Arc of Life is Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen (additional drummer) from YES together with Dave Kerzner on keyboards and Jimmy Haun on guitar.
The new band release their debut, eponymous, album on February 12th and have just released a video for the second single from the album, ‘Just In Sight’.
Album due out March 26th, 2021
2020 came to a close with LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT announcing their return and new album to be released on InsideOutMusic. Today, the legendary supergroup comprised of Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic, Sons of Apollo), John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), and Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) are pleased to officially announce that the new album ‘LTE3’ will be released on March 26th, 2021 via InsideOutMusic, twenty-two years after the bands’ last studio album.
“After over 20 years since the last time we recorded together, the four of us stepped into the studio and it was as if no time had passed at all! All of the magic that made the first two LTE albums so special was still there and we had such a great time making this record. I’m extremely proud of what we created together and can’t wait for everyone to hear it!”
-John Petrucci
“The best thing to come out of 2020 was this long-awaited reunion! And it was surely worth the wait as after all these years, the magic chemistry was still there and stronger than ever!”
-Mike Portnoy
Tracklisting:
1. Hypersonic (8:22)
2. Beating The Odds (6:09)
3. Liquid Evolution (3:23)
4. The Passage Of Time (7:32)
5. Chris & Kevin’s Amazing Odyssey (5:04)
6. Rhapsody In Blue (13:16)
7. Shades Of Hope (4:42)
8. Key To The Imagination (13:14)
Bonus Disc: Includes almost an hour of improvised jams.
The pre-order will start on January 22nd 2021 and the album will be available as:
•Limited deluxe hot pink 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray Box Set (incl. a poster and 4 artcards, Blu-ray includes a 5.1 surround mix with visuals, and full band interview from the studio)
•Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook
•Limited 2CD Digipak
•Gatefold black 2LP+CD
• Digital album (2CD)
Watch the recently released teaser trailer, created by Christian Rios, here:
In 1997, Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, and Tony Levin, joined forces to create Liquid Tension Experiment. The foursome would release their iconic, self-titled debut album in 1998 and the dazzling follow-up, LTE2 in 1999, creating a dynamic, frantic, and inventive sound all their own. The incredible creativity between the collective would prompt Petrucci and Portnoy to invite Rudess to join Dream Theater, effectively marking the end of this side project. However, since that time, there have been few reunions more in demand. Now, with the world in lockdown and calendars unexpectedly aligned, the inconceivable has finally happened… a new Liquid Tension Experiment album.
Band picture by Tony Levin.
Album due out in Spring 2021
The biggest music news of the year comes at the very end of 2020 as LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT announce their return with a new label and new album. The legendary supergroup comprised of Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic, Sons of Apollo), John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), and Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) have signed with InsideOutMusic for the release of their 3rd album. The album is set for a Spring 2021 release, 22 years after the bands’ last studio album.
“What happens, when you put four of the most talented musicians on the planet in one room? LTE. We all have been waiting for this album to happen for a very long time and it makes us very proud to be releasing this album. This one is for the fans!” – Thomas Waber, InsideOutMusic Label Manager
“We’ve all known Thomas Waber for a very long time and Jordan and I recently discovered how great it was to finally get to work together when Dream Theater joined the Inside Out family a few years ago. There really is no better home for LTE and we all look forward to doing great things together!” – John Petrucci
“Myself, and John, have known Thomas Waber since we met on the very first Dream Theater European tour in 1993…since then I have worked with him and Inside Out for the past 20 years with Transatlantic, The Neal Morse Band and Sons Of Apollo. When LTE finally reunited this summer, we knew there was no other label that we could call home” – Mike Portnoy
The band have released a new teaser trailer, created by Christian Rios, which you can see here:
In 1997, Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, and Tony Levin, joined forces to create Liquid Tension Experiment. The foursome would release their iconic, self-titled debut album in 1998 and the dazzling follow-up, LTE2 in 1999, creating a dynamic, frantic, and inventive sound all their own. The incredible creativity between the collective would prompt Petrucci and Portnoy to invite Rudess to join Dream Theater, effectively marking the end of this side project. However, since that time, there have been few reunions more in demand. Now, with the world in lockdown and calendars unexpectedly aligned, the inconceivable has finally happened… a new Liquid Tension Experiment album.
