[ALBUM REVIEW] ROBYN FERGUSON SOLO ALBUM

ARTIST: Robyn Ferguson

ALBUM NAME: Alizarin

RELEASE DATE: 16 April 2019

COUNTRY: South Africa

CITY: Pretoria

GENRE: Instrumental Music

If you don’t know who Robyn Ferguson is…..where have you been?? As the lead singer and guitarist of the award-winning black metal band Adorned in Ash, Ferguson has been shredding riffs and melting faces with her banshee highs and guttural lows for years now. If you haven’t seen them live then do yourself a freakin’ service and catch them the next time they’re in your neighbourhood.But as any creative person discovers in their lifetime, sometimes you need to branch out and realise your own dreams. And that is what she has done here with her debut solo effort, Alizarin.First off, what is Alizarin? Well, those who may have paid attention in science class will know it’s a chemical compound and is basically a red dye that has been known to be prominent in many historical artworks that changed and influenced the world. As someone who has been going through fundamental changes and self-discovery over the past few years, this idea of something as simple as a dye being a part of something greater than its sole purpose spoke to her personally.

While Alizarin is not necessarily a concept album, all the songs tie together musically and have shared themes that take you through the flow of her life and self-discovery. She says, “The overall inspiration comes from pondering alternate lives and concepts of time constraints that I’ve been questioning a lot lately. What is reality truly? So I’ve pulled a lot from the times I’ve let my mind wonder.” As a reviewer, I can definitely say that Feruson has hit the nail on the head in terms of expressing through music the various ups and downs of one’s own journey to find what reality truly is. The four songs on here are soulful, mesmerising and well thought out to the point of being more than just music, but an art piece – an idea that comes full circle with the historic use of Alizarin. I was quite surprised that the music was not as chaotic as Adorned in Ash, to be honest. It’s a great breath of fresh air that any metal lover across the spectrum of genres can appreciate. What makes this recording even more inspiring is that she wrote and recorded all the parts herself and designed all the artwork. The only outside help came from Clinton Watts who helped with the mixing and mastering.

Overall, I have to say this is well-produced collection of journey-inducing soundscapes that I highly recommend. My only negative is that, with just four songs, it’s too short!

Rating: 8/10

Reviewed by: Kevin Rule