Press for Throughout Within:
“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.”
– NOV 2016 – BooklynVegan – Rob Sperry-Fromm
“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.”
– NOV 2016 – Echoing Magazine – R.G.B. Robb
“[the DRX is] 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.”
– DEC 2016 – Treble
“Composer and multi-instrumentalist Dan Romans finds himself among a revolving collective of musicians from the likes of Psalm Zero, Kayo Dot, and others under his flagship outlet The DRX, which, as you could imagine given its pedigree and the company it keeps, is a bizarre and ethereal project that is equally beautiful and thought provoking as it is obtuse and hideous. Through dense tracks packed with earthy guitars, mournful synths, and live orchestrations featuring an array of horns and strings, Romans explores a musical conceptual space occupied by the best of avant-garde rock past and present, from Mr. Bungle to contemporaries Kayo Dot, on latest offering Throughout Within.
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 back it up.”
– DEC 2016 – Heavy Blog Is Heavy – Jimmy Rowe
– DEC 2016 – Angry Metal Guy – Eldritch Elitist
“Throughout Within weaves progressive metal, modern chamber music, and an odd but effective pop sensibility into an ambitious and unpredictable journey.”
– DEC 2016 – Sweet Bread Productions
“…it should come as no surprise that [the DRX] 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.”
– JAN 2017 – Toilet Ov Hell – Richter
“…It drops the heavy end of the hammer on the listener right away with the kind of massive, brutal yet beautiful soundscape this band deserves to be known for. Guttural growls, crooning male and female vocals, sax, synths, and crushing guitars all weave together in service to the emotion of the song[s].”
– JAN 2017 – Indy Metal Vault – Alex Makuch
http://www.indymetalvault.com/2017/01/26/album-review-the-drx-through-within/
“The DRX is a musical project lead by Dan Romans. For quite a while, this musician has been part of the underground New York music scene and his compositional project The DRX has relied heavily on the collaboration of members of other groups such as: Kayo Dot, Buke & Gase, and Psalm Zero. The DRX is composed of avant-garde rock/metal where classical music is unceasingly intertwined with Black and Death Metal. It’s an overarching framework that happens relatively organically, metal being so closely aligned with orchestral music.
On Throughout Within, Romans give us several epic songs on which he sings with an emotional fragility that is clear and lucid. One hears a panoply of instruments traditionally reserved for orchestras: clarinet, flugelhorn, and cello, among others. These instruments are not present simply to support the basic framework of the songs but rather they play an active role in the construction of the songs.
A good example is the song “The End of Avoiding Consequence”. The electric guitar and the saxophones are equally present in the underlying sound of the refrain. This creates a strong and solid base for the chorus that make the whole explode with the soaring, fragmented …interspersed with Romans’ voice. The vocal parts seem suddenly more solitary and increasingly vulnerable. It is very well done. “Monsters Wearing Nice Ties”, the first track, opens with a simple guitar, some synthesizers and the singer’s voice. The overall effect is very beautiful and ends in an orgy of sound where the instruments multiply and lead to a climactic chorus.
At times, the basic framework of The DRX has the same impact as Catholic hymns sung in the course of the mass. They are powerful, lively, and rousing, while conjuring up the mystical. On the other hand, one also finds unequivocal brutality on tracks such as “Ancient Lie” with its guttural screaming chants. This theme is reiterated on the magnificent “Eyes of Myself” which possesses a very successful saxophone melody. Most of the songs exceed the five minute mark, another uncommon trait.
The DRX is successful with its idiosyncratic and distinctive, but significant and substantial Throughout Within. The adventurous metal fan will find an interesting album that flirts with the codes of baroque music as in Death and Black Metal. These tracks demand a certain open mindedness and commitment, but it is well worth the effort.”
– FEB 2017 – Le Canal Auditif – Louis-Philippe Labrèche
http://lecanalauditif.ca/critique-the-drx-throughout-within/
– FEB 2017 – Interview on WSUM 91.7 FM: Manifold Curiosity with Grant Phipps