Bryan Beller, bassist for The Aristocrats, Joe Satriani and Dethklok, has released a new single ‘Volunteer State’, taken from his upcoming solo work Scenes From The Flood.‘Volunteer State’ features world renowned virtuoso Joe Satriani on guitar and Joe Travers [Zappa plays Zappa, Joe Satriani, Duran Duran] on drums.
The hugely ambitious and unapologetically progressive double concept album Scenes From The Floodis scheduled for worldwide release on September 13, and available for pre-order now at http://bryanbeller.com.
“This is the first full song of the album, and this is essentially where the story begins,” says Beller. “It’s an optimistic road-trip song. It’s filled with intention and desire for something positive, though as you get further into it, it does a bit of a twist on you.”
Beller continues: “Once I wrote it, and heard the melody and felt the vibe, I felt strongly and deeply that Joe Satriani could bring something special to it, something uniquely his, that would give ‘Volunteer State’ the weight it needed to be the opening chapter of such a long and winding tale.” Not content with simply contributing the lead melody and solo, the guitar legend took two months to build a complete arrangement around Beller’s song, including additional harmonies, acoustic guitars, a banjo, and several other sonic layers. “And Joe Travers is the perfect drummer for a heavy, straight-ahead rock groove like this.”
The accompanying live action dramatic video (shot, directed and edited by Jon Luini and Arthur Rosato) stars Beller himself and follows the musician as he packs up his old life and heads across the country into the unknown. Eagle-eyed fans will be able to spot several motifs and references to other parts of the album throughout the nearly 6-minute running length.
Scenes From The Flood
A work so sweeping in scale that it took Bellernearly a decade to conceive, compose, and now fully realize, Scenes From The Flood grapples with an existential question: When the storm comes for us, the big one after which things will not be the same, who are we and what do we become in those defining moments? What do we keep, and what do we let go? Scenes From The Flood features 26 world class musicians, exploring themes of ambition and loss, intentionality and reality, hope and disillusionment, and uses every second of its 18-song, 88-minute running order to tell an emotionally consuming and unforgettable musical story.
All studio and live releases from Bryan Beller can be purchased at: http://bryanbeller.com
For additional information on Bryan Beller and Scenes From The Flood, please visit:
BRYAN BELLER’S NEW SOLO WORK, ‘SCENES FROM THE FLOOD’, AN EPIC-SCALE MODERN PROGRESSIVE DOUBLE CONCEPT ALBUM, TO BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2019;PRE-ORDERS NOW AVAILABLE
As a bassist and composer, Bryan Beller (The Aristocrats, Joe Satriani, Dethklok, Steve Vai) has never been accused of being insufficiently driven. But nothing he’s done before can truly prepare audiences for his newest release, the massively ambitious and unapologetically progressive double concept album Scenes From The Flood, scheduled for worldwide release on September 13th, now available for pre-order at bryanbeller.com.
A work so sweeping in scale that it took Beller nearly a decade to conceive, compose, and now fully realize, the album grapples with an existential question: When the storm comes for us, the big one after which things will not be the same, who are we and what do we become in those defining moments? What do we keep, and what do we let go? Scenes From The Flood explores themes of ambition and loss, intentionality and reality, hope and disillusionment, and uses every second of its 18-song, 88-minute running order to tell an emotionally consuming and unforgettable musical story.
Realizing Beller’s vision meant enlisting 26 musicians spread across four continents to bring Scenes From The Flood to life. Special guests on guitar include legends Joe Satriani (on the optimistic, “road trip” vibed opening track “Volunteer State”), John Petrucci (who lays down a screaming lead on the 9-minute story-climactic progressive epic “World Class”), Guthrie Govan (taking the lead on the album’s closing ballad “Sweet Water”), and Mike Keneally (going from layered acoustics on one track to furious metal riffing on another), just four of fourteen total guitarists who appear on the album. Drummers include veterans Gene Hoglan (Dethklok, Strapping Young Lad, Death), Joe Travers (Zappa Plays Zappa, Joe Satriani), Ray Hearne (Haken), and Nate Morton (Cher, The Voice)
uly 1st marked the debut of the animated video for one of the album’s signature tunes, “The Storm”, a dark and heavy odyssey that serves as one of the signature compositions of Beller’s new opus. The 7-minute piece features the aforementioned metal legend Gene Hoglan on drums and an army of four guitarists to deliver the song’s urgent, powerful message. See it here:
“Not exactly light fare, is it?” chuckles Beller, who just turned 48. “But all of my truly favorite albums take me to deep, sometimes challenging places, even upon repeated listening. Especially the double albums. Somewhere inside me, in the eleven years since my last solo album, I’d absorbed and processed a series of life experiences that, I thought, could possibly inform an extended work like this. I felt like I had something big and complex to say. And then I just dove into it.”