Earlier this week, the Tony, Mike, Jordan, and John teased separate profile images on their social media pages with masks labeled with L-T-E-3 covering their respective faces. This was followed by the full band image on the band’s socials.
Stay tuned for more information in 2021!
RELEASED ON KSCOPE – 26TH FEBRUARY
The man whose illustrious career began in the late 70s with synth-pop visionaries Japan and more recently as a member of influential art-rock band Porcupine Tree follows up 2017’s Planets + Persona with new album Under A Spell.
Richard Barbieri didn’t plan to make an album like Under A Spell, originally intending his fourth solo album to be a direct follow from its predecessor, 2017’s Planets + Persona.
That record, made in different studios across Europe and heavily incorporating live performances from a range of musicians, was adventurous and bold, showcasing Barbieri’s endlessly inventive song writing and mastery of electronic music. The follow-up would pick up where it left off, journeying further into the expansive terrain he mapped out on the previous record. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and everything changed. “I wrote and recorded it in my studio at home, with all this strangeness going on outside,” says Barbieri of Under A Spell. “It became something completely different: this weird, self-contained dream-state album.”
On Under A Spell, Barbieri was intent on capturing the atmospheres and moods that his disconnected brain was conjuring rather than slaving over arrangements and melodies. Songs such as ‘Flare’, ‘Serpentine’, ‘Sleep Will Find You’ and its companion piece-of-sorts ‘Darkness Will Find You’ are sharply defined despite their dream-inspired genesis. He points to the evocative opening and closing tracks, ‘Under A Spell’ and ‘Lucid’, as the keys that unlock the album. “Those two tracks have the whole meaning within them,” he says. “The first song, ‘Under A Spell’, is leading you down a path, moving into places where you’re not sure what’s going on. There are whispers in the background, spells being cast in a deserted wood. Then the final track, ‘Lucid’, is the opposite. You’re in this comforting lucid dream, but then you’re drifting further away from it, trying to come out of it. There are voices saying: ‘Wake up, wake up, come back alive…’”
Listeners will be able to make out those voices but there are no vocals, these voices, collaborators, include Marillion frontman Steve Hogarth and Swedish singer Lisen Rylander Love (who co-wrote ‘A Star Light’).
The album’s title perfectly encapsulates the haunting, evocative world Barbieri has created. Songs such as the skittering, billowing ‘Clockwork’ and ‘Sketch 6’s dub-inspired soundscape hang suspended in that strange half-world between sleep and waking – a subconscious reflection of the surreal state the planet has found itself in over recent months. “I was having a lot of bizarre, recurring dreams that were hanging around after I woke up,” says Barbieri. “They were based around this woodland pathway, which is really summed up by the album cover – this surreal, deserted, Blair Witch Project type of environment. You’re going through these woods, heading towards this light, almost like you’re leaving life. That’s where the title Under A Spell came from – it was a feeling of not being totally in control. Almost as if your dreams are pointing you in directions that sometimes you can control and sometimes you can’t.”
As ex-founder of Japan, the new-wave pioneers and one of the most ground-breaking bands of their era, Richard Barbieri helped spark the electronic music revolution that followed, his synthesiser sound not only defined the band but influenced the likes of The Human League, Duran Duran, Gary Numan and Talk Talk. Following Japan’s split, Barbieri joined Steven Wilson to form the legendary progressive outfit Porcupine Tree, that saw him play on nine of the band’s albums, including 1999’s Stupid Dream, 2002’s In Absentia and 2007’s acclaimed Fear Of A Blank Planet. Following PT’s hiatus Barbieri has pursued a solo career, releasing albums that include 2005’s Things Buried, 2008’s Stranger Inside and 2017’s Planets + Persona, as well as his recent EP series, Variant.1-5.
