From Bandcamp, In the spring of 2021, Ring van Möbius was approached by performer and choreographer Harald Beharie to write the music for his next solo performance. "This album, however, is not the actual soundtrack for the finalized commissioned work itself, rather a reflection of the early visions; spontaneous reactions and a starting point for further collaboration" according to the band, "Being an independent body of work based on our early initial musical ideas, this can be referred to as loosely inspired by, but not limited to, the original concept by Harald Beharie." The album has 12 songs, divided up by chapters, to create a tale.

"The 1^st Chapter" is the first track. The opening tones are both delicate and tense at the same time, and it's a while before the main sound of piano and vocals are established. I have to admit, I am not in love with some of the chord progressions, or the overly theatrical sound. "The 2^nd Chapter" is a very short one-and-a-half minutes in length. The sound here is mostly keyboards, in layers. Some fat notes hold down the bottom end while the upper registers glitter. This is more like it. "The 3^rd Chapter" is lively with old school keyboards and some rousing drums. There is a somewhat loose song structure here, but it is littered with Progressive elements.

"The 5^th Chapter" reminds me of QUEEN a bit. It has a sad stamp that is reflected in the emotional vocal performance. "The 6^th Chapter" has some unique and psychedelic keys in the beginning that slowly lead to an odd combination of sounds...circus like keys over top a very heavy bottom end. The drums are pretty solid in this song. "The 7^th Chapter" is another strange song, with spoken words over some smooth keyboards and bass notes. "The 8^th Chapter" has wonderful piano notes, and Ring shows his performance prowess. It comes to a crescendo with string and timpani. "The 9^th Chapter" has more of what one would call a traditional song structure. The main melody line comes from keys in the beginning, followed by guitar, bass, and drums in tow.

"The 10^th Chapter" has a heavier and darker sound, with vocal wails, and a thick, bottom end. This is just some really odd music, any way you slice it. "The 11^th Chapter" has some really nice and melodic keyboard parts to go along with the rousing sound complete with outer space influences. It steadily grows darker. "The 12^th Chapter" closes the album, with a magnanimous sound. I like the melody here, and it seems to wrap up the tale well. Overall, although there is no denying his talent, this was a hard album to give a rating to. It's not a "finished album," nor the complete commissioned work. I get that it was full of spontaneous musings, but it just didn't resonate with me much at all.Purchase Link:

https://ringvanmbius.bandcamp.com/album/commissioned-works-pt-ii-six-drops-of-poison