A Sense Of Gravity will soon be releasing their new album Atrament. Ahead of its release, we caught up with the band to get an insight into their musical tastes. Check it out below!
A song that influenced them
Brendon Williams (guitar/programming): Wintersun was one of the bands that opened my eyes to what could be done with metal compositionally back when I was in high school, and that influence still affects what I do today. Their debut is filled with great music, but Winter Madness is one of the standouts for me.
Morgan Wick (guitar): White Walls by Between the Buried and Me. Colors was the album that allowed me to appreciate harsh vocals, because the music was so interesting. It opened up a whole new world of heavy music to me.
Brandon Morris (keyboard/guitar): Blind Faith by Dream Theater. The first time I heard this track I was blown away by the incredible range of styles and techniques that Jordan Rudess was able to completely nail. I studied this track for a long time and a lot of my keyboard playing improved as a result.
A song they wish they could have written
BW: Basically anything written by Tigran Hamasyan – his music is the perfect blend of creative harmony, catchy melodies, and challenging rhythms, while combining elements of very different styles of music. I’ll pick Pt1 Collapse/Pt2 Alternative Universe for the sake of this.
MW: Atlas Stone by Haken. Such an awesome composition that goes a lot of different places but is very cohesive. The Mountain was a very influential album for me. I love how you can hear the older and newer influences blended so seamlessly.
BM: I grew up listening to a lot of Pink Floyd, and Comfortably Numb has such a powerful anthemic chorus, and the whole track is arranged beautifully. And of course, David Gilmour’s playing is unforgettable.
Their favourite A Sense of Gravity song
BW: That’s like picking a favorite child! Way too hard, haha. I think I’ll pick Manic Void (the final track on Atrament) for the diversity though. It has everything I’d want in an ASOG song: heavy, creative riffs, shredding guitar/key unisons, the full range of vocal styles, fusion-inspired sections with jazzy chord progressions, epic, catchy choruses, powerful choir, tricky rhythms, an orchestral outro… We packed it all into this one! This is one of Morgan’s compositions, and is a perfect example why he’s become such a integral part of ASOG.
MW: This is crazy tough because I love them all! It varies all the time but right now I’d have to say Shadowed Lines. The song has a great flow to it and CJ’s vocal work really took it to another level.
BM: Really hard question. I’ll cheat and pick one from Travail and one from Atrament! Spectre is probably the track from Travail that I enjoy listening to the most. It’s a little more keyboard-heavy than other tracks on the album and it’s also really fun to play. From Atrament… I’d say right now it’s Guise of Complacency. It is such an incredibly fun and energetic song, and it has totally insane, crazy sections that really challenge my abilities as a keyboardist.
A song they’ve been listening to a lot recently
BW: I’ve been listening to the remixed version of Remedy Lane by Pain of Salvation a lot this year. Rope Ends is one of my favorite tracks on the album and is one I’ve been coming back to. A masterpiece of progressive rock/metal.
MW: I have also been rocking the Remedy Lane remaster a ton. A Trace of Blood is the song that always gets me. Such an amazing album and the new mix adds a lot to it.
BM: I recently discovered a band from Quebec called Fractal Cypher and I’m really enjoying their debut album. Their single “Imminent Extinction” kicks ass!
Their all time favourite song
BW: That’s a super hard one, but because of my current mood, I’m going to pick Pareidolia by Haken because it’s without a doubt one of the greatest progressive metal compositions of all time.
MW: It changes all the time, but if I had to choose I’d say Learning to Live by Dream Theater. There is a lot of nostalgia in this pick, but Dream Theater were my biggest influence for a very long time and Learning to Live is one of their masterpieces.
BM: I don’t think there is a single favourite song of mine, but one that really changed my life was “Of Sins and Shadows” by Symphony X. I listened to this song hundreds and hundreds of times, and it also has the first keyboard solo that I ever transcribed and learned.
