Check Out the ANABASIS debut album Artwork

DO WANT

Looks like good stuff!  Looking forward to it :)

"Whatever you're looking for, don't ever start looking behind."

FrankT

You got THE Stefan Artwin on your album? That's incredible!

Did you ever consider a career in stand-up comedy?

Cause if you did, better stick to the drumming thing.

Really though, I can't wait to hear what he came up with, should be VERY interesting, as I was honestly blown away by his solo's on the Relocator album. Intense playing!

I've heard the stuff (several solos with two takes each for Barry to choose from) and it kicks ass!
There's some wonderfully odd phrasing, some all-out shred and some beautiful acoustic stuff, too.

Wow, this is moving right along!

Thanks for the opportunity to get in on this, Mr. Thompson, and if you need me to redo some takes, I'd be more than happy.

Wow, I wasn't even aware of this until now.

I'm in with the others; awaiting a release on my end.

OK, I decided that if I chopped it up enough and picked out the cleaner parts, that I could use some of the demo material to make a sampler, which will give you a really good idea of the musical themes and styles that are represented on the album.

Now, please folks, keep in mind that ALL of this -every second of it- is from DEMOS, and is not the finished product by any stretch, so you may hear the odd timing issue or mix problem here and there, but I believe this sampler (which is about 11 minutes long) gives a very good overall idea of what to expect from this album.

So, without further qualification and excuses, I give you da linque:

http://www.theanabasisproject.com/Media/tabid/59/Default.aspx

ViolinTheater


Wow, this is moving right along!

Thanks for the opportunity to get in on this, Mr. Thompson, and if you need me to redo some takes, I'd be more than happy.

Actually, Brian, I am going to need you to re-record all of your parts with the gain turned up quite a bit, and if you can provide the audio in MONO @ 48,000 that would be great.

Kyo, thanks for the compliments, that truly means a lot coming from a musician of your caliber, sir.  I'm humbled.

I'll wait to give an opinion. It's just not fair to hear and critique anything without the final
product. I've got lots of thoughts but I'll wait.

emtee


I'll wait to give an opinion. It's just not fair to hear and critique anything without the final
product. I've got lots of thoughts but I'll wait.

Fair enough, emtee.  I appreciate your interest.  I struggled with this decision a bit, because I know the finished product is likely to sound a LOT better and more polished, but I know people are curious about the direction the music is taking, so I decided that I didn't mind letting people hear it in the demo stage.

I wish I was better at mixing, but I really suck at it, and I mixed all of the stuff you hear on that sampler.

Damn, I turned the highs up way too much on some of that bass guitar, eh?  LOL

It's hard to tell song direction, etc as these are just samples spliced together, but I really like what I am hearing and will definitely make a purchase once it's released.

Hi Utopiarun - thank you very much for your interest.  Most of my friends who have heard demos have called us a cross between modern day Dream Theater and a more heavy sounding Pink Floyd.  I wrote the majority of the music and I think the influences you will hear in my writing are along the lines of Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Judas Priest, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd and maybe even Black Sabbath.  There are a couple of sections, especially in the middle epic "Vikings" that are positively EVIL sounding.

Musically, it's all over the map, especially the final epic, "Egypt" which Kyo has heard a rough demo of......that one is heavy/complex/soft/intricate/mellow/brutal all rolled into one song.....and somehow, Stefan managed to lay down a killer solo on top of a really fucked up 9/4 groove!  LOL

Anyway, once I have some proper actual recordings mixed, I will start streaming entire songs from the web site leading up to the album release.....

The purpose of this sampler was just to give people a rough idea of what we sound like.

I have to say, though, I really hate how bad the bass sounds towards the end...I forgot that I was playing around with the bass last week in a lame attempt to produce the same tonal quality as Pete T from Transatlantic, it's definitely got way too much treble in it, but what the heck, I've stressed that it's just demo material on that sampler and I think most people understand that the finished product, once properly mixed and mastered, is going to sound quite a bit different/improved.

KirksNoseHair

ViolinTheater


Wow, this is moving right along!

Thanks for the opportunity to get in on this, Mr. Thompson, and if you need me to redo some takes, I'd be more than happy.

