Klayton is...in some ways...the Mick Foley of music. I know what you're thinking, that's one weird-ass analogy, Gav's been slammed in thumb-tacks again...but go with me on this one...Mick Foley was one of WWE's most loved in-ring personas, either as himself or, Mankind...who was twisted enough, but if he wanted to get serious, if he wanted to be the tough bad-ass, well he'd whip out the hardcore Cactus Jack character...but, on the flip side, he also had his far brighter, colourful character in the hippie Dude Love...he catered for a vast demographic. Klayton's virtually the musical embodiment of this; most of you know him through CELLDWELLER, the aggressive alternative rock / drum & bass hybrid...but he too has more than one trick up his sleeve. If he fancies making something far heavier, well he turns to CIRCLE OF DUST, the cold, mechanical, industrial metal monster...but if he wants to tone it down, he's got SCANDROID, the softer 80's inspired synth pop project...he's pretty much got it covered! 2017 see's the return of Celldweller but, not everything is what you'd expect...he's been tweaking again and he's delivered something totally new on his latest album "Offworld"...let's boldly go to where he until recently had, not gone before...
We open up with the title track and we've got a very gentle intro; it's got a deep, somber tone courtesy of minimalist piano play, layered over equally minimal synths, gradually building up in both intensity and emotion, it's almost watery, otherworldly in a sub-aquatic sense and it retains this when Klayton's vocals echo through the tracks murky depths. It's got all the trademark elements of Kalyton's love of all things space and Sci-Fi in it's tone alone and the track itself touches on a longing to get away...get away from this Earth, a new start, a new beginning, escape humanity....it's a very delicate track indeed. The sentiment here is echoed again through the track "Last Night On Earth" which is quite self-explanatory, or should that be planetary? Again though, he speaks of the world not being civilized, he awaits his flight, his ascension, as you witness his rebirth...conceptually a metaphor for this new direction he's taking Celldweller...he's embarking on a new journey and there are no limits and certainly no looking back...
The album is also unafraid to tackle personal issues as well as it exposes a tenderness rarely seen in Klayton's previous works, not to this level at least..."How Little I Must Know" is a perfect example of this...despite it's short, two and a half minute run time it's a beautiful little acoustic driven track; it's incredibly short and sweet but, under that sweet exterior lies a dark and distressed song...it's message is lost and confused, there's a sense of inner struggle and it's incredibly emotional, it's very despairing...it's...quite sad. The same can be said in a sense for "Too Many Tears" (A wonderful THE CALL cover from 1987)...again, a song of hardship and struggle, the pain of failure, the frustration, going to dark places, living through dark times to reach the point he's at and it's almost submissive from Klayton here, again, very emotional stuff, though there's more angst fueling the track and it's more intense as a result.
There are more questionable offerings however..."Mother's Arms" for example, while humble and showing an open, honest, vulnerability within Klayton, again showing an incredibly tender, sincere side we've not previously seen to this extent, at little over a minute long, it's essentially an interlude and for a track to delve so deeply into ones personal state of mind, it would have benefited being a longer track, but we have to remember, it's personal and, we have to respect how comfortable Klayton is as an artist touching upon topics no matter what they are, while "Awakening With You", despite it's catchy, melodic qualities (Imagine an early post-JOY DIVISION demo) does sound like it's lost somewhere between this project and Scandroid...though "Into The Fall" and even more so, "The Great Divide" provide wonderful album highlights returning to the soft, acoustic, almost Western country style...honestly the kind of tracks I wish JOHNNY CASH was still alive to cover...all in all, however much of a departure this is from the norm, here we have a Celldweller album that stands it's ground without needing noise, intensity and massive tunes, it's a very well written and produced album from start to finish...Klayton once again proving his artistic merit, without it ever really being questioned. [7]
We open up with the title track and we've got a very gentle intro; it's got a deep, somber tone courtesy of minimalist piano play, layered over equally minimal synths, gradually building up in both intensity and emotion, it's almost watery, otherworldly in a sub-aquatic sense and it retains this when Klayton's vocals echo through the tracks murky depths. It's got all the trademark elements of Kalyton's love of all things space and Sci-Fi in it's tone alone and the track itself touches on a longing to get away...get away from this Earth, a new start, a new beginning, escape humanity....it's a very delicate track indeed. The sentiment here is echoed again through the track "Last Night On Earth" which is quite self-explanatory, or should that be planetary? Again though, he speaks of the world not being civilized, he awaits his flight, his ascension, as you witness his rebirth...conceptually a metaphor for this new direction he's taking Celldweller...he's embarking on a new journey and there are no limits and certainly no looking back...
The album is also unafraid to tackle personal issues as well as it exposes a tenderness rarely seen in Klayton's previous works, not to this level at least..."How Little I Must Know" is a perfect example of this...despite it's short, two and a half minute run time it's a beautiful little acoustic driven track; it's incredibly short and sweet but, under that sweet exterior lies a dark and distressed song...it's message is lost and confused, there's a sense of inner struggle and it's incredibly emotional, it's very despairing...it's...quite sad. The same can be said in a sense for "Too Many Tears" (A wonderful THE CALL cover from 1987)...again, a song of hardship and struggle, the pain of failure, the frustration, going to dark places, living through dark times to reach the point he's at and it's almost submissive from Klayton here, again, very emotional stuff, though there's more angst fueling the track and it's more intense as a result.
There are more questionable offerings however..."Mother's Arms" for example, while humble and showing an open, honest, vulnerability within Klayton, again showing an incredibly tender, sincere side we've not previously seen to this extent, at little over a minute long, it's essentially an interlude and for a track to delve so deeply into ones personal state of mind, it would have benefited being a longer track, but we have to remember, it's personal and, we have to respect how comfortable Klayton is as an artist touching upon topics no matter what they are, while "Awakening With You", despite it's catchy, melodic qualities (Imagine an early post-JOY DIVISION demo) does sound like it's lost somewhere between this project and Scandroid...though "Into The Fall" and even more so, "The Great Divide" provide wonderful album highlights returning to the soft, acoustic, almost Western country style...honestly the kind of tracks I wish JOHNNY CASH was still alive to cover...all in all, however much of a departure this is from the norm, here we have a Celldweller album that stands it's ground without needing noise, intensity and massive tunes, it's a very well written and produced album from start to finish...Klayton once again proving his artistic merit, without it ever really being questioned. [7]
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