Naor Tsubery – Journey To Infinity [Review]

Our investigation into the Israeli music scene is only just beginning, but we have already unearthed some real gems. Prog-pop group Project RnL have been making waves online for some time, and RnL guitarist Alon Tamir released a musical mission statement of his own last week. Today’s spotlighted artist, Naor Tsubery, makes a statement of his own with Journey To Infinity – a prog-metal track showcasing his multi-instrumental talents.Taking on all instrumental duties bar cello and violin and adopting a videosong format (in which what you see is what you hear), Naor Tsubery has set out his stall as, essentially, a one-man Dream Theater. This is certainly an ambitious goal, but Tsubery clearly has no interest in playing it safe.

Does he succeed? For the most part, yes. The compositional chops on display are very strong; Tsubery has obviously absorbed the auditory teachings of many progressive bands and albums, and there are some very cool melodies and riffs in Journey To Infinity. However, the track really kicks off quality-wise at 1:40 with some very cool soloing on an entire music shop’s worth of instruments. Prior to that point, the videosong element actually detracts from the video’s initial appeal; the opening shot shows Tsubery in what looks like a bedroom, giving off inaccurately amateurish vibes that distract from the music. Additionally, the guitar work between 0:50 and 1:40 sounds very muddy, and the intro’s harmonised melodies suffer from a lack of precision in terms of bending intonation and nervous-sounding vibrato. Once we’re past the initial miscommunication, however, this track is absolutely awesome. Naor Tsubery’s instrumental talents seem to know no bounds – the previously mentioned guitar flaws are rarely repeated over the course of the rest of the track, and the whole piece keeps building and building in the manner of Dream Theater’s most epic pieces before coming to a tasteful close.

It’s no exaggeration to call Naor Tsubery a one-man Dream Theater, but image-wise the way in which this video is initially presented sets his music up for criticism and nit-picking rather than stunned-into-silence acceptance and immersion. Tsubery’s previous videosong New Era – viewable below – does everything right: Fat guitars, precise shredding, punchy drums, wicked harmonies, the lot. This guy obviously has what it takes to become a bona fide YouTube sensation, and if Journey To Infinity‘s experimentalism and New Era‘s polished and professional audio/video production were combined for Tsubery’s next YouTube release he might very well be looking at a well-deserved and hard-earned viral hit.

Links