Customer Reviews

Dead Air for Radios

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kevin Moore's debut album is a nomadic masterpiece, the kind of album that you slide into a car stereo at 3 in the morning on a long road trip. It's a lush and subtle thing, and the imagery of the music revolves around shards of dreams and old television shows, half-forgotten conversations and the head-space we all visit when the silence around us is oppressive. Unique and creative use of analog synths abound, as songs like Colorblind and America the Video present a throbbing, layered heartbeat of synthesizers as their framework. Moore's sampling on this record is also a small work of genius, as he has 'bugged' his acquaintances' conversations, weaving them in his songs for emotional and textural effect. Mark Zonder of Fates Warning brings his peerless drumming skills to bear on this disc, and gives the music an organic, roomy dimension not possible with a drum machine. Moore's vocals are somewhere between David Gilmour and Peter Gabriel, reserved and poetic, but never brooding. Lyrics are of special note, recalling early Tori Amos wry storytelling. All and all, true sonic theater.

There's never been a time in my life where the sound of a keyboard/piano has altered my thought process.I think Chroma Key are one step ahead of what we perceive as real and fictional.The melody they hold is quite solid in its subtlety.
My absolute favourite heart rendering track on this album is "On The Page" but the first song I heard from this album was "Undertow" I also dig "Colorblind". I'm not gonna go track by track but I'll talk about my favourite tracks.

There's a certain lyric in "On The Page" which goes like "It's like the water when I'm dreaming...." It's what I would call a breakaway from living a life where you live every detail and a transcending contrast where you write what you feel on a piece of page daily.I don't know the name of the vocalist of Chroma Key but I can safely say they can't possibly have more magical vocals for a band of its authority in supremacy.

I'd auction off my diary to support the cause of this absolute hellbender smooth album. The drums,keyboards are just outstanding and make me go numb. I know numb is a weak over used word but not for this under rated band. Actually,I'm quite glad they're underrated because I honestly feel not everyone deserves music as grand as this.

Undertow is the kind of a track I'd listen to when im in the middle of a day where its bright outside but I'm in my dark room trying to ignore the world. There's no love song on the album. It's an album for loners. Atleast , thats what I consider myself as. We're all alone and this album re-affirms by beleif in sanity of one.

hopefully, for Kevin Moore, this will not be the case. I have been a long time Dream Theater fan, however; upon Moore's departure, I slowly drifted away from DT. When I heard he was making his own music, I'd had heard that it was a Jazz Fusion/Techno experience. I was absolutely thrilled to hear what it actually was...GENIUS!

His vivid use of tone and surreal, thought provoking lyrics left this writer's jaw on the perverbial floor. The first song, "Colorblind" gives the listener a glimpse at what is to come, yet is somewhat ironic. The album is anything but "colorblind".

Moore uses his technical expertise to bring forth a myriad of musical scores that are pleasing to the ear and provocative to the mind.

BUY THIS ALBUM! Put it in your car and go on a long trip. You can bet that you will never have to change the music.

"Life is so much cleaner, on the page"...

GLD

It came as a surprise to many when Kevin Moore picked up his keyboard and left Dream Theater, the world's preeminent progressive metal band. During the recording of Dream Theater's Awake, Moore felt himself growing distant from the other band members and the musical direction they were pursuing. He felt more comfortable exploring his own ideas, which manifested in the lugubrious "Space-Dye Vest".

Kevin Moore's solo project Chroma Key continues music in the vein of "Space-Dye Vest". With the help of Mark Zonder (drums, Fates Warning), Joey Vera (bass, also from Fates Warning), and a guitarist named Jason Anderson, Moore has created Dead Air for Radios, a dark, melancholic synth-pop record. You might think of this album as "Space-Dye Vest"-esque music without the guitar riffs. It's largely keyboard driven, with some electronic beats. Zonder's unique drumming style, heavy in its cymbal use, coheres perfectly with the music. Moore himself handles vocal duties himself. His voice is rather nondescript, but like the brilliant Kevin Gilbert (RIP), he compensates with a special feeling in his delivery -- melancholic and a bit delicate.

Quite a great little record. A good soundtrack for a lonely nighttime drive.

In Dream Theater's "Awake" record it was more or less obvious that Kevin Moore was not into prog metal anymore. Thus the album came out more dark, atmospheric and "Space Dye Vest" (one of the best songs around in its style) shows a bit of Chroma Key's musical direction. A dark experimental album, full of feelings and the amazing keyboard/piano work of Kevin Moore. The fact that Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, Warlord) is on the drums is of course obvious - his drum playing separates him from all others. Sometimes the music takes a soundtrackish direction, but not of the hollywood style movies but rather some dark art movie. This album shows Kevin Moore's talent in other musical worlds, where he handles it as perfect as he did it on Dream Theater's "Images And Words". And this is the definition of an artist. Being able to express yourself in different ways and having amazing results in all of them. If you consider yourself a music-lover and not an easy-listening-radio-pop listener, you have to buy this album.

