As I listened to Psykerion the second album from Thought Chamber, I came to the realization that maybe the best way to listen to Thought Chamber is with headphones on, because with headphones on you can catch all of the intricacies of their music!. I am listening to the track “Transcend” and the music is coming at me from each side,guitars in the left ear, drums in the center, it’s great!
Thought Chamber is a progressive metal group from the US founded by guitarist Michael Harris. I discovered the band last year prior to the release of Psykerion, so I listened to their first release Angular Perceptions, which was released in 2007. At that time, the band consisted of Harris on guitars, keyboards and vocals, Ted Leonard (Enchant and as my son Nick pointed out to me, the new lead singer of Spock’s Beard). Rob Stankiewicz – drums, Bobby Williamson – keyboards, and Derek Blakley – bass. Harris said this about his initial vision for Thought Chamber….
“THOUGHT CHAMBER’S vision is to create material that is as original as possible. We like to include elements of funk and groove into our sound so it has to sound tight. In my mind these elements are often missing from many of the bands in this genre. We feel it’s really important to create a big dynamic. In order to achieve an inimitable sound for the band, we like to arrange the music a little differently. For instance, instead of having just one guy play all the solos, we’ll distribute them between a few of the guys. This way, we manage to create a kind of ensemble playing within the group”.
With the creation of Psykerion, he is well on his way toward fulfilling that vision! Since the release of the first album there have been some changes in the band. Harris and Leonard returned but the other band members have changed the new members are – Jeff Plant / Bass, Bill Jenkins / Keyboards and Mike Haid / Drums.
In his review at ProgArchives Kev Rowland sums up Psykerion as follows:
Complexity, simplicity, melody, dischord, lounge, metal, it’s all here. This is the complete package with every musician giving their all, with incredible note density and a locked-in feel that is hard to describe. Prog Metal honestly doesn’t get any better than this. Whatever you could ever want from the genre, it’s here, in spades? Full Review
And I totally agree, and to hear all that, you need to have headphones on!! As I look down the list of tracks to pick my favorites, I can’t do it. They are all special in their own way. I did stop and look several times when “Behind the Eyes if Ikk” came on to check out the title – so maybe that’s my favorite!! Or maybe it’s this one “Transcend” or maybe it’s which ever one is on at the time!!!
So Check Them Out!!
