a native of the Chicago area. For the third album, In Solitude, Vitacco searched throughout the vast reaches of the internet and eventually spotted Dragonlips, which just happened to be another one-man project fronted by Mike O'Hara. The search was not in vain, for O'Hara provides a vocal performance with enough harshness as to sit amongst the riffs with clarity, yet still maintains a certain level of melodic voice amongst the distortion. As with most one-man projects, the percussion is programmed, yet it is so well done with good mixing and effects that most flaws or tone problems are hidden so that it sounds like a live triggered kit. Vitacco's mixing and mastering skills are definitely on a professional level, as it sounds like a big-budget studio album despite being recorded in his humble abode.
Vitacco displays an aptitude for songwriting and musical performances with memorable arrangements in each song, and traditional yet still fresh heavy metal riffage. The songs sound like a mixture between '...And Justice For All' era Metallica, and Iron Maiden, yet also holds a bit of modern heavy metal influence as well. Keyboards are applied tastefully and in a subtle manner with a string ensemble in a few places, but the major focus of the music is the vocal performance, the crushing heavy metal riffs, and of course the solos - which were the last thing laid down by Vitacco, and one of the most enjoyable aspects of 'In Solitude'. Songs like "Is It Life" and "Creation By Design" are a great example of how guitar leads can make a song a lot better, yet the rare square-wave solo appearances of songs like "Cutthroat" and "Creation By Design" not only show the pleasurable advantages of such an element, but also the equality of Vitacco's musical skills with both strings and keys.
One man bands usually exceed the creativity of conventional full line-up groups, as the ability to experiment and explore musical directions and ideas is not as limited as it would be otherwise. Worwyk's 'In Solitude' is the creative excretion of two people who have been working in one-man projects for quite a while, and have the experience it takes to make something great. Worwyk is traveling down a path of musical greatness, and with each successive release, are honing their skills separately - as the collaboration unfolds over the internet - but surely.
Official Worwyk Myspace
Self-released - Demo
By Brandon Strader
Worwyk began as a one man project by Tom Vitacco, a native of the Chicago area. For the third album, In Solitude, Vitacco searched throughout the vast reaches of the internet and eventually spotted Dragonlips, which just happened to be another one-man project fronted by Mike O'Hara. The search was not in vain, for O'Hara provides a vocal performance with enough harshness as to sit amongst the riffs with clarity, yet still maintains a certain level of melodic voice amongst the distortion. As with most one-man projects, the percussion is programmed, yet it is so well done with good mixing and effects that most flaws or tone problems are hidden so that it sounds like a live triggered kit. Vitacco's mixing and mastering skills are definitely on a professional level, as it sounds like a big-budget studio album despite being recorded in his humble abode.
Vitacco displays an aptitude for songwriting and musical performances with memorable arrangements in each song, and traditional yet still fresh heavy metal riffage. The songs sound like a mixture between '...And Justice For All' era Metallica, and Iron Maiden, yet also holds a bit of modern heavy metal influence as well. Keyboards are applied tastefully and in a subtle manner with a string ensemble in a few places, but the major focus of the music is the vocal performance, the crushing heavy metal riffs, and of course the solos - which were the last thing laid down by Vitacco, and one of the most enjoyable aspects of 'In Solitude'. Songs like "Is It Life" and "Creation By Design" are a great example of how guitar leads can make a song a lot better, yet the rare square-wave solo appearances of songs like "Cutthroat" and "Creation By Design" not only show the pleasurable advantages of such an element, but also the equality of Vitacco's musical skills with both strings and keys.
One man bands usually exceed the creativity of conventional full line-up groups, as the ability to experiment and explore musical directions and ideas is not as limited as it would be otherwise. Worwyk's 'In Solitude' is the creative excretion of two people who have been working in one-man projects for quite a while, and have the experience it takes to make something great. Worwyk is traveling down a path of musical greatness, and with each successive release, are honing their skills separately - as the collaboration unfolds over the internet - but surely.
Official Worwyk Myspace
