12/21/2023 0 Comments Matchbook romanceJoining me to talk about Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon is the man who wrote the text, Mark Schultz. This beautiful new coffee table book lets Williamson’s work breathe in a large size that will dazzle and amaze you. He does very heroic looking men and gorgeous women. Al has a very discerning eye for doing, especially, the human figure in proportions that are very pleasing, flowing, very heroic if you will. MARK SCHULTZ podcast excerpt: “He’s just a superior draftsman. And while Alex Raymond created the character and gave him life, it was really Williamson who brought the space-faring adventurer to life for generations of fans. Williamson drew many of the iterations of Flash published during the last 60 years. If you’ve never caught Flash Gordon, you owe it to yourself to track down a collection of the old movie serials or a copy of the new book, Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic. Jones, who later added another red mark on his resume by playing “The Spirit” in an ABC-TV series pilot. As I grew older, I was a sucker for any medium selling “Flash Gordon” stories, whether it was comic books or that really horrible 1980 Flash Gordon movie starring Sam J. I can’t remember exactly when during the 1960s I first saw the old Universal serials repeated on television featuring Buster Crabbe as Flash, but I was hooked for life. Has there ever been a cooler name or a cooler action hero anywhere? Now that Matchbook Romance has entered a new stage in its musical life, the question is can they continue to progress into something unique, or will they continue to imitate other bands? Only time will tell.Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon advertisement for Union Carbide Order from by clicking the book above!įlash Gordon. They weren’t scared or intimidated by the populous which would have been satisfied with another mediocre genre specific release. In addition to the superior sound of the album and the even stronger song formations, what is most impressive about Matchbook Romance is its ability to change and step out from the shadow of the emo/screamo format, which would have held them back artistically if they hid in. The evolving band presents its new strengths with tracks such as “Surrender” that has a more bombastic sound similar to Muse, and “What A Sight” with a hauntingly echoed chorus akin to Coldplay (listen to Coldplay’s song “Twisted Logic”). The band’s new craftwork is much more reliant on creating melodic hooks, swaying tempos, and epic choruses, bounds away from their debut album and also far more brilliant. The album immediately grabs listeners from the opening track “You Can Run, But We’ll Find You” where it becomes apparent they have shifted in sound. With the band’s new album “Voices,” they haven’t reinvented themselves quite yet, but have made huge attempts to do so. Suddenly the personal dark emotions of grunge weren’t so personal when the whole world felt them and the same would follow in screamo’s sentiments.įor most screamo bands, the formula can almost be predicted: despairing gentle singing for the verses, and piercing aggressive screaming for the choruses, all in less than three minutes.įortunately Matchbook Romance, who could have remained quite secure in its emo/screamo format, decided to stray from its generic emo siblings. Matchbook Romance, debuted with its album “Stories and Alibis.” By 2003 ,screamo was becoming what “grunge” had become for the early 90s, a movement in rock that was diminished by its wide-ranging accessibility and replicated sound. ![]() ![]() In a world where rock music is smothered by the egocentric whines of post-hardcore and screamo outfits, it is tough to receive recognition if you are a band botched together in its self-indulgent havoc. They have decided to take a chance and make a record that would push the boundaries of not only their genre but also their musical ability. ![]() However, Matchbox Romance has done something quite daring. ![]() Most bands will stick to that old antidote, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” especially when it comes to rock bands that are contained in the highly profitable rock format known as emo.
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