Presented in the classic format of four vinyl sides (or four “parts” on two CD’s), Scenes From The Flood was inspired by hallowed progressive double-albums like Pink Floyd’s The Walland Yes’ Tales From Topographic Oceans, as well as more modern expanded works, such as Nine Inch Nails’ The Fragile. The deluxe packaging (2CD 8-panel digipak + two 20-page double-CD booklets; 2LP gatefold + 24-page full-size booklet) reveals not just album artwork, but unique cover-style artwork for each of the eighteen songs, or “scenes”. The resulting sense of story urgency and dramatic narrative presents like a soundtrack to a movie suspense thriller as much as it does a double album. A limited run of 200 colored (purple) vinyl will also be produced.
Scenes From The Flood is performed by: Christopher Allis, Bryan Beller, Nili Brosh, Paul Cartwright, Darran Charles, Julian Coryell, Mike Dawes, Janet Feder, Guthrie Govan, Ray Hearne, Gene Hoglan, Mike Keneally, Jamie Kime, Fred Kron, Teddy Kumpel, Jake Howsam Lowe, Evan Mazunik, Nate Morton, Rick Musallam, Mike Olekshy, Griff Peters, John Petrucci, Matt Rohde, Joe Satriani, Rishabh Seen, Joe Travers, Leah Zeger
PART ONE The Scouring Of Three & Seventeen Volunteer State Everything And Nothing A Quickening Steiner In Ellipses
PART TWO Always Worth it Lookout Mountain The Storm The Flood
PART THREE Bunkistan As Advertised Army Of The Black Rectangles The Outer Boundary Angles & Exits
PART FOUR The Inner Boundary World Class Sweet Water Let Go Of Everything
Scenes From The Flood will be released on September 13th, 2019. Pre-orders are now available. All studio and live releases from Bryan Beller can be purchased at http://bryanbeller.com
What do you call an act who blends elements of dirty rock, folk, jazz, and explosions of esoterica into one mind-melding album? The Aristocrats, of course.
The Aristocrats (guitarist Guthrie Govan, bassist Bryan Beller and drummer Marco Minnemann) are perhaps the best known instrumental rock-fusion band on the circuit and have just recorded their most ambitious and exploratory album in their eight year history. You Know What…? is the fourth studio album from the trio and includes nine new tracks recorded at Brotheryn Studios, Ojai, CA.
In true Aristocratic tradition, each band member wrote and produced three songs which were brought to life in the studio thanks to the band’s instinctive chemistry and shared musical vocabulary. Having taken a little time away to work on other projects, the band were excited to be back together doing what they do best and producing a sound that’s at once fresh and new but unmistakably the work of The Aristocrats with their trademark blend of discipline and musical freedom. True to form, the album doesn’t hitch its wagon to any one genre. The only rules the trio live by are that the music must be pleasurable for the listener and it most definitely has to be fun to play.
A glance at the track listing for You Know What…? may cause some raised eyebrows from those unfamiliar with the band. For fans however, it’s a tantalizing glimpse of the stories behind the songs that the band will soon be sharing with audiences all over the world on their upcoming world tour, which begins in North America this summer. From the filthy, greasy rock of “D Grade F*ck Movie Jam” and “Terrible Lizard”, to the quirky anything-goes madness of “Spiritus Cactus” and “Spanish Eddie”, to the lavishly arranged “Burial At Sea” and “When We All Come Together”, and to the timeless melodies of “All Said And Done” and Last Orders”, You Know What…? is an album full of addictive grooves, high energy jamming and seemingly impossible musical twists and turns.The Aristocrats are undoubtedly back and ready to blow some minds.
The band are pretty pleased with how it turned out, commenting that: “On You Know What…?, we feel like we inspired each other as songwriters and musicians to do things we’ve never done before as a band. We know each other pretty well now, and we used that familiarity to really get after it in the studio and push the boundaries of what we can accomplish on a record. And still, it’s totally, completely an Aristocrats album. We think it’s the coolest thing we’ve done yet by far.”
Track Listing
1. D Grade F*ck Movie Jam 2. Spanish Eddie 3. When We All Come Together 4. All Said And Done 5. Terrible Lizard 6. Spiritus Cactus 7. The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde 8. Burial At Sea 9. Last Orders
You Know What…? will be available in both standard and deluxe CD packages, in addition to digital download and streaming versions. The deluxe edition includes a bonus DVD, filmed and edited by Jon Luini, featuring exclusive studio footage and interviews with the band – as well as a 12-page booklet comprising artwork to accompany each song, in which Graphic Artist Hajo Müller continues and expands the Aristocratic tradition of illustrated artwork with a decidedly childlike vision of each of the album’s nine tunes. You Know What…? will be released on June 28th 2019. Pre-sales will be available from early June.
The Aristocrats will begin a new world tour this year in support of You Know What…?, starting with their very own music camp “The Aristocamp” in upstate New York from June 18th to 21st before heading off for their most extensive tour yet of North America. Tour dates for other continents will be announced in the coming months.
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