Actually, Brian, I am going to need you to re-record all of your parts with the gain turned up quite a bit, and if you can provide the audio in MONO @ 48,000 that would be great.

Will do.  If you can explain it to me so that a computer n00b like me can understand?  

Wow Kirk...
I didn't expect it to be that complex and diverse in both sound and arrangements.
Primarily since you said a while ago that there are Redemption and Symphony X vibes there I wasn't too sure whether I'll like this thing or not.
But the teaser' kind of a proof that I was wrong on that.

Sounds really promising!
Again all the best wishes for the rest of the whole process, my dear...

Dennis, thank you for your interest.  My brother listened to the entire album last night (well, the DEMOS, that is) and he said some parts reminded him of Spock's Beard, who I just introduced him to. 

We think the music is quite diverse.  It has moments of very heavy aggression, soft acoustic moments, some nice piano/singer stuff, and hey, what prog album wouldn't be complete without a twisted guitar solo on top of a 9/4 metal riff?   I'm still not sure how Stefan pulled that one off, but he really blew the lid off that section of the "Egypt" epic.

KirksNoseHair

I struggled with this decision a bit, because I know the finished product is likely to sound a LOT better and more polished

I gotta say that second sample is really quite painful because the drums there aren't tight AT ALL.

I really hope you get all these sync issues sorted out in time because I honestly
think the songs are cool and I would love to hear them recorded really well.

My experience with this kind of album production process where you don't have everyone
in the room while recording is that you're likely to end up having to re-do a lot of bass and
guitar tracks once you have the drum tracks recorded, no matter how much you might've liked
them on your original demos with MIDI drums. Small changes in feel, sligthly different accents
and you have to decide whether to live with some messy sounding parts or whether to adapt
everything else to the drumming already put to tape (or - these days - rather to hard disk).

Do not underestimate this in your scheduling! There's a reason why it took us half a
year to get our album finished after Derek and Frank had finished recording their parts!

KirksNoseHair


Dennis, thank you for your interest.  My brother listened to the entire album last night (well, the DEMOS, that is) and he said some parts reminded him of Spock's Beard, who I just introduced him to. 

We think the music is quite diverse.  It has moments of very heavy aggression, soft acoustic moments, some nice piano/singer stuff, and hey, what prog album wouldn't be complete without a twisted guitar solo on top of a 9/4 metal riff?   I'm still not sure how Stefan pulled that one off, but he really blew the lid off that section of the "Egypt" epic.

You are absolutely welcome.
I just say what I think. I would let you know as well, if I wouldn't like it as I know you could take it.

And I just love it and try to help where I can, when I recognize someone's passion for something. It mustn't be music, but could be crochet as well.

Dig in, Kirk!

Oh... And I'll PM you my adress for my free copy...

I thought of you and this record a few days ago.
Now, that I read your little Shattered review it's about time.

So... Updates, Captain?

Wow...I totally forgot about this...sounds good and fresh!

"Be careful.  You're a man who makes people afraid, and that's dangerous."

"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes em' afraid."

Kyo

KirksNoseHair

I struggled with this decision a bit, because I know the finished product is likely to sound a LOT better and more polished

I gotta say that second sample is really quite painful because the drums there aren't tight AT ALL.

I really hope you get all these sync issues sorted out in time because I honestly
think the songs are cool and I would love to hear them recorded really well.

My experience with this kind of album production process where you don't have everyone
in the room while recording is that you're likely to end up having to re-do a lot of bass and
guitar tracks once you have the drum tracks recorded, no matter how much you might've liked
them on your original demos with MIDI drums. Small changes in feel, sligthly different accents
and you have to decide whether to live with some messy sounding parts or whether to adapt
everything else to the drumming already put to tape (or - these days - rather to hard disk).

Do not underestimate this in your scheduling! There's a reason why it took us half a
year to get our album finished after Derek and Frank had finished recording their parts!

Yes, this is ONE of the main points I was going to make but he emphasized ROUGH samples so I decided not to critique. In addition, in comparison
to the rest of the composition, the drum work itself sounds like it needs work (I really hope I'm not offending anyone here who may have
played on this) because it is very remedial sounding. PLEASE know I'm not trying to be an ass, just stating my feelings. I fully intend to
purchase this but unless those items are tweaked I probably couldn't get past it.

