[I'm ready for the laughing gas ;; ProjectPrometheus and Insomnia]

Kurt Cobain once said that the happiest time for a band occurs in the months before the big breakthrough. Looking back at their final moments of pre-fame, Infinite would likely agree with his words. Or they would, if they could pinpoint exactly when this moment was for them. It might have been before the mainstream breakthrough afforded to them by Insomnia, but in all likelihood it was the moments prior to the release of their debut album. When the record, Blue Nebula, was released in 2010, they were heralded by many critics as the 'new saviors of guitar rock', much in the way that other indie acts such as Arctic Monkeys and Franz Fernandez had with their debut albums. This almost comical amount of critical hyperbole was initially received graciously by the trio, as they had spent years of obscurity labelled as a 'gimmick', due to frontman Eric Quillington's eccentric behavior onstage. But the grungy, angsty anthems of 'Supernova', 'Fusion Paranoia', and 'Occam's Razor' brought the band a fervent, dedicated following. And yet, there were some labels that the band couldn't shake off. Many dismissed the band as 'Radiohead-lite', similarly to Muse and Coldplay's initial reception, due to Eric Quillington's many vocal and lyrical similarities to Thom Yorke. For the sake of self-preservation, Infinite realized they would have to evolve (or move on from) the occasionally one-dimensional style of their debut album. Thus, Midnight Skies was crafted and released later that same year. A markedly more upbeat album, it drew lyrical influences from lucid dreams and religious doubt, and took musical inspiration from the uplifting anthems of U2. "They accused us of ripping off Thom Yorke, so we decided to steal Bono's ideas the second time around," Quillington joked. But the radical change worked wonders, impressing both critics and fans. While Infinite was still overshadowed by such bands as Reckoner and Mind, they nonetheless ended 2010 as one of the most acclaimed and promising young bands in Britain.

Having landed on the Moon, Infinite then took their ambitious sights to the stars as 2011 entered it's first month. But it wasn't Infinite itself that first drew large attention, but the singer. Throughout the following year, Eric Quillington had formed a close friendship with fellow singer/guitarist Jason Smith, of Mind fame, when the legendary metal musician produced Midnight Skies. Their friendship proved strong enough to merit a musical collaboration, and the two dedicated some time to crafting an album, Dividing Divinity, that has not yet been released to the public. This came at an unfortunate time, however, due to the dissolution of Mind that same month. Many fans of the band, logically, claimed that Eric Quillington was proving to be a poisonous influence on their hero. But Mind wasn't the only domino to fall; around the same time, Reckoner, whom Quillington has always referred to as his favorite modern band, disbanded. "We won by default," Eric has since said, bitterly, "We only became famous because all the other British bands had quit". But if it was a cheap victory, it was at least a deserved one. Insomnia, released the following month, found the band showered with praise. Quillington was no longer 'the man who broke up Mind'; indeed, none of the previous, negative labels stuck to the band. Their third album, a schizophrenic, classical-influenced record that completely abandoned any traditional verse/chorus/verse structures, brought forth a level of praise rarely seen. Infinite had become the biggest band in the world.

[Even better than the real thing ;; Wembley Stadium and superstardom]

"When Ryan Ross Hernandez walked on that stage, that was it," Matt Roberts has since said about Infinite's now-legendary Wembley gig, "Forget the fuckin' hype, forget the fuckin' record sales. If someone like that feels comfortable walking around with my shit band... well, that's gotta mean something, you know?" In many ways, that concert has become something more than just a two-hour performance at a stadium; it's the moment of becoming. As they played for a mass gathering of adoring fans, Infinite proved, once and for all, that they were worthy of whatever praise came their way. Shunning their past as 'Radiohead wannabes' by ignoring all songs from their Blue Nebula period, they focused on the tunes from their second and third albums. In the process, they reshaped their previous image of angsty rockers into a surprisingly uplifting anthemic rock band. Radiohead meets U2, light meets darkness... a shocking, jarring mixture, but one that works nonetheless. For every bitter moment of 'How to Disturb and Alienate Others', there is the contrasting, complementary moment of 'Phase 3'. It was the final words that summed up this mixture the best, a line that has come to define Infinite and all that they do; 'Look up to the Midnight Skies, see life as it should be'.

In the past, success had meant respect from both peers and fans. Success was intangible, but often achieved nonetheless. By the release of Insomnia, success had become much more material and concrete. Typically for a band to have broken so massive, Infinite spent the next several months settling into their new high flying lifestyle, and scoring glamorous girlfriends. Greg and (especially) Matt have become notorious for their feminizing lifestyles, while Eric Quillington found a lasting romance with Glamazon, one of the few pop stars in the world genuinely more famous than himself. However, in a world where today's famous, happy couple is tomorrow's sex scandal, 'Quillingzon' has proven to last. "It's genuine," said Quillington several months after they announced the relationship, "fame and wealth only factored in initially, because we probably would never have met each other if we hadn't been thrust into these extraordinary situations. It's just like with Jason; there's so much more for us to talk about than just music. Her and I have spent more time watching shitty B-movies than going to luxury restaurants. There's just more to life, y'know?" The genuine connection between Quillington and Glamazon was reflective of the relationship between Infinite and their fans; despite the overwhelming success of recent months, they hadn't lost touch with the fanbase that had supported them to the top. This love was confirmed when Infinite was voted the Best Band and Best Live Act, with Insomnia also announced as Best Album, at both the Birdies and the @Chaos Awards. For a few precious months, everything was in it's right place.

