THOUGHT CHAMBER

official site

Angular Perceprion

• Год: 2007
• Страна: USA
• Стиль: Progressive-metal
• Формат: mp3
• download

Tracklist 
01. Premonition
02. Sacred Treasure
03. A Legend's Avalon
04. Balance Of One
05. Mr Qwinkle's Therapy
06. Transmigration Of Souls
07. God Of Oblique
08. Silent Shore
09. Accidently On Purpose 
10. A Mind Beyond 
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Ted Leonard - Vocals 
Michael Harris - Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals 
Derek Blakley - Bass 
Rob Stankiewicz - Drums 
Bobby Williamson - Keyboards 

Проект Thought Chamber вырос из желания американского гитариста-виртуоза Майкла Харриса (Arch Rival) записать сольный вокальный альбом. После долгих поисков в певцы оказался определен фронтмен калифорнийских прог-рокеров Enchant Тед Леонард – из зачастую диаметрально противоположных видений этих двух музыкантов и пророс "Angular Perceptions". Как часто и бывает у инструменталистов-вирутозов, альбом четко распался на две части – вокальную и инструментальную: безумные, предельно замороченные и весьма занимательные номера Майкла "Premonition", "Mr. Qwinkle’s Therapy" и "Accidently On Purpose" будто бы перекочевали сюда с его поздних сольных CD, зато голос Теда обращает иные пьесы альбома в подобие позднего материала Enchant, впавшего в необоснованный технократизм.// link
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As a songwriter, guitar virtuoso Michael Harris is nothing short of prolific. Month after month, year after year, the axeman cranks out CDs with a voracity most artists could never touch. Be it as a solo artist, with one of his metal bands, or as a collaborator with other artists, Harris is a musical tour de force.

It is also noteworthy that this production is not centered around straight-ahead, three-chord rock songs, either. It seems Harris grows more complex and experimental with each release. His fretwork is on par with anyone in the world, and his songs reflect his mastery of the art. With such a catalog of amazing musical accomplishment, one might think Harris’ creative drive might have peaked.

Yet it is his latest conception that is his most impressive and, arguably, most ambitious to date. A progressive metal ‘supergroup,’ of sorts, Thought Chamber is a band that boasts virtuosity at every position. The band features Enchant vocalist Ted Leonard, former Haji’s Kitchen members Derek Blakley (bass) and Rob Stankiewicz (drums) and renowned keyboardist Bobby Williamson. With Harris’ own pedigree added into the mix, it’s no wonder why the group garnered the attention of prog rock’s premier label, Inside-Out Records. After shopping the group to only three labels, Inside-Out snatched them up for a three-record deal.

Though the record deal may seem to have come quickly, Thought Chamber hardly evolved over night. Harris had ideas on the group nearly a decade ago, but with other commitments and the like, only recently has it seen the light. “We started this thing in the year 2000,” he recalls. “I had been wanting to put together a progressive band for a while. John (Purdom), my manager, and I were actually talking about it in the late 90s,” he says. “[In 2000], we put an ad out on the internet and Ted Leonard responded to it.”

Blakley and Stankiewicz, however, had been on Harris’ short list for the project since the guitarist moved to the Dallas area more than a decade ago. “I met [Derek and Rob] back in the mid-90s,” Harris remembers. “Haji’s was one of the first bands I checked out when I first moved down here. Rob actually played with me for a while in the Michael Harris Project. We had talked about putting a band together even then,” he notes, “but it really hinged around the singer. So it didn’t happen for a couple of years. But once I knew Ted was in, then I could really start writing stuff for this. You have to know who the personnel is in order to write for it.”

As with the majority of his projects, Harris is the principal writer both musically and lyrically. For Thought Chamber, he demoed everything himself, including the vocals, and presented it to the other members to play their parts. “I’d do things like speed things up or whatever, to get my vocal point across. For the things that were out of my range, I’d record it slowed way down and then speed it up until it was in the right key,” he laughs. “It was like Mickey Mouse on lead vocals!

“It took several months to get that first tune down,” he recalls, “which is ‘A Mind Beyond,’ the last song on the CD. I remember listening to that for the first time and just getting gooseflesh. After hearing my demo and hearing Ted sing it…” Harris just shakes his head in disbelief.

Part of the reason the record took so long to come to fruition is that Leonard lives in California. Because of both of their hectic schedules, it was decided that he should do his own recording there, while the rest of the band tracked their parts here. “We recorded Rob’s drum parts at Nomad back in 2004, and that laid the foundation [for the record]. I did all my parts at my home studio,” Harris explains, “and then brought Derek in to do his bass lines at my studio as well. Then we sent some equipment out to Ted, and he set up a small vocal studio at his house in California and did his stuff there.”

Harris would ship tapes out to him; Leonard would record his vocals and then ship them back. “The whole thing took a long time to come together because we all had our different projects,” affirms Harris. “Ted and I figured out that between the time we formed the band to the time we finished the record, the two of us had 8-10 CDs out between us with our bands and other various projects.”

Strangely enough, the two had never even met until Leonard flew in the first weekend of April for their first photo shoot! The pictures on our cover and with this article are literally the first time the entire band was together. Listening to the astounding music generated on the group’s debut, Angular Perceptions, it is nearly impossible to fathom it was not all played together - or at least done in one setting.

Given the band’s geographic limitations (as well as lack of rehearsal time), the big question is will Thought Chamber ever play live? “It’s great, because the fans are already asking about that, and the record’s not even out yet [it came out April 3, 2007],” Harris laughs. “We’re looking for an opportunity for sure. I guess we’ll find out more after the record comes out. The label is cool with us putting together our own live shows, so I see some opportunities ahead for it. I’d say it’s only a matter of time.”

Now that he has label mates like Symphony X, Fates Warning, Spock’s Beard, King’s X and many others, one wonders what, indeed, could be on the horizon for Harris and company. In the meantime, Harris remains busy as ever with his myriad of projects. You can see him play live with his band at O’Riley’s on April 20. For more info on Harris, Thought Chamber and all his projects, check out www.michaelharrisguitar.com, www.imusicforce.com or www.insideoutshop.de.