Yeah, I should have known better than to post demos.  I forgot what web site I was on for a minute

It doesn't offend me or anyone else that you guys found that demos sound like demos.  Because usually, demos sound like demos.  But it was a mistake to post any of it and I've now removed it.

Anyway, luckily for us, the demos were good enough for Ryo Okumoto of Spock's Beard to agree to come on board.  He'll be doing the keyboards for the opening epic.

There will be no more samples until I have fully completed, mixed and mastered material.

I missed some demos?

DAYUM!

Facebook. 
Wherever there is metal and beer,
dark forces draw me near.

Holy shit you got Ryo to play on it??!?!?!

DO WANT!

Bolus - I play keyboards, in a band, we make music, it's good when you hear it, ya.

Time And Tension - more delicious prog! yum!

something_wicked


I missed some demos?

DAYUM!

Yes, I took them down.  Sorry.  I should have never posted any rough demos here on this site.   Way too many assumptions made, despite the vividly clear disclaimers I posted.  So they're down, and there will not be another note until we have completely finished, mixed and mastered material.  That will probably be some time in August/September.

Soundchaser


Holy shit you got Ryo to play on it??!?!?!

DO WANT!

Yes, Ryo Okumoto of Spock's Beard will be playing ALL keyboards/syths etc on the opening epic, "Rome"

KirksNoseHair

Soundchaser


Holy shit you got Ryo to play on it??!?!?!

DO WANT!

Yes, Ryo Okumoto of Spock's Beard will be playing ALL keyboards/syths etc on the opening epic, "Rome"

Holy fuck, this just keeps getting better!

I feel you on the "demos" thing Kirk...I have restrained myself from posting different things for the exact same reason...

as well intentioned as some posts may be...I have a hard time not sighing when I read posts where someone dissects the snare drum sound or the loudness of the vocals right after someone posts a "demo"...

I, for one, am super excited to hear this thing...I got to say, from the teasers to the website to the artwork...you got this thing nailed down as far as I'm concerned!!!!

"Be careful.  You're a man who makes people afraid, and that's dangerous."

"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes em' afraid."

It is nice...but a little over the top I think...even if the music is "over the top" or "dramatic"

Again nice work but I just think it's been done

"My downtime is pretty much spent playing drums, thinking about playing drums and listening to metal records..."

-chris adler (lamb of god)

I'm of the opinion that "everything" has been done before...

If you try and play the "original" game you can only lose...

It's better to just do what you love and what feels right...then you win before anyone even hears it...

"Be careful.  You're a man who makes people afraid, and that's dangerous."

"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes em' afraid."

This is one of those threads that I somehow missed, or somehow glossed over when scanning the main page.

Anyway, that cover art is awesome! Love that kind of thing. And I'll be happy to check out the music when it's finished!

KirksNoseHair

Yeah, I should have known better than to post demos.  I forgot what web site I was on for a minute

It doesn't offend me or anyone else that you guys found that demos sound like demos.  Because usually, demos sound like demos. 

Well, there's "demos" and then there's "messy demos". I see no problem
with posting the former, but some excerpts you chose were of the latter
category. No need to mope, just learn from the experience and move on.

camando133


It is nice...but a little over the top I think...even if the music is "over the top" or "dramatic"

Again nice work but I just think it's been done

It's been done?

Damn, I thought I was going to be the very first person on earth to ever have released a progressive rock concept album with over the top dramatic lyrical themes, complex music, and over the top artistic images in the artwork, and NOW, you tell me this has been done before?

Really?

Kyo

KirksNoseHair

Yeah, I should have known better than to post demos.  I forgot what web site I was on for a minute

It doesn't offend me or anyone else that you guys found that demos sound like demos.  Because usually, demos sound like demos. 

Well, there's "demos" and then there's "messy demos". 

Messy, right, you mean, that other word for "rough"  ?

Whatever man, I'm moving on now. 

