Overall Rating: (5/5)
Sound Quality: (5/5)
Usability: (5/5)
Programming & disc layout: (4.5/5)
Value: (5/5)


Metamorphosis is a brand new library for Akai/Emu, Roland, a Giga platforms from Spectrasonics and Eric Persing, the mind behind such extraordinary releases such as the popular Symphony of Voices, Distorted Reality, Liquid Grooves, Ethno Techno and most recently Vocal Planet. Metamorphosis offers a selection of Trip Hop, Drum 'n bass and euro-club inspired beats, synthetic textures and atmospheric loops created with some of the latest synthesis toys on the market today (both hardware and software). Metamorphosis is a three disc set: two discs contain the samples (one with groove menus, the other with groove control activated versions of the loops) and the third is a Mac/PC data disc with all sorts of handy little gadgets and gizmos to help you get the most out of the loops on Metamorphosis. More on all of this later, let's check out Metamorphosis.

Those of you who are familiar with Liquid Grooves or the other "groove" products that Spectrasonics produces and the concept of "groove menus" will be right at home with Metamorphosis. Each patch has been programmed in a way to allow for easy combination of loops within the same tempo. By simply striking a few keys on the keyboard, it is possible to build intriguing sounding rhythmic soundscapes and textures instantly. You can make your sound as complex or as simple as you want either by triggering a number of samples at once or by only triggering a select few. There are 12 groove menu patches to choose from, grouped by BPM from 53-70 BPM all the way up to 136-164 BPM loops. All of the loops that are available as separate patches on the second groove control CD are also located here, with approximately 14 to 32 available loops per groove menu patch. Now, a lot of libraries would just leave it at that - present the loops as is at a static tempo and call it a day. Not Metamorphosis - each groove menu is also available in increments of 5 BPM, from 50 BPM all the way up to 180 BPM. These are different from the Groove Control versions of the loops however, since they have tuning offsets to compensate for the tempo differences in each loop. You may wonder why they included this type of programming in this library in the first place, because after all, it does radically change the pitch of the loop, right? Well, it does, but the types of loops that are available on Metamorphosis seem to work extremely well even when the pitch of the loop has been changed and it provides for some very interesting and unique sounding loops that sound quiet different from the original. You can easily use the "in-between" tempos (for example, 62 BPM, when you have only 60 BPM) by adjusting the tuning on your sampler. In GigaStudio for example, just use the "tune" slider to bump it up to the desired tempo. The data disc that ships with Metamorphosis has a handy production calculator to allow you to make exact calculations for Mac only (you can also use any scientific calculator or the calculator in Windows with the precise formula that is provided in the Metamorphosis documentation).

But what about the loops, anyway? You'll find some very creative sounds here: from bassy club beats to airy, synthetic pulses, blips, sonar pings, metallic pad-like sounds, moderately to heavily distorted synth riffs and some really eclectic synthesized melodic sequences (some processed in the sexiest sounding ways). Many of the loops have several variations, usually anywhere from two to five engagingly divergent permutations - just enough of a variation to allow for a subtle change to keep things fresh, should the loop be required to play over a long period of time or change slightly during a different point in your piece. The great thing about most of the loops is that they work well and sound great by themselves just as well as they work layered on top of each other to create something that sounds completely new. Obviously not every single loop sounds best when layered over top of every other loop I found (experimenting is the best way to figure out what sounds good, I like to avoid layering a similar rhythm over top of another). Perhaps the best part about the three hundred and some loops that are available on Metamorphosis is that they've obviously been designed in such a way to avoid being musically incompatible. Great sounding loops are one thing, but great sounding loops that don't kill your music because of their complexity have a definite value to them and this makes Metamorphosis a special library in my opinion. If there is one thing that I dislike about pre-built rhythms and textures, it has to be when something is overly complex with so much going on that in the end all it ends up doing is taking away from the other musical elements in your sequence. They're nothing worse than writing some brilliant piece of music, only to have it consumed by this really fancy and cool loop that you dug out of your newest sample library.

Most of the tonal or pitched loops are static when it comes to pitch and key - I noticed that there aren't any variations to allow you to create your own melodic progressions right off the bat. I found that you can actually get around this, should you require more from the tonal loops to an extent since you can simply pull the samples out of the patch with your sample editor and detune them appropriately. Detuning will alter the tempo though (1200 cents will alter the sample by 1 octave, tempered scale), but you can always extract the raw .wav files (or use the ones on the data disc) and load them up into Acid or a similar program.

