Throughout Within by the DRX

“Romans is not the first to borrow facets of extreme metal to construct progressive chamber orchestrations. For the past five years he has been toiling rather quietly in the shadows of neighboring genre mutants and miscegenetic luminaries. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that he continually exceeds the boundaries of standard rock instrumentation to include woodwinds, strings, and choirs. Nor should it come as a surprise, after listening to Throughout Within in full, that it was crafted using members of Kayo Dot, Psalm Zero, and Stern. The New York scene from which The DRX has arisen is as incestuous as it is exciting—and the elements that were birthed there are perhaps nowhere as focused as through the eyes of Romans. Like the short-lived Mare (not a New York band but shut up) or Nucleus Torn (also not a NY band, also shut up) or Kayo Dot (NY band, happy now?) before him, he deploys a wide array of instruments to build expansive songs full of shifting hues and conflicting moods. Yet he never goes weird for the sake of weird, and has a keen enough narrative sense to guide even the not-so-adventurous listener safely through these shifts and conflicts.” – Toilet Ov Hell

“The first LP from New York drummer / singer / keyboardist / composer Dan Romans’ ever-evolving collective is an intriguing concept album reflecting on the hollowness of modern life. Recruiting a cast of guest musicians from such underground notables as Kayo Dot, Stern, and Romans’ longtime collaborator, guitarist Ryan Hare, Throughout Within weaves progressive metal, modern chamber music, and an odd but effective pop sensibility into an ambitious and unpredictable journey.” – Sweet Bread Productions

“Romans is a fascinating musician, wailing and growling across Throughout Within‘s nine sprawling tracks that contribute to the overall atmosphere of esoteric whimsy and incongruous tone: somber timbers clash against uplifting major key swells in heartfelt choruses; trumpets blare out through sludgy dirges; playful keys bounce around in morose wonder. Throughout Within is an oddity for sure, but it has the emotional depth and substance to back it up.” – Heavy Blog Is Heavy

“The DRX is the project of Dan Romans, and the album features contributions from members of Kayo Dot, Psalm Zero and other bands. It’s a revolving cast of musicians with Romans at the center of it, creating a stylistically diverse and complex set of art rock that leans toward metal while taking cues from prog. It’s ambitious, heroic stuff.” – Treble

“There are times when a band decides to take their music into the world of “experimental.” This term often means using incredibly odd sounds and musical passages that have nothing to do with each other and have been thrown together for the sake of being “weird.” Fortunately, The DRX and their album Throughout Within is on the other end of the experimental spectrum, taking a swath of different genres and putting them in a way to not only challenge the listener’s preconceived notions of what music can become, but having it all make sense. Their sound combines the off-beat musical sensibilities of Frank Zappa, the synth and feel of 80’s-era Rush, and a touch of the dark and distorted world of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. It’s got saxophone, it’s got 80’s synth, it’s progressive, and it’s all done with an off-kilter clean vocal style that infrequently tosses in a great deathcore scream and palm-muted metal passages just to keep the listener on their toes. ” – Echoing Magazine

“The DRX mixes harsh, metal-influenced vocals with proggy compositions and an array of hard left turns on the politically-charged song. We get electronics, thundering hardcore, noisy post-punk, horns, choral arrangements, a huge range of sounds.” – BrooklynVegan

Heart-Crushing Avant-Rock

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