John Beckmann of NYC is a true artist in every sense of the word. We had the exciting good fortune of hearing his debut single here at the Send Me Your Ears studio today, and boy, this isn’t one we’re going to forget in a hurry.
Stomp The Devil is the debut single from John Beckmann’s project known as Mortal Prophets. The song immediately sets the scene with a low rumble of thunder. Deep low, spoken vocals come in with various effects on them, a little like a megaphone sound or distorted telephone (with the top and bottom of the EQ removed)
An interesting and contagious drum beat fills the sound together with some fast electric guitar fills and funky riffs. The bass in this track is thunderous and foreboding. There’s some wonderful stereo percussion in the track and the guitar solo panning from side to side gives a rather dystopian effect to the whole track.
Whilst the vocals and lyrics are simple and repetitive, that doesn’t matter. They draw you in and make you focus on the superb melodies on the guitars and the funky rhythms that feel almost primal.
Stomp The Devil has a truly cinematic feel to it. It sets a scene of an almost post-apocalyptic world. This is a truly evocative piece that puts the listener on edge. The almost chant like feel to the vocal line makes the listener feel there’s something really dark and sinister just around the corner.
The accompanying video to this track is disturbing. Extremely well executed, it sets a very dark scene indeed. If this track isn’t picked up for use in a movie it would be a travesty. This is one of the most suitable sync tracks we’ve ever reviewed.
It’s rare, also, for us to have very little recommendations on production, but in this case, Mortal Prophets ticks just about every box for quality. Perhaps consider a cut at 35Hz and below to take a little rumble out that most hi-fi systems can’t handle, but other than that, this really is a stunning piece.
We often cite David Bowie as a true artist who stood by his unusual creativity and pushed the boundaries and in Mortal Prophets we’ve found someone who could carry the Bowie torch for a little while. It is wonderful to see this level of creativity and artistry.
Mortal Prophets debut single, Stomp The Devil, is a work of art that begs to be heard. We are very excited to hear what he produces next.