"Michael's music has consistently been more than a cut above the rest. It is passionate and personal in a way that can only be accomplished when creative brilliance, dedication and refined skill are found in one person who is literally willing to do it all to bring his perfect vision into reality." Ryan Clark - DJ and Promoter
"Let me preface this by saying that I am both a lyricist and vocalist. I have been writing since I was a child, and I was trained by the best choral directors in this state, if not this nation. I am well-versed in sight-reading; I can find my way around a keyboard or piano, my vocal range and tone can bring a room to its knees and make grown men cry...but my writing has been, to say the least, difficult to incorporate. Though published, and despite my modesty, fawned over by those I feel close enough to share it with, mixing the two has been the ultimate challenge. In the midst of a very rough time in my life emotionally, I've been gradually slipping into some harmony with my voice and its sound with my lyrics, some semblance of potential...and then there was an album called "All I Lost Was You."
The album is a result of one man's devotion, one soul's foray into true creation. Michael Barnes...the end-all to the album. Written, played, produced by ONE person.
Even without that aspect, it's sure to have something every person can relate to. I've laughed, danced, sung along, and even cried. I hear this is a year of "radical self-empowerment." There is no better album to fit such a year, personal affairs aside. "All I Lost Was You" tells a story about finding self-respect, heartbreak, revenge, and despair. It is VERY personal...and I really don't know how else to explain the raw and true nature of it.
I could continue this, go track by track, but this is definitely a more personal journey than I'd rather chatter about here. Michael Barnes is the real deal...go fall in love with him before everyone else does." Kortney Marie - Musician, Lyricist and Writer
"Every time I think I have an idea of what's coming, I'm surprised by the next interplay of rhythms and colors, the shifting perspectives from the intimate to the explosive, from anger to sadness, from sudden complexity to profound simplicity. You've painted a personal portrait here of a mature man dealing with the life he was handed with a confidence and self awareness seldom found in an artist of any age." Larry Barnes - Professor of Music and Composer
"Michael's back...our prayers have been answered." Paradise Decay
"Like being smacked round the head by a large block of musical concrete; excellent, powerful, stunning..."Daverave
"You definitely have talent..." Stabbing Westward
"I got excited when I discovered who this was. As you know I have been a fan of Systematic Shut Down for a while. I was not disappointed. You seem to pull my emotions with every track..." Crutial Head
"Freakin' genius..." Virginiaflame
"You keep getting better and better Michael. Lyrically and vocally emotive, musically rich and powerful as a crack-smoking rhino." Contayjen
