Scrap Metal, by Mack Thompson

Scrap Metal

by Mack Thompson

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1.	Leaving the World Behind 07:06	buy track
2.	Arcane Phobia 03:48	buy track
3.	At the Edge of Reason 04:43	buy track
4.	Inferiority Complex 03:20	buy track

about

Lately I have been experimenting with the concept of free metal-that is, music with certain distinct features of heavy metal that is completely improvised. No plan, no melody, no form at the outset and nothing is through-composed.

Sometimes, a harmonic blueprint is underlying the improvisation, other times I am following a purely linear conception in which harmonic progressions begin to suggest themselves. Ultimately, the idea is just to play something and allow the space for it to grow into whatever it’s going to grow into. It’s a very stream-of-thought approach.

Not the sort of active, labored reasoning you have when you’re trying to solve a problem, but the spontaneous thought that happens when you are taking a walk or washing dishes. It can be rather mundane or profound, and because it is not willed, often goes unnoticed. Sometimes a train of thought is derailed for a moment, only to be picked up again later, or perhaps not at all. Thoughts are not always smooth, often disjointed, fragmented, or fixated. Choppy like rapids. Sometimes thoughts spur other thoughts in unexpected ways, and a stream of consciousness can cause you to drift into the very wilderness of your own mind. A stream of thought can be be a place to frolic...but at the same time, if you’re not careful, you can also drown in that stream.

This collection of four improvisations is a glimpse at my stream of thought, or at least my train of thought on April 19 when I played them. I present them here in the crude fashion in which they were conceived-no editing or chopping, no fancy equipment, no effects except a distortion pedal and a touch of reverb. This is just the way I sound, flaws included.

credits

released May 10, 2018

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about

Mack Thompson Richmond, Virginia

Mack Thompson is a guitarist from Richmond, Virginia. He just tries to do the best he can with what he has. Major influences are Lamb of God, Arch Enemy, Ihsahn, Emperor, and Dream Theater but countless others have been very important.