Barbieri’s willingness to constantly redefine his own musical boundaries are never more evident than on the brilliant, hypnotic Under A Spell – the latest milestone on this utterly unique journey.
| Under A Spelltracklisting 1. Under A Spell [07:19]2. Clockwork [02:33]3. Flare 2 [08:51]4. A Star Light [03:50]5. Serpentine [06:22]6. Sleep Will Find You [02:51]7. Sketch 6 [06:30]8. Darkness Will Find You [04:58]9. Lucid [06:14] |
Under A Spell will be released on Kscope on 26th February, on CD, gatefold double black vinyl LP, limited edition gatefold double red vinyl LP (exclusive to the Kscope store) and digitally with pre-orders available HERE https://RichardBarbieri.lnk.to/UnderASpell
(Artist photo credit – Carl Glover)
NEW PROG ROCK GROUP FEATURING MEMBERS OF YES & SOUND OF CONTACT – DEBUT SINGLE & VIDEO ‘YOU MAKE IT REAL’ OUT NOW
Frontiers Music Srl is excited to announce the release of ARC OF LIFE’s self-titled debut album on February 12, 2021. Arc Of Life is a new progressive rock supergroup featuring three members of the current YES line-up, vocalist/guitarist Jon Davison, bassist/vocalist Billy Sherwood, and additional drummer Jay Schellen, one of the most interesting talents in the “new” progressive rock scene in the US, Dave Kerzner (Sound of Contact) on keyboards, and Jimmy Haun (also featured on YES albums in the past) on guitar. Fans can get their first taste of the band’s forthcoming debut with the new single and video, ‘You Make It Real’.
Pre-order/save “Arc Of Life” HERE: https://orcd.co/arcoflife
The concept behind Arc of Life is, in keeping with the progressive rock philosophy, to craft creative, challenging, and ear-pleasing music that pushes boundaries.
Billy Sherwood describes the music as, “interesting, with well-crafted songs, performed with precision and grace. All songs feature memorable melodies and lyrics that take the listener on a sonic adventure. Dynamic arrangements with peaks and valleys… it’s all there.”
The other idea behind the band is that YES would be a clear point of influence. But while YES is clearly the main point of comparison, a lot of musical similarities can be drawn to describe Arc Of Life’s grandiose and epic approach to music.
In Jon Davison’s words, “Each YES member understands and supports when others may desire to explore and thrive along new artistic avenues. We then each find further inspiration to bring back to the YES fold.”
But all the descriptions are best left to the listeners to discern for themselves as repeat listens will reveal more layers.
Arc Of Life is a true garden of delight for progressive rock fans and the band is looking forward to performing live. “Once the world gets over the COVID hump, Arc Of Life will be planning as much touring as we can fit in between YES and our other projects. Quite honestly, we’re all chomping at the bit to be out performing again!” concludes Jon Davison.
Tracklist:
1. Life Has A Way
2. Talking With Siri
3. You Make It Real
4. Until Further Notice
5. The Magic Of It All
6. Just In Sight
7. I Want To Know You Better
8. Locked Down
9. Therefore We Are
10. The End Game
Line-up:
Billy Sherwood – Bass and vocals
Jon Davison – Vocals
Jay Schellen – Drums
Jimmy Haun – Guitars
Dave Kerzner – Keyboards
NEW EP ‘COUNTING THE GHOSTS’ OUT NOW
Iamthemorning have shared the new video for ‘Veni Veni Emmanuel’ taken from their new EP ‘Counting The Ghosts’ which is released today. Marjana from the band comments,
‘Veni Veni Emmanuel is a 12 century hymn sung in latin – the English translation exists and is somewhat more popular but I thought the Latin version will be more in line with our general style. It was arranged for 5 voices by Gleb and the arrangement is inspired by the works of Benjamin Britten. It’s kind of a timeline of music where each verse is associated with a specific time. It starts as a monody then proceeds to medieval style, then to classical european harmony and ends in 20th century.
I wish we could make a video that would do this beautiful song and arrangement justice but i guess right now in the times of pandemic when everyone’s in lockdown all is left is to “Arrange whatever pieces come your way”, which I did.’
Self released by the band to raise money to record their new album and consisting of 4 tracks, ‘Counting The Ghosts’ features 2 new original songs,’Cradle Song’ and ‘Counting The Ghosts’.
The other tracks on the EP see Iamthemorning adding their own twist to two traditional festive songs, ‘Veni Veni Emmanuel’ and the more modern piece ‘I Wonder As I Wander’.
