We've been recording it pretty solidly for the past half of a year or so. We actually finished recording White Mystery a good couple months before we released it due to a glitch in the graphics department, which gave us time to get started on the new record.
A lot of things went into this one. First, we had a bunch of song snippets, random tracks and demos that we'd all made while we were releasing our vault stuff. Then, we had the juice from the last album and it's b-sides in our veins. Mark and I worked on some A Static Theory stuff and Regan's solo album, which added color to our direction. Jon, Lex and Xan readied what will possibly be the last album from Pharaohs and just finished setting up for the release of a big boxed set comprising their first three live albums and all seven of their studio albums, which gave them ideas inspired by literally their entire back catalog. Finally, we just got done recording a lot of material with the Bards, including an epic that ties into the story of their album that will be released separately through us. (No, it isn't necessary to enjoy their album, and the epic we recorded together doesn't require hearing their album, but they relate and pair nicely and you might only pick up on some stuff if you hear both.) This, as you might guess, left us with a lot of song material.
And we recorded all of it. As a result, we have easily the highest number of b-sides we've ever recorded for a single album (27!!!). As a result, this album is going to come with a lot of special features for the limited editions. The most expensive version will come with a lengthy making-of documentary, featuring footage of us with Regan, work in Pharaohs, some older footage and recording footage, and a copy of the album, plus, once all of the singles are released, a multi-CD set will be sent by mail, featuring all of the B-sides as well as a DVD/Blu-Ray double-sided disc featuring the entire album plus the B-sides in 5.1 hi-def, including special mixes for computer speakers. It will also have unique artwork and a signed certificate of authenticity and one VIP pass to any one show of their choosing for the tour. The less expensive versions have various elements of the grand package, until the least expensive which is just the CD.
TRACKLIST:
Disc one
1. Kill the Sound (16:19)
2. Uqbar (8:02)
3. A Severance (7:02)
4. Understanding How to Celebrate Murder (7:30)
5. Glass Pane (8:51)
6. You Are Illusion (5:14)
7. All Lights Are Out (8:44)
8. Where You Drove the Drill (8:05)
Disc two
1. Ein Sof (21:30)
2. El (18:50)
The album is incredibly dark and thick, has lots of guitars and electronics and noise. It's probably the darkest album we've ever done, along side Infinity from a while back.
Also, let it be known that working on this album has not delayed our work on a collaborative project we put together. We had the meeting last week with everyone, are all on the same page, and will begin working on stuff over the next week or two, once we get the last of the release stuff finalized for Black Machine. Since we're all kind of busy right now, our recording will take place primarily through recording on the road or with bits of off time and sending tracks around to each other. Just so everyone out there waiting on the album doesn't think that just because we wrote a lot for this album or just because we're going on tour doesn't mean we aren't going to work on the collaborative stuff.
- Langdon
