MelodyBrony has been on quite the roll recently with their intense, metal tracks! This Kingdom is based off the season 9 premier and Twilight’s inner fear of running the entire kingdom of Equestria. The melody intersperses pauses that add a unique tension to the track and cause unease, as if you are experiencing the anxiety yourself. The guitar parts have a nice technical quality that show off Melody’s continued growth. If you like the lower, grungier rock tones, and especially if you DJENT, then make sure to have a listen!
Rock
[P@D] 4EverfreeBrony – Super Fan | Pop Rock
It’s Ponies at Dawn time once again and that of course means 4EverfreeBrony has another fantastic release! This exclusive pre-release comes with an awesome PMV put together by JackDC93. Super Fan is sung from the viewpoint of Scootaloo using pleasant melodies and a solid rock performance. 4EverfreeBrony addresses her disabilities and hardships with growing up while highlighting her own self-worth as Rainbow Dash’s super fan. The track is wholesome and extremely well produced as you would expect from the fandom veteran, and the PMV furthers the hype for the big release this Friday!
Amethyst Strings – Fading Sunlight (feat. ShadowcatKirara) | Gothic Metal
ShadowcatKirara is back with a new original track made in collaboration with Amethyst Strings and it’s a lovely tribute to Sunset Shimmer and her villain arc! The cool lyrics are just perfect to reflect her ascent to power, and the epic vocals are doing wonders along the tasteful Gothic Metal vibes from the instrumental!
AllCatPony – Helping Twilight Win The Crown (Covering Daniel Ingram) | Garage Rock
Watch the Wondercolts jam in their garage, and perform a new rock rendition of their song in the school cafeteria! And perhaps this is what sparked the foundation of the Rainbooms! At least that’s what we could imagine by listening to this awesome cover by AllCatPony that pays much tribute to the original!
MelodyBrony – The King (feat. PrinceWhateverer, Drummershy, KriZzZ & Luck Rock) | Emo Pop
A collab of many wonders, this song about the evil fallen king features the lovely contributions of PrinceWhateverer, Drummershy, KriZzZ and Luck Rock for a full-fledged tribute that includes punchy riffs, an emotional guitar solo, expert bass, blissful drums, rocking vocals and a delightful keyboards play that gives me some Prog Rock vibes! One of my favorite recent releases! It’s just so wonderful to see everypony gathering together like this as a band and making such fan works! And it sounds like it’s only the beginning!
Prey – Manehattan Boulevard | Blues
To our greatest delight, Prey crafted such a delightful Blues-like instrumental! It’s got such an enthralling rhythm and all the instruments were played perfectly. And if you imagine it being performed by a band on the terrace of some cafe or pub in Manehattan, it feels even greater!
Djohn Mema & SlightlyAmiss – River | Heavy Metal
It’s great to see Djohn Mema releasing more and more originals, and what a power combination teaming up with SlightlyAmiss! River is an intense track that portrays Luna’s remorse from the perspective of the voices in her head that make her feel as if she is drowning in a river. The metaphor is brilliant, the instrumentation hits the emotions very well, and the combination of vocals are spot on! It’s refreshing to see this kind of well-thought out, well-produced heavy metal from a team of such talented musicians!
The Wonderbolts – What Went Wrong | Folk Rock
In a heartfelt tribute to Derpy, The Wonderbolts spin a tale of the bubbly mare’s struggle and strife in What Went Wrong. What sets this Derpy song apart from many others is the abrasive reality portrayed through a bittersweet plea for understanding, characterized by the rugged instrumental and powerful vocals. One of the most curious defining traits of the song is the overall saturated and analog sounding mix that is present throughout, particularly during the loudest sections, evoking a sense of of looking into the past as well as considering the future of one of the fandom’s most beloved characters. This song is truly a monolith to the fandom, accompanied by art from ExclusionZone.
Vylet Pony & Sylver – Harbour (Pts. I & II) | Alternative Rock / Ambient
Yet another release from Vylet’s Homeward Album. They combine both parts of Harbour and its really cool how seamless both these parts are despite giving off a very different vibe. If you aren’t already aware, this album is all part of an intricate story that really helps bring the world of Homeward into perspective and I highly recommend you give it a read.
Harbour is actually the song Vylet is listening to on his way to visit Sylver in the story specifically in the first part. We get a very upbeat and energetic rock track that Vylet says helps him to “drown the crippling fear induced by being away from home,” The chorus is infectious and all of the elements blend together to create something truly powerful.
As the song winds down we are met with a *click* and a stark contrast as the atmosphere opens up into the bustle and noise of the Starship Ponyville which signifies the part of the story where Vylet has switched off the song and is waiting for Sylver to invite him inside his suite to reminisce on memories of Equestria and just tell each other stories to pass the time. Now I love these small details, especially when you have the context of the written story, they just breathe an air of immersion and I really appreciate when the little things, be it a conversation from the story, or sound effects are mixed into the music.
From here everything slows down and a soothing piano melody plays followed by some minute glissando and various string and woodwinds with the sounds of the busy life of the starship in the background the polyphony is wonderous and it ends all too soon but is a really touching extension to the song.
Luck Rock – Fandom (Africa Parody) | Soft Rock / Jazz Fusion
Definitely among my top favorite releases of the year, Luck’s new song is a shining example of a heartfelt and passionate rendition of a classic, turned into an expression of community love and dedication. The timeless Africa by Toto get a whole new meaning, and Luck’s tender vocals are making us melt as we experience such an emotional ponification. As someone who loves the original, and who can relate to so many of those feelings, I was so very moved by this, and I will keep supporting Luck, and all of you in the community, for all of my life. Thank you all for everything you do..!!
Horse Music Herald 