Order the EP – https://iamthemorningband.bandcamp.com
CD/DVD Released on 5th February
Downes Braide Association (DBA) announce the release of their new album Halcyon Hymns. The CD/DVD is out on 5th February 2021, and 2LP White Vinyl edition on 26th March 2021.
The first track to be taken from the album, Love Among The Ruins, is out now:
Halcyon Hymns will be the fifth DBA collaboration and follows their previous critically-acclaimed studio albums Pictures of You (2012), Suburban Ghosts (2015) and Skyscraper Souls(2017). The duo have also released Live In England (2019) recorded at their first ever concert at Trading Boundaries, East Sussex, in 2018.
Pre-order Halcyon Hymns: CD/DVD https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/downes-braide-association-halcyon-hymns-cd-dvd-edition/
2LP White Vinyl: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/downes-braide-association-halcyon-hymns-limited-edition-2lp-white-vinyl/
Following two more successful and enjoyable evenings at Trading Boundaries in February of 2020, Geoff Downes returned to Wales and his projects while Chris Braide returned to LA and struggled to find motivation with the unfolding events in a world of lockdown. Inspiration would return following a call from a close friend.
“Marc Almond suggested I ‘get stuck into another DBA record’ to lift the malaise,” say Braide. “Somehow It was hard to muster any enthusiasm for it. We had all been so upbeat at the recent shows and now here we were in a collective, creative void. It’s odd the way inspiration strikes though and it never ceases to delight and surprise me when the muse comes to play and it can happen at any time and without warning.
“I opened up a folder of new DBA ideas Geoff (Downes) had sent to me a while back and which I’d listened to briefly and had made a note to do something with them at a later date. I can’t say why it happened but one day in the studio as I listened to the bits and pieces of ideas suddenly the songs started tumbling out as if by magic. I’m not exaggerating or being melodramatic. These new songs sounded like personal reflections, they just wrote themselves. It was so easy, so enjoyable and so meant to be. Like a gift.”
A few words from Geoff: “It was so great to witness Chris’s creativity making my fundamental ideas come alive. He took the bare bones of melodies, harmonies and textures I sent him, and somehow crafted these into something way beyond my expectations or imagination. ‘Love Among The Ruins’ is one of the many examples on the album of his rare genius at work.”
Love Among The Ruins is a delightful and uplifting love song, reflecting memories and tributes of a long lost halcyon time in life. The first track to be taken from the new album, Love Among The Ruins, is out today 4th December.
Halcyon Hymns also features contributions by Marc Almond (ex-Soft Cell) and David Longdon (Big Big Train).
The CD/DVD package also includes video footage of legendary artist Roger Dean’s painting sessions as he creates the album cover artwork for Halcyon Days together with lyric videos for three tracks from the album.
Art pop-rock duo LEAGUE OF LIGHTS, comprising married couple Farrah and Richard West (Threshold), are pleased to announce their forthcoming third album Dreamers Don’t Come Down. The follow up to their 2019 album, In The In Between, is due out in March 2021 on the Eightspace label and will be available for pre-order from December 2nd 2020 at https://burningshed.com/tag/League+Of+Lights.
With the exception of the first single Twenty Twenty One and Modern Living, all the songs were written and recorded during the Spring/Summer 2020 lockdown in the UK.
“The album is about the past, the present and the future – about taking the best from all that you have been through, the pressures of modern life and keeping your dreams alive in dark times,” Farrah West explains.
“When lockdown started we really felt compelled to do a new album,” Richard West continues. “We had just finished recording a new song called Modern Living and that helped to define how our new material would sound – more open than before with less synths and more space for Farrah’s vocals to really lift off. The songs just started flowing and from that moment we had a new track written, recorded and mixed every 3-4 weeks, starting with Dreamers and Twenty Twenty One and ending with the closing track Echoes of a Dream, a montage of all the other songs on the album.”
