Ryan Kent: Sleep Deprived Music Review — chasing destino

Ryan Kent of Virginia has created a spoken word album, Dying Comes with Age, that is available from Rare Bird Books. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ve heard anything like the combination of Kent’s words and his musical guests.

Some of his special guest contributors include Randy Blythe (Lamb of God), Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod/Down), Mike IX Williams (Eyehategod), Laura Pleasants(Kylesa), and Eugene S. Robinson (OxBow/Bunuel).

Imagine if you’re at a smoky bar listening to a handsome and incredibly interesting barfly tell you the best stories — that is what this album sounds like. My personal favorite pieces are Message From Someone Going Somewhere With Someone Else Who Is Going Somewhere, My Blue Heaven, and Bring Me My Monster.

The album reminds me somewhat of Alice’s Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie. The tone of Kent’s album is darker and more haunting. Plus, Kent has more variety on his album. You might not even run screaming like some of us do when certain records are playing over and over. Personally, I would rather listen to Kent’s spoken word than many other musicians.

If you like Leonard Cohen or Tom Waits, then you will probably love Dying Comes With Age. It would be cool to listen to this album at a retro Tiki bar in Las Vegas.

Kent is currently a staff writer for RVA Magazine and also sang in the heavy metal band Gritter from 2008–2018. Check out Ryan Kent’s live reading of “The Lurch.” You can buy the album at the following link: Dying Comes With Age.

Originally published at https://chasingdestino.com on October 4, 2022.