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One, it is rock as good and as hard as any rock, anywhere, performed, two, by an army of highly talented singers and musicians, and each song is, three, about a character from the video game Apex Legends.
“First and foremost, the music has to stand on its own. The music has to be good,” said Adam, which brings us to the name of the project that encompasses the music, musicians and lyrics. It is the A.D.A.M. Music Project — A.D.A.M. for Artists Developing Astonishing Music.
The project is Adam’s brainchild, and Apex Rising Pt2 is A.D.A.M.’s latest offering to the gods of rock and gaming.
“I wanted to bring in the people that I love and that I consider dear in my life, which are independent artists, and we’re going to get together, and we’re going to co-write the songs, but it’s not going to be about us. The music’s not going to be about our own personal angst or our own vision for the world. Each and every song is going to be about a character from the games we love.”
And for the first release in the planned series of releases, the characters come from the war game Apex Legends.
But he reiterates, again and again, that the No. 1 priority is to produce “astonishing” music.
“In other words,” he said, “kickass guitar solos; kick ass vocal performances; great melodies; high-end, top-tier production.”
Every single track on the album and in the videos makes good on those promises. You don’t have to be a rock nerd or a hard-core gamer to get off.
You don’t need to know, for instance, that “I Bring Death” is the point of view of a character named Revenant, who, said Adam, is “very much like the devil.”
“Really, man, when you listen to that song, I wanted it to feel like there were demons on your shoulder speaking into your ears.”
Mission accomplished. Beyond an organ intro, as from a vintage Vincent Price flick, pounding drums and screaming guitar drop straight into war:
I am the nightmare, I'll take your last breath
I'll take your last breath
I am the nightmare and I bring death
I bring death
Track 2, “Wrecking Ball,” is Maggie (sung by Hartleigh Buwick, an actress from “Tulsa King”) and her weapon of choice:
Wrecking ball is coming right at you
My wrecking ball is gonna bring you down.
“Motherlode,” track 3 (“Motherlode’s the balls!” says Adam), whose character, Fuse, “is all about gasoline, blowing things up”:
I think it's time to drop the mother load
Napalm with a warm glow
And so on down the line, Seer (“Beautiful”), very emotional, can see where his enemies are, and “is all about art: you’re gonna die, but Seer will make it beautiful”; Wattson (“News to You”), with the power of electricity; Horizon (“Me and N.E.W.T.”), the power of a mini black hole; and Crypto (“Electric Eye”), “he can EMP you.”
All the characters are sung by artists chosen for talent and the ability to inhabit the character. Most of them are also gamers, he said. Some, not all.
“But they should be.”
For Adam, this is a labor of love and a coming out. He has been an artist all his life, but he has worked mainly behind the scenes producing, signing independent artists like the Aranda brothers, one of whom, Dameon, is his co-producer. Adam has owned an independent label, published music as a hobby, been CEO of various software companies, “but I never did anything for myself.”
The idea that became the A.D.A.M. Music Project germinated about two years ago, when his wife pointed out to him that he loved music and loved gaming, with the clear implication that he should do something about it.
“And I said, ‘You know what? I want to do an album. I want to start making hard rock music because it’s what I love. And I’m going to do it about something else that I love to do, which is video games.’”
The project has released 14 songs, with about 25 musicians and vocalists involved so far. Before he’s done with Apex Legends, there will be a total of 20 songs.
After that will be more games, more music, all based on the same principles of hard driving, high quality music; a variety of top-notch artists; and lyrics from the point of view of game characters.
“And it's cool because it features many different types of individuals — all from different cultures and musical styles” he said. “The project was chosen because it's a melting pot, and it gave me the ability to feature as many voices and musicians as possible.”
Journey with A.D.A.M Music Project through the gaming universe by connecting on platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
Website: https://adammusicproject.com
TikTok: tiktok.com/@adammusicproject
