Ryan Blake Martin - Fragile EP

Whenever an artist does a solo album, it's always interesting to see which direction they go and how far removed it is from whatever band or genre they normally play. And for Ryan Blake Martin, who's normal gig is playing guitar for A Plea For Purging, Fragile couldn't be a further departure. (Ok, I guess country or hip-hop could be a further departure but that's not the point).

The past two Plea records have featured Martin's singing voice. So it comes as no surprise that Ryan is such a great vocalist. But the songs on Fragile are heartfelt... Almost innocent, coming from the soul. It shouldn't be a surprise when people involved in heavy music branch out and do something completely different.

Each song is simple. Just Martin's voice and guitar. It draws the listener to the lyrics of each song (which honestly can be hard to understand at times). While The Controller features a stellar electric guitar lead blues line, it's out while Martin is singing. While Martin's work with A Plea might keep some away from this record, Fragile is an album that fans of Denison Witmer and Gary Murray will enjoy.

The production is strong and the songs are all quality. Martin has transitioned from heavy metal guitarist to soulful singer/songwriter quite nicely.