Thanks for helping me realize that only absolutely 100% perfect quality samples should ever be posted on this site.  It was a valuable lesson for me to learn, and I will never forget it.

I'll also be sure to study the nuances between the words "messy" and "rough" as I'm sure the differences are vast.

Just so you know Barry, I'm looking forward to this release more than I was the final season of LOST.

No pressure, HA!

I have no doubts that it is going to be excellent. I would have said it's going to be awesome but the differences between those two words can be confusing as well, and I need to be clear :)

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.....Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."                  Khalil Gibran

Awesome, Captain!

And congrats for getting Ryo on board for your project!!!

And I want you to know that I honestly think you shouldn't regret posting "rough demos".
As it has been mentioned before that's how a demo sounds, generally.
So just go on and bring your project to an end quickly...

All the best wishes for the rest of the process...

KirksNoseHair

Kyo

KirksNoseHair

Yeah, I should have known better than to post demos.  I forgot what web site I was on for a minute

It doesn't offend me or anyone else that you guys found that demos sound like demos.  Because usually, demos sound like demos. 

Well, there's "demos" and then there's "messy demos". 

Messy, right, you mean, that other word for "rough"  ?

Whatever man, I'm moving on now. 

Thanks for helping me realize that only absolutely 100% perfect quality samples should ever be posted on this site.  It was a valuable lesson for me to learn, and I will never forget it.

I'll also be sure to study the nuances between the words "messy" and "rough" as I'm sure the differences are vast.

Mr. Thompson, are you sure you're not coming across as too cynical?  I think people are just throwing in their opinion.

Here are videos of me performing on the violin.
 
http://www.youtube.com/user/battleblades

Yeah, sorry but in my opinion you're being a little defensive.  I, for one, just saw this thread and was intrigued enough to listen to the demos.  Oh well.  

gmillerdrake


Just so you know Barry, I'm looking forward to this release more than I was the final season of LOST.

No pressure, HA!

I have no doubts that it is going to be excellent. I would have said it's going to be awesome but the differences between those two words can be confusing as well, and I need to be clear :)

I really needed that laugh, thanks

Heh, pretty cool, I was just doing a video conference about the opening epic "Rome" with Ryo Okumoto on Skype.

Fucking surreal

KirksNoseHair

Messy, right, you mean, that other word for "rough"  ?

No, or I would've said "rough"... When someone tells me they have a rough demo of
something, it usually means that the song is not fully fleshed out when it comes to
the individual parts and nobody put a lot of time into mixing it. There might be some
playing mistakes, but they are minor enough to be ignored, and so the demo gets the
musical ideas within the song across. I'd call a demo "messy" when there are timing
or harmony issues that detract from those core ideas and that would require a musician
meant to record the song to ask for clarification regarding some parts. When the guitar
and the drums (or the keys) aren't on the same page, what's the bass supposed to do?

Thanks for helping me realize that only absolutely 100% perfect quality samples should ever be posted on this site.  It was a valuable lesson for me to learn, and I will never forget it.

Two people (who both said nice things about the actual compositions) pretty much
just repeated what you said about the state of some of these demos yourself, no
need to be such a crybaby about it. I really don't see what the big problem is here.

KirksNoseHair

Heh, pretty cool, I was just doing a video conference about the opening epic "Rome" with Ryo Okumoto on Skype.

Fucking surreal

Cool!

KirksNoseHair


Heh, pretty cool, I was just doing a video conference about the opening epic "Rome" with Ryo Okumoto on Skype.

Fucking surreal

Wow!!!

How was/is he to work with?  I'm a HUGE fan of his playing and I can only imagine how cool it would be to get a chance to work with someone I admire!

"Be careful.  You're a man who makes people afraid, and that's dangerous."

"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes em' afraid."

This sounds awesome! I will DEFINITELY be checking this out upon release.

Last.fm

WilliamMunny

KirksNoseHair


Heh, pretty cool, I was just doing a video conference about the opening epic "Rome" with Ryo Okumoto on Skype.

Fucking surreal

Wow!!!

How was/is he to work with?  I'm a HUGE fan of his playing and I can only imagine how cool it would be to get a chance to work with someone I admire!

