Michael Goldberg unleashes a gothic-prog firestorm with "Dorian's Dance (Midnight Metal Remix)"

"Dorian's Dance (Midnight Metal Remix)" is a centuries-hurting back-and-forth, in which 19th-century romanticism rhythmically intertwines with the dark fate of goth-prog metal. Already known for his forward-thinking as a composer-pianist, Goldberg arranges a piece that's as much a cinematic score as a metal anthem. At the heart of the song is a dance between grace and savagery.

Baritone guitars also work well, shaving down the low-end into a cavernous gnip-gnop with Fabio Alessandrini's sniper double kicks drilling pessimism to the back of your neck nice and tight. At the same time, Rich Gray's bass provides a rhythmic engine that lives and breathes. From beginning to end, it never lets go of your attention. Amid the din of sound, the violist Peter Voronov's serrated violin cuts through the mix, generating uncanny textures that evoke the polish of classical culture and the urgency of the underground. The tug-of-war between the moving grooves, shifting in texture from the 4/4 time of the original to 7/8, keeps the floor swaying under the listener's feet, reeling the audience into Goldberg's domain of dusky instability.

Goldberg sinuousizes the track beautifully, at no point losing the emotional gravity of his pagan classical nods. It's that combination of bombast and bludgeon that makes Dorian's Dance playlist ready, the perfect symphonic panacea not just for goth and prog-metal heads everywhere, but for anyone who wants songs that sound like films and fear nothing about their making.

For those of you who bought a ticket and live at the intersections where Katatonia's down-cloudy spirit meets the tugging silken strings of Apocalyptica and the exploratory early days of Dream Theater, "Dorian's Dance (Midnight Metal Version)" makes for a fine calling card. It's an experience, a dive into a nocturnal ballroom where shadows undulate and steel sings.