Prolific prog musician Neal Morse has unveiled his latest project, Neal Morse & The Resonance, who have just shared their first music video for All The Rage.
The new project features Morse and a selection of local younger musicians, and they will release their debut album, No Hill For A Climber, through InsideOut Music on November 8.
"I started thinking about what I was going to do in 2024, and my wife suggested that I should think about doing something with the amazingly talented younger guys that we have here locally – like Chris Riley, Andre Madatian and Philip Martin," Morse explains of the new venture. "I knew just how good they were from playing with them at our Christmas concerts and other events.
Joining Riley (bass), Madatian (gutar) and Martin (drums) are drummer Joe Ganzelli and singer Johnny Bisaha, who handles much of the lead vocal work.
"While composing No Hill For A Climber, I was hearing a lot of higher range vocals – so I contacted Johnny Bisaha, who came over, listened to the music. loved it and started singing for me," Morse adds. "And I immediately thought, ‘Oh man, he's the guy!’."
"All The Rage was the second track that I recorded with the guys. I had written it with them in mind and we tracked it pretty quickly. We wanted more of a live feel so we did quite a bit of it without a click track, which became a bit of a challenge for me during the piano solo section! I am super happy with the way the song came out and I really feel like you can hear the energy of the band in the track!"
The five-track No Hill For A Cimber, which takes its title from a resonant line in Barbara Kingsolver’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Demon Copperhead, also features two epic prog tracks, opener Eternity In Your Eyes and the closing title track, both of which clock in at over 20-minutes, as well as three shorter pieces.
"If I was going to compare its structure to an album I've done in the past, it might be along the lines of Bridge Across Forever or Spock's Beard’s V; it’s not that it sounds at all like those albums, it’s just structurally similar. It has voices and playing styles and soundscapes that many people will have never heard before! Everyone you work with changes you a little bit, so even I sound a little different on this one, but I hope that everyone will love it!"
No Hill For A Cimber will be available as a limited 2CD digipak (including a second disc of instrumentals), standard CD jewelcase, gatefold 2LP and as a digital album. You can see the album artwork and tracklisting below.
Pre-order No Hill For A Cimber.
Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
1. Eternity In Your Eyes 20:51
2. Thief 05:22
3. All The Rage 05:32
4. Ever Interceding 06:29
5. No Hill For A Climber 28:49