Tracklisting:
1.Modern Living
2.Twenty Twenty One
3.Ghosts
4.I Still Remember
5.Persephone
6.Dreamers
7.With You
8.Lines in the Sand
9.The Collector
10.North of the Sun
11.Echoes of a Dream
| About League Of Lights After marrying in 1998, Farrah and Richard West relocated to the Czech Republic in 2002 to start a new life together and record new music before later returning to the UK to record their debut album as League Of Lights. In tandem with this activity, Richard had joined progressive metal band Threshold, initially as a session player but later becoming co-writer and co-producer. To date Threshold has released 11 studio albums, charted across Europe and Scandinavia and toured around the globe. Richard has also worked with numerous other bands and was recently awarded an RIAA Certified Gold Disc for his vocal and keyboard production work on the DragonForce album Inhuman Rampage, which sold over 500,000 copies. League Of Lights released their eponymous debut album in 2011, which featured guitarist Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation), bassist Jerry Meehan (Robbie Williams) and drummer Mark Zonder (Fates Warning). In 2012, the duo recorded the single Forever with Threshold vocalist Glynn Morgan as a guest and performed live with a 40 voice choir. League Of Lights’ acclaimed second album In The In Between was released in late 2019 and contains 14 original songs with a sound that makes room for electronic rock, organic pop, piano, cinematic soundscapes and everything in between, including the singles Kings & Queens and On A Night Like This. Extended versions of three songs from In The In Between were released on the EP Extended Light in March 2020. The band have performed at various live and online events during Summer 2020 including Artrock Festival in Germany (with Ruud Jolie playing guitar), and more live shows are planned for 2021, including an appearance at Winter’s End Festival. |
Ahead of the release of her second album, The Anchoress is releasing a track a month and revealing more details of ‘The Art Of Losing’ due for release on 5th March 2021.
‘Unravel’ is the second song to be unveiled and arrives alongside a striking video featuring the work of New Zealand photographer Lily Warring, inspired by David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. The track announces itself with string quartet that unfolds to a pulsating beat that collides with Cure-esque guitars, vintage synths, and a mournful vocal: “I locked myself in a cupboard to record the vocal to capture that sense of claustrophobia when you feel as if you don’t know where to turn”.
This song follows the current/first single ‘Show Your Face’, which was premiered in November by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music and quickly added to the station playlist as well as receiving airplay across the country. The NME premiered the video and Catherine discussed the tracks’ theme of toxic masculinity and the #Me Too movement. The album has also entered the Amazon Hot New Releases pre-order sales chart at No.1.
Written and produced by Davies, ‘The Art of Losing’ ambitiously navigates the detritus of death and the process of trying to climb out of it and make something from it. In the aftermath of several years of huge personal loss, after the untimely death of her father from an aggressive brain tumour, undergoing treatment for cervical cancer, and navigating multiple miscarriages and surgeries, the record follows Dylan Thomas’ instruction to “rage against the dying of the light”. And there is nothing sonically “gentle” about its enquiry. But despite the unhappy backdrop to its composition, the album is a far from dour affair. Rather, the fourteen tracks create a technicolour eruption of emotions, firmly concerned with how to find purpose in the midst of grief: “Was there some purpose to losing my mind?”, she asks on the Depeche Mode-inspired title track: “What did you learn when life was unkind..?”
The title of the album is inspired by the opening line of the Elizabeth Bishop poem ‘One Art’ – perhaps unsurprising for someone who also holds a PhD in literature (“which was how I funded making album one… education was my only way out of the life I was born into.”). Conceptually, the record covers ground beyond loss in its literal form: First single ‘Show Your Face’ responds to toxic masculinity and leans in to the #MeToo movement (amidst the angular guitar courtesy of James Dean Bradfield), while the patriarchal dynamics of the music industry are explored on the wurltizer-led ‘With The Boys’. At the emotional centre of the album is ‘5am’ – a haunting song that looks at the visceral physical impact of sexual assault and baby loss, with its quiet but powerful contemplation of the shared female experience.
There’s a Scott Walker-eque baroque feel to the voice at the healing heart of the album, which is bookended by a series of Max Richter-inspired orchestral instrumental pieces. Loss is figured in both its raw newness and as a propelling energy, with hook-laden nods to Bowie’s Berlin-era . ‘Unravel’ announces itself as a twentieth-first century reworking of ‘Running Up That Hill’, colliding with the chorused guitars of The Cure. Elsewhere, the John Grant and Father John Misty flavoured ‘Let It Hurt’ explores “the ways in which we distract ourselves from grief”, while the sound-collaged segues recall the more experimental side of Prog.