Ryo is a very cool and laid back guy.  I actually hung out with him and his son quite a bit at the 3RP festival a couple of years back and had planted the seed of the idea of a collaboration back then, and he seemed genuinely interested in doing something.  He's easy to work with and very creative and energetic.  Likes to just get down to work and do it.

It gets even better:

Update:  Ryo Okumoto, keyboardist for Spock's Beard will be playing ALL keyboards on roughly half of the album....

He's already finished his parts for "Rome" (the opening epic of the three part "Anabasis Suite") and the stuff he laid down is absolutely breathtaking.

We're extremely excited to have Ryo on the album and we know that fans of Neal Morse, Spock's Beard, Transatlantic and even Dream Theater are going to enjoy this album, which, by the way, is 78.5 minutes long

ha ha, I can't keep any secrets.....I just got back the first take for 'Egypt" too and it needs a few adjustments.

How the fuck do you tell Ryo Okumoto you don't like some of the stuff he played? 


Answer:  Very politely



Seriously, though, about 80% of his first take at an epic that is almost 30 minutes long is great.   The dude is ridiculously prolific.  I gave him the demo less than 24 hours ago

KirksNoseHair

ha ha, I can't keep any secrets.....I just got back the first take for 'Egypt" too and it needs a few adjustments.

I figured he'd also be recording Egypt when I read something about "40 minutes".
Cool, I gotta tell Stefan he'll be featured on a song alongside Ryo Okumoto!

How the fuck do you tell Ryo Okumoto you don't like some of the stuff he played? 

LOL! I've been there, I really have...

Seriously, though, about 80% of his first take at an epic that is almost 30 minutes long is great.   The dude is ridiculously prolific.  I gave him the demo less than 24 hours ago

That's really quite amazing, very cool!

So, anyway, long time, no update....thought I'd bring everyone up to speed.

• The final vocal tracks are being recorded this weekend.
• Drums are done
• Bass tracks are almost done, just some punch-ins left in two songs.
• Guitars, almost done, I'm being a ridiculous perfectionist, but I don't have any deadlines, so I want to make it as good as possible!  I've been trying to find that perfect tone for the final takes and I am almost there. 
• I've had some unexpected delays because of my health not being so good AND because our vocalist was in a minor motorcycle accident and needed to heal up before he started the vocals, but we're back on track now.
• Ryo Okumoto is now playing on ALL THREE songs that make up "The ANABASIS Suite" which is the 46-minute, three part epic that makes up the bulk of the album, BUT, he won't be finishing up his keyboards until Spock's Beard gets back from their mini-tour of Europe in the fall.  When you guys hear what he's done, though, you'll be glad I waited, his playing is absolutely breathtaking, especially the acoustic grand piano stuff he laid down in the opening track, "Rome."

So, there it is.  I can't really say exactly when the release will be at this point, there are still a few too many variables, including my unpredictable health situation and the fact that I am relying on some other musicians to round out the album.  There will be a few surprise guests that I'm not going to reveal just yet, but you ALL know at least one of the guests  .  We really think we have a pretty special piece of artwork here that has been lovingly crafted over a period of what is now approaching three years since I started writing it all.  I am very, very excited about how it's all coming together.

What's really cool is how the internet has made a project like this possible.  I have yet to be in the same room with any of the musicians involved, and yet, here we are making an album together.  We have people from Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Rhode Island, Germany, Holland, England and Australia all taking part in this thing and I am absolutely honored to even be mentioned in the same sentence with some of these musicians.

Remember, for those of you who are on Facebook, we have a fan page here:
http://www.facebook.com/TheANABASIS

We also have an official band web site here:
http://www.theanabasisproject.com


Thanks to everyone here for your support and interest!

So yea.... I just totally checked out this thread for the first time, and I am really looking forward to hearing the end result!! Good luck Kirk with finishing this baby!

Jeremy Smirnoff
drums, percussion
http://www.facebook.com/jeremy.smirnoff

Sounds great! Can't wait to hear it!

I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Francis Hopkinson, March 13, 1789

Awesome, I'd just been thinking over the last week or so that we hadn't had any updates for a while.

Nice to see we're still dead on track.