Glass Hammer premiers their Melancholy Holiday video from the new concept album ‘Chronomonaut’.
About the new video, bassist Steve Babb told Progradar, “We’ve had the idea to attempt some sort of David Lynch – Twin Peaks inspired video for some time now. Any fans of Lynch could probably pick up on the inspiration in the song. This was just our first video of course and I’m hoping it will lead to us doing many more in the future.”
‘Chronomonaut’ tells the story of “the ultimate prog-fan” Tom, who, according to Babb, “has reached middle-age and wants to time travel back to the early 70’s to relive the glory days of progressive rock. We first introduced fans to Tom with our 2000 release ‘Chronometree’, an album which proved to be a turning point for us.”
Babb has been releasing videos of his character Tom, supposedly filmed in 1983, where viewers have learned about Tom’s failed prog rock band, The Elf King, and his preoccupation with time travel. “In the Melancholy Holiday video we find Tom late for a meeting with his girlfriend,” explains Babb. “Tom is convinced he’s traveled back in time to find her. She informs him otherwise and things just get weirder.”
Longtime Glass Hammer vocalist Susie Bogdanowicz sings this track, though Discipline front-man Matthew Parmenter also provides some lead vocals on ‘Chronomonaut’.
The seventy-minute long ‘Chronomonaut’ releases on October 12th, but fans can pre-order autographed copies of ‘Chronomonaut’ and limited edition t-shirts at the band’s website. http://glasshammer.com/official-store/
“It’s being here now that’s important. There’s no past and there’s no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one.”
― George Harrison
There’s times when we have all probably wished we could go back in time to change something but there’s no such thing as a time machine, right?
Glass Hammer’s new concept album ‘Chronomonaut’ answers the question ‘what if?’. The new release is a stand-alone album but also acts as a Part Two for the highly successful 2000 release ‘Chronometree’.
Bassist Steve Babb says the new concept album tells the story of “the ultimate prog fan.” Babb elaborates, “Our album deals with time travel, nostalgia and the love of prog-rock. ‘Chronomonaut’s’ protagonist, Tom, starts his own band and then makes the attempt to go back to the seventies in hopes of becoming a prog-god. It’s all in fun and is really a very tongue-in-cheek look at how our favorite music can take us back in time.”
Long been known as being proponents of classic progressive rock with influences from the 70’s, Glass Hammer make a bold new statement with ‘Chronomonaut’, a new direction that gives them a definitive sound of their own. I’m always excited by the announcement of a new album from this band but, this time, they have gone more than the extra mile.
The band has been engaged in a buzz-creating viral marketing campaign which NJ ProgHouse Media Manager Jon Yarger describes as “pure genius”. “We not only have an epic music video set for release, we have also been releasing found footage from Tom describing his band’s expoits and his odd theories on time,” explains Babb. Fans have been following Tom’s escapades for weeks before the album was announced, and are eagerly anticipating the ‘Chronomonaut’ release. The gorgeous digipak design incorporates Tom’s story and lyrics. The striking cover design is by Xaay, a fairly well known death metal guitarist / vocalist from Poland.
There’s a narrative running through the album and reading the booklet along with the tracks is a must, the powerful opening instrumental The Land of Lost Content introduces a more heavier sound before Roll For Initiative opens Tom’s story, ‘he could hear voices in the music; voices the rest of us could not, voices which instructed him in the science of time travel.’ Already you can hear the new direction that the band are forging, there’s a great jazz rock vibe coming across, especially with the brass section. Steve Babb’s bass is as elegant as ever giving depth to the music and the drums are a guiding light.
Twilight of the Godz is one of my favourites on the album, an ever so elegant track where Tom debates the merits of reliving the past with an old bandmate. Brian Brewer’s soulful blues guitar and Susie Bogdanowicz’s heartfelt and passionate vocals stand out on a song which, to my ears, channels late 60’s Beatles at its core, Fred Schendel’s ultra smooth Hammond and Steve Babb’s keyboards providing layers of class, and the guitar run out is a thing of sheer brilliance. We’re on a roll now, this excellent album continues with the silky smooth The Past is Past where the past reminds Tom of all that might have been. What a superb intro, never has a saxophone (take a bow Jamison Smeltz) been put to such good use since Baker Street and the vocals (from Discipline’sMatthew Parmenter, if my ears don’t deceive me) really fit the mood. Think singer/songwriter meets jazz band with a King Crimson fixation and you wont be far wrong, it is theatrical in its delivery and really gives the band a completely different feel.
This enjoyable romp through space and time continues with the stylishly delivered 1980 Something where, ‘Like an old girlfriend returned from decades ago, the past beckons..’ Susie’s vocals, some judiciously played guitar and Steve’s dextrous keyboards (he doesn’t just play bass you know!) imbue the song with timeless sophistication and refinement. A Hole In The Sky sees the story get serious, ‘Tom must make the attempt to go back in time.The past, nostalgia, whatever it is that’s calling him, he has to find it.’ The music definitely takes a trip back in time with a bouncing 60’s vibe that is really infectious. The vocals, guitar and, especially, keyboards invoke such feelings of that decade that you’re virtually transported there yourself, it’s a very clever piece of music.