‘The Art of Losing’ is a sonically ambitious album that is helmed by Davies on sole production duties – a move she said felt natural after having a “side hussle” in engineering and producing for other artists and bands: “I feel passionate about the idea that it shouldn’t be a novelty to see women behind a mixing desk. There’s lots of us out there!”. To finish the self-produced record, Davies called upon the mixing talents of Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers) and grammy-award winner Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Laurie Anderson).
An accompanying podcast features guest interviews which explore why we create and what we learn from loss, featuring conversations with Welsh poet Patrick Jones, writer Kat Lister, and Empire editor-in-chief Terri White.
TRANSATLANTIC – the Prog Supergroup of Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Roine Stolt & Pete Trewavas – are pleased to announce their fifth studio album ‘The Absolute Universe’, set for release on the 5th February 2021. Representing the band’s first new music since 2014’s ‘Kaleidoscope’, with ‘The Absolute Universe’ the band have done something unique and created two versions of the record: ‘The Absolute Universe: The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version)’ & ‘The Absolute Universe: Forevermore (Extended Version)’.
Today they have launched the video for ‘Overture / Reaching For The Sky’, taken from ‘The Absolute Universe: The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version)’.
Mike Portnoy comments: “’Reaching For The Sky’ is the first single off Transatlantic’s latest Magnum opus ‘The Absolute Universe’. It’s a great introduction to this epic album as it sets the tone in traditional TA style: proceeded on the album by an extended Instrumental Overture and then launching into this upbeat first song.
I love that it features one of my favorite qualities of the band in the sharing of the lead vocals…in this case: Neal singing lead on Verse 1, myself singing lead on Verse 2, Pete & Neal sharing the Chorus with myself and Roine on backups and Neal taking the glorious Bridge…all leading to Roine’s distinctive guitar solo.
Also interesting is that this version exclusively appears on the Abridged 1CD Version of TA5 (“The Breath Of Life”) while the Extended 2CD Version of TA5 (“Forevermore”) opens with the alternate version ‘Heart Like A Whirlwind’ which has different lead vocals and lyrics .”
Each album will be available on CD, LP & Digitally. But there will also be what has been called ‘The Absolute Universe: The Ultimate Edition’, which collects both versions together in one lavish package that includes 5LP’s, 3CD’s & a Blu-ray that includes a special mix that combines both versions into a third unique version in 5.1 surround sound with visuals and a behind the scenes documentary. All editions have artwork created by Thomas Ewerhard featuring the airship by Pavel Zhovba.
As Mike Portnoy explains: “We’ve got two versions of this album. There is a two CD presentation, which is 90 minutes long, and a single one – that’s 60 minutes. However, the single CD is NOT merely an edited version of the double CD. They each contain alternate versions and even in some cases, new recordings. We wrote fresh lyrics and have different people singing on the single CD version tracks as compared to those on the double CD. Some of the song titles have also been changed, while others might remain the same, but compositionally what you’ll hear has been altered. You must appreciate that what we have done is unique. We revamped the songs to make the two versions different.” Pete Trewavas adds: “We did write some new music for the single CD, what’s more, there are also differences in the instruments used on some of the tracks across the two records.”
The full list of formats is below, and you can pre-order now here: https://transatlantic.lnk.to/TheAbsoluteUniverse
‘The Absolute Universe: The Breath Of Life (Abridged Version)’
Available as:
Single CD Edition, Gatefold 2LP+CD, or Digital Album
Track-listing:
1. Overture
2. Reaching For The Sky
3. Higher Than The Morning
4. The Darkness In The Light
5. Take Now My Soul
6. Looking For The Light
7. Love Made A Way (Prelude)
8. Owl Howl
9. Solitude
10. Belong
11. Can You Feel It
12. Looking For The Light (Reprise)
13. The Greatest Story Never Ends
14. Love Made A Way
‘The Absolute Universe: Forevermore (Extended Version)’
Available as:
2CD Edition, 3LP+2CD Boxset, or Digital Album
Track-listing:
Disc 1:
1. Overture
2. Heart Like A Whirlwind
3. Higher Than The Morning
4. The Darkness In The Light
5. Swing High, Swing Low
6. Bully
7. Rainbow Sky
8. Looking For The Light
9. The World We Used To Know
Disc 2:
1. The Sun Comes Up Today
2. Love Made A Way (Prelude)
3. Owl Howl
4. Solitude
5. Belong
6. Lonesome Rebel
7. Looking For The Light (Reprise)
8. The Greatest Story Never Ends
9. Love Made A Way
‘The Absolute Universe: The Ultimate Edition’
Limited Deluxe Clear 5LP+3CD+Blu-Ray Box-set – contained within a foil-finished lift-off box with extended 16-page LP booklet & 60x60cm poster. Includes both versions of the album over 5LP’s and 3CD’s, plus a Blu-Ray with 5.1 mix & documentary.
