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Oliver Cheung Remembrance Review by Gary Hill This EP consists of three songs. They are all instrumental and quite interesting. This could probably have fit under the heavy metal banner, as each song has sections that qualify. Overall, though, I'd consider it to be closer to the kind of thing Dream Theater does. While there are those who land them under metal, I consider them progressive rock. So, that's where this goes. All three of these pieces are unique. They never feel redundant or tired. They are all intriguing musical adventures. I'd love to hear more from this artist. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2018 Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review

Remembrance Mellow ambient sounds bring this into being with a keyboard type emphasis. Some guitar joins as the piece continues to grow. At times the guitar soloing on this makes me think of the more expressive, mellower side of David Gilmour. There is a bit of a Pink Floyd vibe to the arrangement in general, too. As it approached the two and a half minute mark, it powers upward toward a metal treatment. The cut works onward from there, really driving both progressive rock and metal concepts as it does. By about a minute later some serious metal comes into the composition. After the five minute mark, though, it drops back to a mellower section that takes that track back to earlier territory. It works towards shoegaze, post-prog type sounds for a while, but eventually works its way back to the metallic to make up the closing section of the number.

Fragments This powers in decidedly heavy and metal-based. While the arrangement gets a bit stripped down after a while, that metal rhythm section remains, but serves as the backdrop for some more prog based stuff. The cut works through a number of changes doing a great job of merging metal and prog tendencies as it does. I dig the dropped back movement around the four and a half minute mark. By around a minute later it has powered up into some driving metal territory. That more rocking segment eventually ends the piece.

False Hope The opening section here is dramatic but also subdued. The cut grows outward gradually from there. After the two minute mark some smoking hot, pounding metal music takes control. While it moves through changes and varies in intensity, this remains largely metallic until after the six minute mark. Then it drops way down to continue. It builds up with a fusion meets prog kind of vibe. The cut continues to evolve, eventually moving back out to some seriously metallic driving stuff before dropping back down at the end for a short mellower movement.

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