Have I made it clear already that I’m a huge fan of Will Ryan’s music? Yes….. I know. But this music has inspired me, I like talking about it, the Dawn Of The Dimetrix review is on our top ten list for most viewed posts, so you all clearly tolerate me talking about it…. here we are.
So around two years ago, Will put out an album under the DAGames name, titled Flashdrive. The premise of this album was that all of the songs were made in under an hour or less, and the results were quite impressive. Each song was themed around a certain color, and they emanated their respective hues beautifully. Overall, it was a creative, unique idea for an album that I had never really seen before. Well, now we have gotten the exciting news that Flashdrive is getting a full remake, with each song getting a complete remaster/redo, and as the “1-hour” challenge is no longer in effect, they will all be extended to a full length. There is no confirmed release date for the album, which is titled Flashdrive: SSD, but if we can take away one thing from this first single, it’s that whenever it releases, it will have been well worth the wait.
So the first song we’ve gotten to hear a remake of is Blue. This song was stretched from 3 minutes to four and a half, and in that extended time we get some really great stuff. This new version emanates the exact same empowering and cheerful feeling as the original, and just hearing that opening guitar riff with an improved mix really brought back some the better memories from 2020 for me. That added warbly synth arpeggio came completely out of the blue (hehe), but it blends really nicely with the guitars while opening up the sound substantially.
The new bridge is fast-paced and very high energy, and allows for a great vocal performance backed by some slick guitar work. It leads into a nice, atmospheric interlude/buildup, and is just adding to the rapidly growing list of spontaneous acoustic guitar breaks in Will’s music. I never see them coming, yet they are brilliant every time.
That all leads into the incredible key change for the final chorus, making for a high-spirited finale that really helps the song’s message hit home. Listening to the original, which was already really good, back-to-back with the SSD version, the improvement was awe-astounding. I have no doubt the rest of the songs will be given the same justice, and in time, we will hear Flashdrive in a brand-new, evolved form; one with a nostalgic sound, and care and passion poured into every note. This first single was incredible, and I’m really excited for the album. Will is an artist who keeps topping himself with every new release, and the journey of progression has been incredible to see and hear. Please, please, please go listen to this song (and the original, while you’re at it), and with all that said, I hope you enjoyed, and I’ll see you all soon!
Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6YcRJZZou4