MochiobaseCD
A-Z (A-Through-Z) / A-Through-Z
A-Z (A-Through-Z) / A-Through-Z
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Catalog number: RBNCD-1365
The super band formed by current FATES WARNING's Ray Alder (vo) and former member Mark Sonder (dr) has released their long-awaited debut album!
Ray Alder, the vocalist of the legendary band Fates Warning, was an original member of the legendary American epic metal band WARLORD, joining them from 1989's Perfect Symmetry, and releasing 6 progressive original albums over 16 years until 2005's FWX.A highly anticipated new band was formed at the invitation of Mark Sonder, who contributed as the band's drummer!
The band's name, A-Z, comes from the meanings of A for Alder and Z for Zonder, a double meaning that represents the band's wide range of musicality, ``from A to Z.'' Mark himself said, ``We were conscious of creating songs that were not so-called prog rock, but more melodic, and that people could immediately react to after listening to them.A big hook was our top priority.''This musicality may come as a bit of a surprise to fans of FATS WARNING. He also declared, ``This is not a one-off project that will end with the release of one album, but a permanent band that will release many albums in the future.''
The members other than those two are also strong, and the bassist is Philip Byno, a technician who formed a solid rhythm section with Mark in the latter half of WARLORD and has played with Steve Vai for many years. The guitar player is Joep Walters, a Dutchman who has released many solo albums for LOIN MUSIC and is also in a local "RUSH" tribute band. The keyboard will be played by Frenchman Vivian Lalu, who is also active in his own band “LALU” along with Joop on guitar.
The music is compact and versatile, with most songs lasting less than 5 minutes, and Ray's vocals are clear, yet the songs are technical and profound. As Ray himself says, ``I've been singing progressive metal for over 30 years now, so I think it's a chance to do something different from what I've done before.'' The band focuses on melodies, and since two of the members are from Europe, there are many great songs that give you a sense of European humility. I highly recommend this not only to fans of FATS WARNING and WARLORD, but also to metal fans of RUSH, DREAM THEATER, DGM, CIRCUS MAXIMUS, and even metal fans who lean towards Melohar.
The album was mixed and mastered by Simone Muraloni (DGM), a talented person involved in many works! The distinctive album cover was created by Hugh Syme, a genius who has produced many works such as RUSH, FATES WARNING, DREAM THEATER, etc.
[CD] [2022/9/7]
