Multinational prog metal conglomerate Zierler, featuring members of Beyond Twilight, Halford, Firewind, Scar Symmetry and Circus Maximus have their debut album, ESC out now via Vanity Music Group.
Two years in the making, ESC is Finn Zierler’s first new album in a decade and is his most mature as well as his most daring musical work to date. Drawing from a wide array of influences that bring to mind everything from the unabashed pomp of Queen and the madness of Devin Townsend, to the virtuosity of Dream Theater and the eclectic stylings of Danny Elfman, Finn and company masterfully walk the fine line between genius and insanity, combining a powerful, multi-layered progressive metal foundation with an often dark, majestic orchestral feel. A musical as well as a personal tour-de-force that took the better part of two years to finally complete.
“I set different goals for myself in making this new album. I wanted to accomplish doing album that was 100% uncompromising in every way. I wanted to break through new creative areas. And I wanted to show compositions, structures and techniques that no one has ever heard or seen before”, reflects Finn on the making of ESC.
“This is by far the most time consuming, complex and detail oriented album I’ve ever worked on. I took the time necessary to record this beast out of respect for the players, the compositions, and the music itself. I put a lot of emphasis on not taking the easy way out, not using technology to do edits to save time or whatever. The musicians involved are all so talented – there’s no cheating, no copy/paste anywhere. Everything on the album is recorded as organically as possible. Personally, I’m sick of listening to “plastic” albums that sound more like machines than humans!”
Joining Finn in his latest venture are Swedish guitarist Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry, Kaipa), the first to come aboard, and Norwegian bassist/vocalist Truls Haugen (Insense, Circus Maximus), on the Scandinavian side. Finn also reached out to Texas drum veteran, Bobby Jarzombek, whose resume includes the likes of Fates Warning, Halford, Riot and Spastic Ink. ESC also marks the return of another Texan, vocal powerhouse Kelly Sundown Carpenter, who sang on Beyond Twilight‘s 2005 album, ‘Section X’, and was last seen with Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G’s band, Firewind, as well as Darkology.
To celebrate the release, Zierler and Vanity Music Group have teamed up with Sea of Tranquility, one of the world’s most authoritative prog metal outlets, to stream the entire album as a “Listening Party” throughout the weekend. You can join the party here:
This link will come down promptly at midnight EST Sunday night. The album, featuring a 28 page booklet can be ordered online at Vanity Music Group’s store.
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