Monday , March 18 2024
Steven Wheeler

Music Review: Steve Wheeler – ‘Terminal Velocity’ EP

Steve Wheeler just released his first solo EP, Terminal Velocity. The EP is a foretaste of what to expect from his forthcoming debut album, The Endless March of Time, which will encompass 15 tracks.

As a staff composer/producer with Unified Sounds, Wheeler has provided soundtracks for CBS Sports, including the PGA Tour, NCAA March Madness, the NFL, and SEC College Football, and Sony’s virtual reality game Farpoint.

On Terminal Velocity, the Orlando-based composer merges the dynamic flavors of rock, hip-hop, jazz, metal, and techno with classical/symphonic washes of sound.

“The pieces on Terminal Velocity standalone [sic] from the other work I do for media. I have always composed pieces on my own, but I feel like I finally have the tools and knowledge to actually say something that might be worth hearing apart from the sports and video game worlds,” says Wheeler.

Comprising three tracks, the EP opens with the title track, a Star Wars-like composition dense with slightly menacing colors. Opening with layers of heavy, sonic washes, the tune travels on a galloping rhythm pulsing with brass pigments astride deep, resonant synths. Buff to the point of hypertrophy, the music swells.

“Fist Of The Heavens” features a potent tribal percussion intro leading to streaming symphonic colors and dazzling vocal harmonies. The tune takes on a ruthless vibe, as industrialized synths assume radiance, throbbing with pulsating gusto. Reminiscent of hordes of barbarians pouring across the steppes in some harsh, remote landscape, the tune projects a raw, visceral ferocity.

“The Endless March Of Time” presents an exotic, classical energy, gorgeous and flowing. As the music gathers intensity, the feeling presented is of mythological proportions, as if legendary gods are preparing for battle. The chill of pressure emanating from the music is irresistibly persuasive.

Terminal Velocity radiates sonic brio, infinite graceful energy, and primal momentum. This is gloriously substantial music with palpable psychological and physiological impact.

Follow Steve Wheeler on stevewheelermusic.net, Facebook, and SoundCloud.

About Randall Radic

Left Coast author and writer. Author of numerous true crime books written under the pen-name of John Lee Brook. Former music contributor at Huff Post.

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