Blu-Ray Track-listing:
1. Overture (5.1 Surround Mix)
2. Reaching For The Sky (5.1 Surround Mix)
3. Higher Than The Morning (5.1 Surround Mix)
4. The Darkness In The Light (5.1 Surround Mix)
5. Take Now My Soul (5.1 Surround Mix)
6. Bully (5.1 Surround Mix)
7. Rainbow Sky (5.1 Surround Mix)
8. Looking For The Light (5.1 Surround Mix)
9. The World We Used To Know (5.1 Surround Mix)
10. The Sun Comes Up Today (5.1 Surround Mix)
11. Love Made A Way (Prelude) (5.1 Surround Mix)
12. Owl Howl (5.1 Surround Mix)
13. Solitude (5.1 Surround Mix)
14. Belong (5.1 Surround Mix)
15. Lonesome Rebel (5.1 Surround Mix)
16. Can You Feel It (5.1 Surround Mix)
17. Looking For The Light (Reprise) (5.1 Surround Mix)
18. The Greatest Story Never Ends (5.1 Surround Mix)
19. Love Made A Way (5.1 Surround Mix)
20. The Making of The Absolute Universe (Documentary)
Initial tracking began in September 2019 when the band met up in Sweden to write and arrange the new material. As Portnoy explains: “Over a period of 10-14 days, we mapped out the songs. Then we all went back to our home studios and did the recording. That’s the way we always do it. At one point, though, it was suggested that instead of doing what was by that time going to be a double album, we should just be content to do a single CD.”
“What happened was that everything kept expanding and expanding,” recalls Stolt. “Therefore we decided it made sense to make it a double album. It was Pete and Neal who then came out and said they felt this would be too long, and we should reduce it to one…But we were already recording, and it didn’t seem feasible to cut it back. There were so many pieces that each of us loved in what we were planning and didn’t want to lose. That’s when we ended up in discussions over the best way forward.”
This album also marks a return to the concept album for Transatlantic. “Well, the idea of Transatlantic deciding to do a concept record this time around won’t shock anyone, right?” laughs Portnoy. “What we have is essentially one giant composition, split into chapters. The storyline is about the struggles facing everyone in society today.” “We didn’t start out with the idea of this being conceptual,” admits Stolt. “The way things work with us is that we have a load of ideas, and these are developed spontaneously when we meet up. Everything happens in the moment.”
So, how does this new ground-breaking album compare to Transatlantic’s previous four albums?
“I always try not to compare albums as much as possible,” insists Morse. “It’s very difficult when you’re trying to be creative, because your natural instinct is to constantly compare. But in order to create you have to kind of step away from that. Having said that, I would say this would have more in common with ‘The Whirlwind’ album (the band’s third, from 2009) than others that we’ve created.”
For Trewavas, ‘The Absolute Universe’ is a momentous project.“I think it is right up there with the very finest albums we’ve done. As the others have said, it compares very well to ‘The Whirlwind’, which I believe represents Transatlantic at our best. As on that album, we took our time to write and arrange everything, and that shines through. I am very excited for people to hear it.”
Transatlantic were originally formed in 1999, releasing their debut album ‘SMTPe’ the following year as well as its follow-up ‘Bridge Across Forever’ in 2001. Following a 7-year hiatus, the band reconvened to record and release the much-acclaimed epic 77-minute, single-track album ‘The Whirlwind’ followed by a world tour in 2010 which included an appearance at High Voltage Festival in London where they were joined by legendary Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. The band’s fourth album ‘Kaleidoscope’ arrived in 2014, going on to win ‘Album Of The Year’ at the Progressive Music Awards.