[Sliding down the surface of things ;; Dancing while the world burns]

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is your lord and master; Eric Quillington. The Quixotic, the Chosen One, the last son of Krypton...." the singer said to the baffled crowd during the Field Day Festival, beginning a slow decent that would last for the next few months. As the old truism goes, all that glitters is not gold. While Infinite was still one of the biggest bands in the world, they were no longer the most important; that moniker had fallen to Riot! In The Boulevard. They were now untouchable, but many had begun to feel as though their moment of glory had already come. Matt Roberts, for instance, once pessimistically regarded the band as an 'irrelevant relic' during an interview. In a scenario all-too-familiar to many rock bands in the same position, a feeling of inertia had settled around the band. The creative sparks that were so easy to find during Insomnia were now scattered, harder to find. And so, Infinite settled into the summer recording their fourth album, while the world continued to turn in their absence.

When they finally begun to resurface, the most dramatic change wasn't the new music they were promoting, but Quillington himself. His wide-eyed, joyful stare had turned to steel, while his interviews included reckless, often arrogant, rants. Many pointed to his increasingly public drug habits as the responsible factor for such a transformation, but in reality it was his recent diagnosis with Huntington's disease, a genetic disease that he had been fearful of inheriting for most of his adult life. But his pain and bitterness at going down the same path as his mother was kept entirely to himself, with only his fellow band-mates aware of his inner turmoil. Beginning to understand that his eventual end might now be in clear sight, Eric began living as though the 'twice as bright, half as long' saying was a personal truth. While on the Big Brother show, he completely slid into the abyss; any trace of the young, thoughtful man behind Insomnia was replaced by a raving lunatic. But it wasn't just the drug-consumption that alienated fans; while on the show, Eric displayed an usual, almost alien persona. He treated Jason Smith's on-screen relationship dilemmas with a cold, shocking indifference, and was voted as the 'Craziest' by viewers after his departure. After spending so much time moving on from his initial tag as a gimmick, Eric had fallen back into the old trap. Amid this controversy, a new record by Infinite seemed like an irrelevance. And yet, Dancing about Architecture was released all the time, in markedly different circumstances than its predecessor had. The innocent, pure Infinite of the past was gone, swept away in a matter of months. The music reflected this perfectly; it was a return to the gritty, distorted music textures of Blue Nebula, but with a new-found lyrical focus on emotional truths. It was soul searching to the greatest degree, with Eric Quillington finally focusing on his own faults and flaws after spending so much time distracting himself with the world outside his window. While Dancing about Architecture didn't have the cultural impact of it's predecessor, it still won broad praise by fans and critics, and proved to listeners that a genuine artist lived beneath the crazed facade that Quillington had been putting on for so long.

[Light my way ;; Amelia Florentine takes the helm]

After laying so many of his demons bare during the past few months, Quillington shocked and surprised the world with the announcement of his last, biggest secret. Due to Huntington's increasing interference with his cognitive and mental abilities, Amelia Florentine (the previously confirmed 'fourth member' of Infinite who had played on standalone single Lamenting Rinascita) was more than just a new addition. She's a replacement. Since this announcement, Infinite has been keeping quiet, focusing on the production of their fifth album, one reported to be Quillington's last with the band. Light in Motion will indeed be, as the band has hinted, a double LP, in order to properly give Eric Quillington the exit he deserves. Harmonies will be a massive focal point, as Quillington, Oldson, and Florentine all have capable voices. It will also be, according to the band, a return to the anthemic, uplifting soundscapes of Midnight Skies. Following the release date of the album, which is currently unknown, Quillington says he will bow out of the band that made him a superstar. Although many have raised doubts over whether or not Infinite can survive without the man who is, unarguably, their most important, most fans agree that the future will be an interesting prospect for the changing band, particularly the fan who has found herself as the new lead singer. "It'll be a new incarnation," Amelia says, "Like Eric described it, it's a regeneration. I'd never want to re-scale the heights that Eric led them to in the past, because it'd be so fake, so artificial. The Infinite led by Eric was one thing, and this future Infinite will be another. Whether we succeed or fail, I'll be happy so long as we make a creative effort. That's the most important thing, in the end."

[OOC: Just a nice little wrap-up of 2011, because I thought that'd be a nice thing to write about for my last post of the year. I've already planned out the major storyline that will take place over the first few months of 2012. Truthfully, I've planned it out from the moment I've joined the forum; it's what all these posts have been building up to. Most of you have probably already guessed what it'll be, as I've made it increasingly obvious over the past few months. But, to those who haven't; it'll be a doozy. I hope. See ya guys next year! And thanks to those who paid attention to my shit little ramblings over the past 12+ months; it means a lot.]