Fish has checked in to update fans on how his upcoming studio album Weltschmerz is shaping up.
The former Marillion vocalist, who recently made his entire solo catalogue available on digital platforms for the very first time, reports that he has four songs finished for the follow-up to 2013’s A Feast Of Consequences, which is expected to arrive later this year.
Fish says: “Foss Paterson came in to the studio the last couple of days to help out with writing and joined Steve Vantsis and Robin Boult in the ‘song kitchen’.
“Living just down the road in Bonnyrigg it was easier to get him in to contribute than have my regular keys player John Beck up from Reading. John is up in August to put his mark on the recordings and there will be other musicians joining us in the sessions that begin here on July 23 after I come back from the Bulgarian festival.
“Calum Malcolm will be producing the album and Steve Vantsis has been doing a great job engineering the writing sessions – a lot of which will be used on the final album and which have given us a great head start.”
I’m really happy with the way Weltschmerz is coming together after a long slow start.
Fish
Fish adds: “So far we have four finished songs. Man With A Stick, Little Man What Now, Waverley Steps and a new one written this week by Foss and Robin called C Song.
“We still have Rose Of Damascus to finish and should have that all sorted by the time we start recording, with another one at least moving into position.”
Fish says that both Waverley Steps and Rose Of Damascus are clocking in at around 15 minutes long and adds: “We have about 50 minutes of material at the moment – all strong and all different encompassing a wide range of styles and arrangements.
“I’m really happy with the way Weltschmerz is coming together after a long slow start.
“I am going to have some difficult decisions to make in the next two months, but I am sure the end results will be extremely positive as it’s a win/win situation with the route taken to the end game being the only dilemma.”
The vocalist has also shared a portion of the opening lyrics to Waverley Steps, which he reports is only about 15% of the song.
The Waverley Steps (End Of The Line)
At the back of the train he stares out the window,
The carriage is empty, commuting is done; it’s the end of the line
Grasping for memories, searching for landmarks in fields once familiar he can’t recognise now the hedgerows are gone the blackbirds have flown silencing song
This wasteland belongs to a murder of crows
The hills are now leveled, the rich soil is stolen the green belt unbuckled, dirt yellow behemoths belch smoke at the sun
Stark wooden crosses mark out the boundaries; parcels of Promised Land passed on by greedy hands selling dreams almost true, a show house on view, a country domain in all but name as the country’s gone
His fingers brushed the sticky beards of the barley
Pulled tubers from the fragrant furrowed earth
Snatched berries from twisted briars, plucked apples from witchy trees
Before the snakes took over paradise and the black dog first appeared.
