Review: Forgive Durden - Razia's Shadow: A Musical

Forgive Durden- Razia's Shadow: A Musical
Label: Fueled By Raman
Release: 10/28/08

"This is the beginning and the end. The rise and the fall."
- The Narrator

In music recently, albums have been made to tell a story, generally referred to as a "concept album." Normally, there's going to be some sketchy plot lines mixed with unnecessary songs. (Well, I've never heard of the idea of a musical). Recently, Forgive Durden (aka: Thomas Dutton) announced their new album would be a musical. Dutton proclaimed the musical as "Razia's Shadow." Razia means, "contented," taken from the Arabic language.

When Thomas was asked to explain the plot line of the album, he declined the request. However, he tells the story as, "a world divided in two by the selfish actions of a powerful and egotistical, yet insecure angel. After generations of darkness, the world is eventually brought back together by love and sacrifice of a couple brave enough to fulfill their destinies." As Razia's Shadow ends, Aaron Weiss (mewithoutyou) speaks, "So this is my cue of where to leave you. Now it's your story to retell and pass on." This is my story.

Razia's Shadow begins with "Genesis." When entering the album, the listener is met with an orchestra of horns and strings, which blends into the narrations of Aaron Weiss. The combination of vocals between Thomas Dutton and Casey Crescenzo (The Dear Hunter) is astounding. Both vocalists sounds so smooth together, it makes the listener want more to hear. Explaining Ahrima leads into my favorite track, "The Missing Piece." Dutton sings peacefully, yet the message is so clear throughout the song.

On this second full length, Forgive Durden has songs containing different emotions, such as love, hate, jealousy, and evil. Max Bemis (Say Anything) contributes his pipes on "The Spider and the Lamps." He virtually brainwashes Dutton throughout the song. I can honestly say, there is no one in the music world who could have delivered so well on this track, other than Bemis. Though this isn't the best combination of vocals on the album, "The Oracle" is a song, where you don't even need to listen to the lyrics, but the soft vocals of Danny Stevens. The soft vocals can put the listener into such a soothing state, it's the best way to end the first story.

The second act of Razia's Shadow begins after "A Thousand Year, Minute-Long Intermission." Dutton plays a different character, Adakias. In this segment of the album, a slew of different characters/singers are introduced. Voices from bands such as Panic At The Disco, The Hush Sound, Gatsby's American Dream, The Matches, and many others all play different people. Also, this section of the album is moves away from the "dark side," as heard in the first section of Razia's Shadow. This part is about how love repairs everything, where Dutton changes his whole fictional life.

"The Exit" is the beginning. This piece introduces Adakia's brother Pallis, who plays a huge role in this musical. The beautiful Greta Salpeter makes her appearance on this part of the record. Her stunning vocals really paints a picture for the listener. As heard in "It's True Love," both Dutton and Salpeter hit every note hard, making the meaning of the song clear. Dutton falls in love with Salpeter; this pounds the lyrical passage of "It's True Love" in your head for days. Throughout the album, the words spoken by different performers ring in your head. It's not the catchy lyrics you're used to from Forgive Durden. They are more meaningful lyrics.

Adakias is put through rough times and meets different characters on his way to love. From the jazzy "Meet The King" to the creepy "Doctor, Doctor," each song has a different meaning. Shawn Harris is the perfect person to play the antagonist of this musical. This leads into the final piece of Razia's Shadow, "The Beginning and The End." Throughout this song, a barrage of brothers voices winds up ending this masterpiece. A huge positive of this record is the narrations. It took me a couple listens to understand the whole plot line, but the narrations from Aaron Weiss really make everything clear. His soft pipes end the album, just how they started the album.

Razia's Shadow is a masterpiece. Thomas Dutton has proven what a "musician" really is. However, at times the plot becomes bland. It becomes boring when the listener can guess what happens next. Another potential issue could be, is this album going to have any lasting value? For me, I found it hard to listen to tracks individually because it's a musical, which tells a story. If Dutton released another version of this album, it could very well get a score above a 10.0. However, let's see if Razia's Shadow can live up to the hype. The slew of artists he got to perform on the album, are some of the best in the business. This records pulls him away from all Fueled By Ramen artists. It shows so much light, which cannot be stolen.

Official Track Listing and Guest Appearances

1. Genesis" (ft. Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter) (4:19)
2. "The Missing Piece" (ft. Lizzie Huffman of Man in the Blue Van) (4:46)
3. "Life Is Looking Up" (5:21)
4. "The Spider And The Lamps" (ft. Max Bemis of Say Anything) (5:10)
5. "Toba The Tura" (ft. Chris Conley of Saves the Day) (4:25)
6. "The Oracle" (ft. Danny Stevens of The Audition) (5:23)
7. "A Thousand Year, Minute-Long Intermission" (ft. Danny Stevens of The Audition) (1:02)
8. "The Exit" (ft. Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco, Dan Young of This Providence) (5:40)
9. "It's True Love" (ft. Greta Salpeter of The Hush Sound) (5:38)
10. "Meet The King" (ft. Greta Salpeter of The Hush Sound, Nic Newsham of Gatsbys American Dream) (5:24)
11. "Holy The Sea" (ft. John Gourley of Portugal. The Man, Kris Ayana of An Angle) (6:05)
12. "Doctor Doctor" (ft. Shawn Harris of The Matches) (4:57)
13. "The End And The Beginning" (ft. Greta Salpeter of The Hush Sound, Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco) (5:53)

Artist: Forgive Durden
Album: Razia's Shadow: A Musical
Release Date: October 28th, 2008
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Purchase: Smartpunk.com
Reviewed By: Kyle Schnitzer

Score: 9.2%