''The Call Within'' is the ninth album and fourth release on
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...
by
Tigran Hamasyan
Tigran Hamasyan ( hy, Տիգրան Համասյան; born July 17, 1987) is an Armenian jazz pianist and composer. He plays mostly original compositions, which are strongly influenced by the Armenian folk tradition, often using its scales and mod ...
,
released 28 August 2020.
Content
''The Call Within'' is described by Hamasyan as taking inspiration from numerous sources, including contemporary and historical maps, poetry, Armenian culture, cinematography, and geometry, a mixture "blurring lines between historic reality and the imaginary world."
In terms of the actual musical style, ''The Call Within'' features Hamasyan's standard mixture of progressive metal, jazz fusion, and Armenian folk, but with a few new twists. On several tracks, Hamasyan makes use of electronic keyboards,
and the album features several guest features.
Animals as Leaders
Animals as Leaders is an American instrumental progressive metal band from Washington, D.C. It currently consists of guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes and drummer Matt Garstka, having been formed by Abasi in 2007. They are a prominent band ...
guitarist
Tosin Abasi
Oluwatosin Ayoyinka Olumide Abasi (born January 7, 1983), is an American musician, best known as the founder and lead guitarist of the instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. He has recorded and released five albums with Animal ...
is featured on the track "Vortex," providing guitar work, and vocalist Areni Agbabian and cellist Artyom Manukyan provide contributions to "Our Film".
The lead single and opening track "Levitation 21," was described as "combustible," with a "high-velocity forcefulness
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
sneaks up" on the listener.
This style is kept throughout the tracklist, ''Marlbank's'' Daniel Stenson calling the album "a spectacular affair, darkly prog in places, feverishly intense."
While Jeff Tamarkin of JazzTimes noted that the more progressive tracks like "Ara Resurrected" veered towards "bombast," he conceded that the writing was "crafty enough to keep it lean and moving" throughout.
However, ''The Call Within'' features several other styles. The track "Old Maps," featuring a children's choir from the Varduhi Art School, was described as "a mélange of pacifying notes and voices floating just out of reach," and "divine in nature." Critics noted that "
he album's
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
greatest strength is in the several divergent guises it assumes."
Track listing
References
Tigran Hamasyan albums
2020 albums
Nonesuch Records albums
{{2020s-album-stub