Andrew Rayel

If you hate the current wave of "big room trance" don't listen to him.
Otherwise give him a chance. He's got the talent and the ear for melodies and powerful drops. Highly recommend his old stuff.
Disliking an artist because he/she produces a style you don't like is an invalid reason to dislike an artist.

Rayel is about the only “new” talent pushed by the ASOT factory that is worthy of being in an all-time best of trance canon. Critics (mostly obstinate old schoolers) should be called out for their ironically egregious hypocrisy since they are judging him based off of image and politics themselves and clearly not what actually matters, which is the music itself. Rayel’s sound is one brimming with lucidly vibrant, euphoric/tragic Slavic melodicism (often reinforced with broken octaves in lyrical legato phrasing).

Admittedly, this guy is kind of a fruit and never see him live because he’ll abstain from his quality material like underage jailbait but there is no denying the talent of his early productions (which are distinct, top quality sensual trance and anything but average). Also yes, the music is mostly unabashedly sentimental but that is precisely the aesthetic and then again, so is Beethoven, but no one would dare question the validity of such an appointed propagandistic global / academic darling rite?

‘Musa’ and ‘Power of Elements’ are hardly indistinguishable (both HAD pianos to begin with – proof that some people don’t even bother listening) and staying coherent within thematic/motivic constructs is a positive attribute. And even if they were almost identical (as if similarity is an immense taboo in a genre which is built on concepts of repetition and remixes), so what? Originality is overrated. Who cares as long as the tracks are well written (which both are).

Anyone who thinks “Opera,” “Aeon of Revenge” and “550 Senta” are unspectacular and / or generic is musically illiterate and should probably have their ears lopped off.

Following tracks are recommended (and to be listened to in THIS specifically ordered setlist):

Aether
Opera
Drapchi
Power of Elements

Deflagration
550 Senta (Aether)
550 Senta
Aeon of Revenge
Musa
Goodbye

He's very Talented, Has a great gift for, Melodic Trance / Flux / Electro

Another armin's popstar. Trance music is dead r.i.p.