Graveyard Mountain Home

Chroma Key | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 15, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Inside Out U.S.
• ASIN: B00067GLM8
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,276 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Graveyard Mountain Home is the third release from Chroma Key, the brainchild of Kevin Moore, original keyboardist and founding member of progressive metal masters, Dream Theater. Kevin is also the mastermind behind last year’s hugely successful release, OSI Office of Strategic Influence. As the musical director of Dream Theater, Kevin was responsible for writing the majority of the band’s 1991 release, Images and Words as well as the hit single, Pull Me Under. Images and Words would go on to achieve gold-records status, selling over 500,000 in the U.S. alone. Kevin left Dream Theater in 1993, immediately after recording the band’s follow up release, Awake, citing musical differences as the reason and went on to release the first Chroma Key CD, Dead Air For Radios. Dark and spacious, Chroma Key’s sound has been called the antithesis of Dream Theater. Kevin’s haunting vocal style and insightful lyrics weave through dream-like, often maudlin soundscapes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Distinct Study in Minimalism, December 5, 2004

By 

Murat Batmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graveyard Mountain Home (Bonus Dvd) (Spec) (Audio CD)

Let's start with the beautiful packaging of Chroma Key's third album Graveyard Mountain Home. While I generally prefer regular jewel cases with booklets, I had to pick up the limited edition of this album due to the bonus DVD. After all, it's this movie, Age 13 (an old 1950's film), that inspired Kevin. Anyway, the packaging of the album is very velvety and it unfolds into four 'pages'. The regular album is on one side and the DVD is on the other. The other two 'pages' contain lyrics, song credits and the thank-you section. It's really beautiful.

Kevin Moore's previous work, as you may know, was the soundtrack of a Turkish movie called OKUL, and it was released also through InsideOut with the title Ghost Book. If you listened to that soundtrack and enjoyed (parts) of it, then you are bound to like GMH for sure. Kevin Moore is the epitome of moving forward and surprising his listeners, so don't expect any song-oriented albums like Dead Air for Radios or You Go Now. GMH is an expansive exploration of Moore's deep interest in movies and soundtracks. Obviously he wants to explore this part of music at the moment and he reminds me of the Norwegian band Ulver in this respect. Ulver started out as a raw Black Metal act before turning into a folk-inspired band and finally moving into electronical music and doing soundtracks for cult movies. Kevin seems to enjoy a nomadic way of life and he travels a lot. All three CK albums were written in different countries (USA, Costa Rica and Turkey) and Kevin always successfully implemented musical elements of these particular places into the mold of his songcraft. The cultural climax presented on GMH easily gives itself away. It flounders somewhere between East and West and Kevin does a perfect job reflecting the harmonious chaos of Istanbul, where he now resides. The strange yet almost addictive atmosphere of this city is delicately captured in songs like "Before You Started" with an almost wicked jazz drumming and "Andrew Was Drowning His Stepfather" with rainstorm sample added in the mix along with the call of prayer. It is a given that the experience of scoring a film inspired Kevin to take a similar yet more profound approach for GMH.

The album heading in a sountrack-oriented ambient direction may bring to mind that there are less musical moments on it than the previous two CK releases. This is not off, however I believe Kevin opted to employ minimalism in his writing this time, as opposed to re-visiting his previous efforts. Moreover the writing is very strong and enhanced with lots of acoustic guitars over delicately fragile layers of claustrophobic moments that seem to make a lot more sense within the context of the movie. That said, I never saw the movie of Ghost Book, yet I loved Kevin's attitude on it. Same goes for GMH. The two most song-based tracks on this disc would be the title track (albeit too short) and "Sad Sad Movie". Bilge Akdeniz who sang on Ghost Book also appears on one track: "True and Lost". The rest of the compositions carry the trademark Kevin Moore sound with various added samples, electronic soundscapes, spoken parts with Russian accents (must be because of the movie) and traces of other textures we could only expect from Kevin Moore. The album is characterized by an ambiguous mood -- it's not terribly depressing or sad, but quite reflective and somber all the time. That's one thing I love about Kevin; his music never depresses you. It always has an uplifting moment hidden somewhere in the music that carries you along and gives you the opportunity to have a mysterious glimpse into another life (the little boy in the movie in this case). His mixing repeating piano melodies with static surface noise and a few loops here and there have become integral parts of his writing. With GMH, however, he has broadened his vision considerably and created something not even the biggest Kevin Moore fan could have expected.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GMH is an excellent recording..do NOT believe Prog is King!, November 28, 2004

By 

sknowbird (WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graveyard Mountain Home (Audio CD)

Graveyard Mountain Home/GMH is Kevin Moore's latest Chroma Key/CK wonder. Picture an educational film from 1955 with music from today. A wild idea, maybe. But for musician Moore this is just a way to push the envelope as an artist. Not to be tied-down into a certain musical genre, his band's evolution is very satisfying here. This is an interpretation, of sorts, featuring tunes that seemed befitting as an "alternate soundtrack to go with the film (AGE 13, 1955)" says Moore. For the GMH special edition purchase, a DVD of Age 13 with the CK music is included. The feel throughout is moody & slow, yet its reason lies in the point of the story. A tale of grief through acceptance marked by feelings of isolation which lead ultimately to the fruition of hope. "Before You Started" is an experimental work of art which includes a jazz vibe set to an off-tempo beat and Moore's one-of-a-kind lyrics. Check out "Come In, Over" for this disc's finest hour. For the lighter fare, spin "White Robe" or "True and Lost". All in all, this cd is awesome but so is Kevin Moore. Just don't forget, Moore is set to tour with this release. Be ready and snag all 3 Chroma Key recordings today! Prog is King has an opinion but is absolutely wrong. For more info visit the CK site now at http://www.ChromaKey.com
~sknow

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure genius!, November 27, 2004

By 

Kit J. Lai (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graveyard Mountain Home (Bonus Dvd) (Spec) (Audio CD)

On this, the latest Chroma Key release, Kevin Moore has outdone himself. An album full of emotion, incredible sound sampling and surprises bound to entice the listener into the a world of heartache, yearning and pure determination, GMH is the perfect addition to any CD collection.

I recommend purchasing this edition as the DVD of 'Age 13', the 1955 movie that formed the base of GMH, is included with the alternate soundtrack written by Kevin Moore. Following the movie with GMH playing gives the listener a real insight into the story behind the music and what Moore was trying to portray in the creation of this album. And believe me, he has done a very good job of it. Every action, every feeling within the movie has been captured in music and represented with a variety of sound samples, deceptively simple rhythms and even a monologue on track 8 (Human Love).

Although this album is quite different from the previous Chroma Key releases, it is a classic example of the sheer brilliance that is Kevin Moore. A definite MUST BUY!