All of the loops contained in Metamophosis also have Groove Control versions. What exactly is Groove Control you may ask? Groove Control is something new that Spectrasonics has been incorporating into most of their latest releases. In a nutshell, none of the loops are locked at a fixed tempo. The Groove Control loops fill up an entire second CD-ROM and follow whatever tempo is being used by your sequencer. Modify the tempo in your sequencer and they will respond to tempo changes appropriately. This is an incredibly useful feature that adds a level of usability to these samples and adds another dimension to the previously static tempos that most of us are used to working with when it comes to loop libraries. Pitch and tempo can be adjusted independently of each other and you can even change the "feel" of the loops by quantizing your sequence (swing feel, etc.). Spectrasonics has a page on their web site that goes into detail on what Groove Control allows you to do at http://www.spectrasonics.net/groovecontrol.html. It's quite a nice feature to have in any loop library - loops are no longer static. As Eric Persing, creator of Metamorphosis comments: "[This is] also of interest to composers who don't like to use loops...you alter the rhythmic pattern of the loops and you can create your own rhythms by treating the GC programs like percussion hits and make the groove completely on your own."

In the Gigasampler/Gigastudio versions, it would have been great to have more in the way of key-switching implemented into the patches, which perhaps would have been useful for switching to and from several different loop sections of the same tempo without having to send a bank change through MIDI. If you need this kind of thing, it is easy to set it up on your own from within the GigaStudio editor.

Sound Quality

Like the other Spectrasonics releases that I have had the opportunity to work with, Metamorphosis is no slouch as far as the sheer quality of the way everything sounds is concerned. The recordings are clear and precise - you can drop them into a sequence and they'll add an aura of sleek professionalism to almost anything. As the liner notes for Metamorphosis state, an abundance of both hardware and software was used to create these loops - everything from Reaktor, Reason, Absynth, Pro-5/Pro-52 and Metasynth to a host of hardware gadgetry and gear that would make most salivate at the very thought of the gear list.

Last but not least, we must not forget the third data disk that is included with Metamorphosis with content galore - there are preview versions of each of the loops that are available already mapped into their appropriate patches on the other two CD-ROMs. The preview versions are basically just short clips of what you'll hear in the patch, saved as .wav files that you can easily load up in your favorite audio player on your computer for preview purposes. Gone are the days of having to listen though an audio CD to find the exact sound that you want to use. This method is an amazing timesaver and it makes it easy to find exactly what you're looking for within seconds. The preview versions can also be used outside of your sampler - try dropping them into Acid or Fruity Loops, they work great.

The data CD also has pre-made Logic and Cubase files to allow you to control the Groove Control versions of the loops (on the second CD). For those of you that do not use Logic or Cubase, there are also MIDI files that you can simply load into your sequencer to control the Groove Control properties of the loops. Full documentation for Metamorphosis is also included in .PDF format (with Adobe Acrobat reader) and Qdseign's Soundfinder MVP player is on the CD for previewing of loops on the Data CD.

Whenever I get a new sample library, I always like to take the opportunity to spend a lot of time getting to know the samples within. Whether they're loops or not, I find this to be a very valuable and rewarding practice. I wanted to spend a lot of time working with Metamorphosis as I do with every library that I have a chance to review - not just plunking through the samples and rattling off some comments, but actually using the samples and writing music with them. I was able to spend almost a month working with Metamorphosis, getting to know the samples while fitting them in with new compositions and getting a feel for how these loops not only work with other musical elements but how they mix, how they perform and how they inspire. Try using these samples raw or process them yourself - you'll get some really interesting and musical results either way. While Metamorphosis isn't one of those libraries that tries to capture and fit in with every style of music on the planet, I found it to be one of those rare gems that offers something that sounds rather new and different. On the other hand it is not too abstract as to reserve itself only for fringe music. It shares a lot in common with Liquid Grooves, but takes things to a different level by incorporating the output of some of the latest electronic musical instruments that are out there and offers up something that definitely has a unique sound to it. There is some really interesting sounding stuff here that will not disappoint. That aside, I think the important thing about Metamorphosis is that the loops work, they sound fantastic and if used properly, they don't overwhelm. Metamorphosis is another superb effort in by the Spectrasonics team that should most certainly be in any electronic composers' creative sound palette.

Sonic Control FIVE STAR review