Well dosed ambient music with soft piano and nice drum. Music is pretty far from what Dream Theater does. Kevin More (singer/keybordist) sound similar to Peter Gabriel when he sings. For sample songs pick "Colorblind", "Undertow" or "Mouse"

Not since a young girl by the name of Tori Amos first sat down in front of her piano and put her emotions on tape has an album had such an impact on a listener. Kevin Moore, formerly of Dream Theater, has abandoned all of his previous band's progressive nuances in exchange for pure, honest emotion. From the first few notes of album opener "Colorblind", you can be sure that you are in for an inspiring (if not somewhat disturbing) ride into Kevin's psyche. Lush keyboard arrangements, airy guitars, and Kevin's Peter Gabriel-esque vocal stylings lead you through the headphone experience of a lifetime. In short, if you are looking for something completely different from with what you are familiar, or are a fan of the aforementioned Amos and/or Gabriel, do yourself a favor a buy this. It's a trip you won't soon forget...

Dead Air for Radios was released in 1998 after former Dream Theater keyboardist/songwriter Kevin Moore left the band to pursue other projects. After appearing on Fates Warning's ultimate masterpiece A Pleasant Shade of Gray, he began writing and recording his first ever solo album under the Chroma Key moniker. Fates Warning members Mark Zonder and Joey Vera helped him out with the magnificent rhythm section with an unknown guitarist named Jason Anderson (at least he's unknown to me) handling the guitar duties. The result was an extraordinary work of ambient-atmospheric textures you could only expect from someone as profound as Kevin Moore.

I have to admit I am not overly familiar with this type of music but I think Chroma Key sounds like an eerie combination of Pink Floyd's non-prog stuff, Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel. The music presented on this disc is early 80's-synth laden stuff with a lot of spoken parts/dialogues intervening in between, but never taking away from the songs. They serve the purpose of conveying Kevin's lyrical statements. While many Dream Theater fans refer to the music on Chroma Key CDs as a continuation of Moore's song "Space-Dye Vest" on Dream Theater's Awake album, I beg to differ. The songs I heard on the two CK discs I own sound a lot more experimental with less emphasis put on the guitar work. Kevin's vocal melodies are vastly different too, yet his sparse piano themes do run in almost the entire album, so if that's what you're looking for, with an added touch of minimalism, then you will find yourself greatly immersed in this disc. Joey Vera and Mark Zonder feed the craft of the songs giving them a solid vibe. In order to create timeless songs, Kevin doesn't only get his inspiration from serious matters. The lyrics of "Mouse", for example, were inspired by a little mouse Kevin saw at a friend's house. Yet, the song is deep and really dense with great vocals and groovy bass lines. I really like the dynamics of each track on the album.

The songs on the CD run the gamut from post-rock to electronic to ambient. It's all successfully blended thanks to the clever mind of Kevin Moore in the production process. "Colorblind" and "Even the Waves" are perfect choices to set the tone of the album. The tape loop at the beginning of "Even the Waves" is haunting in the truest meaning of the word. Mark Zonder proves to be an intelligent and extremely tasteful drummer once again in the way he utilises his cymbal work. The song also features a guitar 'solo' by Anderson which glues everything together nicely. Without doubt, "Undertow" (co-written by Zonder) and "On the Page" are most CK fans' favourites. The rhytmic, yet almost static, drum beat is played with determination and Kevin's lush piano work has recurring themes. "On the Page" interweaves another 'catchy' vocal melody with deeply searing lyrics ("Life is much more cleaner on the page") and an exceptionally beautiful looped piano theme. "America the Video" and "Camera 4" are Kevin's testimony to electronic music with an eerily 'happy' touch of minimalism. Although Chroma Key is a glimpse into Kevin Moore's inner world, the music offered on this album contains little to no depressing feel. It's so compact and emotionally uplifting that you want to hear it over and over again. I own three solo albums by Kevin: DAFR, You Go Now and the Ghost Book soundtrack, and I think DAFR is the album I've listened to the most so far. The strongest aspect of Kevin Moore, however, is his diversity. You never know what to expect from him. He always gives you something you were unconsciously looking for; he is a genius.

This album is an very approachable work of art that almost anyone can get into. At the same time it's something that almost nobody would go out looking for. It's one of those things you stumble across almost totally at random that makes you say to yourself, "wow, I had no idea that I needed that". Sort of like when you get a backscratcher and start hitting itches you didn't even know you had.

Like another reviewer said, it's a great disc to listen to at night with headphones on. It's also wonderful at night or on rainy days in the car. It has a certain darkness and moodiness to it that is so appropriate for those situations.

It's good to see that Kevin Moore is still putting out great music.

Unusual music that is very listenable. Would love to see these guys in concert, that has to be a completely mental experience.