A sci-fi inspired instrumental which could have come from Tangerine Dream (more of that later) Clockwork, with its 80’s sounding keyboards, is two minutes of musical dexterity which wouldn’t have been out of place in one of the Terminator movies. Haunting and spaced out in equal measure, Melancholy Holiday has far eastern edge to it, Susie delivering a wonderful vocal performance.‘Once through the portal, Tom finds himself adrift in the murky waters of time where he find the past isn’t what it used to be’. The languid tempo does make you feel like you are drifting in a vast expanse of nothingness, with no idea where you are or where to go.
It Always Burns Sideways is a two-part instrumental that is ying and yang. Pt.1 Same Thing Over Again is dark and dangerous, the heavy accentuated keyboards giving a Van der Graaf Generator undertone to the music and a daunting atmosphere. Pt.2 Headphones In Wonderland is a polar opposite with its uplifting feel and swirling keyboards. It’s like the band recruited Mike Oldfield for a cameo and played a jam session along with him. The classically stylish guitar is a superb addition and just left me feeling elevated and inspired.
Glass Hammer show that they can do the pomp and circumstance as well as Transatlantic or Neal Morse with the exhilarating Blinding Light. ‘Tom realises at last that the only way to get ahead is to go forward. And anyway, time only travels in one direction. It’s time to leave the past behind.’ The sumptuous brass section, dynamic drums and exalted keyboards give the track a vibrancy and inject it with heart and soul. Excellent vocals and subtle guitar are the icing on a rather tasty cake, one that emphasises the impressive new sound and direction that the band are taking. The Steve Babb composed & performed Tangerine Memewears its German electronic instrumental heart on its sleeve and as a homage to that legendary musical collective, is nigh on perfect.
This incredibly infectious and hugely entertaining story is brought to a close with the ten minute near-epic Fade Away. Bringing the story round full circle, but leaving the door open for a further instalment, it’s an inventive and intelligent piece of music that touches your heart with its opening. A tender piano and subdued vocal taking the story up. Like all the best tracks it builds on simple beginnings to blossom into something quite magnificent. The vocals take on the role of storyteller and bard, the musicians giving them the canvas to paint on, building layers and layers of sophistication. This song is a totally immersive ten minutes that you gladly lose yourself in and it twists and turns and then gives you the ultimate reward at the end, a quite wonderful closing guitar solo from Reese Boyd.
‘Where is Tom now? None of us know. Did he finally make it back to “those blue remembered hills” of the seventies, that “land of lost content” where prog legends are still young and the genre is flourishing and alive with possibility? I hope that he did. Though were I to be honest, I suspect he’s found what most of us have – that you can’t really ever go back. Somewhere out there , just like the rest of us, he’s making his slow cautious way into the future only to find that once there, it’s just now.’
Albums like ‘Chronomonaut’ are the reason why I love music so much and it has become part of my life. It sees a band I love unafraid to take a relatively new direction, organically progressive if you like. While not completely straying from their roots, Glass Hammer have taken a path less trodden and delivered what is, without a doubt, their best album yet and a fantastic new direction of power, precision and downright soul.
Glass Hammer have been teasing a concept album based on “the ultimate prog fan”, and now it’s official.
Fans will no doubt recognize the name “Tom” from 2000’s ‘Chronometree’ release and videos on Glass Hammer’s social media sites show that Tom has recently resurfaced to promote his own music. Bassist Steve Babb explains, “While ‘Chronometree’ documented Tom’s prog-rock influenced alien-encounter in 1979, our new album ‘Chromomonaut’ tells the stranger story of all that happened later; from Tom’s failed early eighties prog-rock band, The Elf King, to his most recent musings on nostalgia and the glory days of progressive rock.”
To lend credibility to the ‘Chronomonaut’ story, the character of Tom began posting his own music and theories on time travel to YouTube and at least one well-known progressive rock forum (progressiveears.org) several months ago using the name “The Elf King”. Glass Hammer has also been releasing “found footage” video of Tom, supposedly from 1983, which documents his time travel experiments as well as the failure of his own prog band to secure a record deal.
“Tom is a frustrated guy,” says Babb. “He’s growing older and his prog heroes are retiring or sadly passing away. We all reflect as these things happen and we’re all guilty of romanticizing the past, but Tom makes the bold attempt to actually go back in time. Is the music in his prog collection powerful enough to make this happen? Can he really get back there? That’s what ‘Chronomonaut’ is all about.”
Bandmates Fred Schendel, Susie Bogdanowicz and Aaron Raulston are all on board for this release. Guest appearances include Discipline’s Matthew Parmenter and Chris Herin.
“Chronomonaut” will be released on Friday, October 12th. Pre-ordering for autographed copies will begin one month ahead of the release on September 12th at the band’s website.
