At War With Self - Acts of God [Glenn Sne

hello,

I'm happy to announce that the second album of Glenn's project At War With Self - Acts of God - will be released early next year. Glenn is a guitarist/composer well known for his contributions to the first Gordian Knot album, and also the album At War With Self - Torn Between Dimensions (with Michael Manring on bass and Mark Zonder on drums).

For Acts of God, Glenn asked me to do drums for two of the more heavy instrumental tracks. Other major contributions to these tracks were made by Damon Trotta. Here are the preview versions:

http://www.glennsnelwar.com/audio%20samples/AWWS_Martyr_preview_nov_2006.mp3
http://www.glennsnelwar.com/audio%20samples/AWWS_911_preview_nov_2006.mp3

More information on Acts of God and a full length download of the song "Threads" is available on Glenn's Website http://www.glennsnelwar.com. You are welcome to check these out!

thanks,
Manfred Dikkers.

Press biography AT WAR WITH SELF - ACTS OF GOD

At War With Self sounds more like a psychological diagnosis than a band... an appropriate description in the biography for the debut of the project and its first release, Torn Between Dimensions, led by Glenn Snelwar (Gordian Knot), featuring Michael Manring (Michael Hedges, Attention Defecit) and Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, Temple Within). The instrumental trio created an amalgam of tight-knit compositions encompassing progressive rock, metal, jazz, ambient and classical stylings, often within the boundaries of each composition. The end result was critically acclaimed and continues to grow a following as word of mouth of the project expands.

For Acts of God, the second release from the At War With Self project, Snelwar has desired to create a set of compositions with the intentions of living up to the label 'progressive' by dramatically changing almost every facet of the project while staying true to the underlying inspiration of the project's inception - to combine disparate styles and create music with no boundaries. No better choice than Damon Trotta as a co-writer and bassist to create what is sure to be as intriguing a release as Torn Between Dimensions. Trotta's background ranges from co-founder of metal acts Non-Fiction and System Addict, to the funk outfit Vehicle and has worked with the likes of Bernie Worell and Isaac Hayes. Prior to that, Snelwar and Trotta were in a progressive hardcore/metal trio with Rodney Zodda. Trotta, Snelwar and Zodda on percussion are here and back to their roots, with some added influences. With Trotta on bass, vocals, synths and programming and Snelwar on guitars, mandolin and synths, the duo is assisted by Sluggo's Goon Music labelmates James vonBuelow (guitars), Steve Decker (drums), Mark Sunshine(vocals), Dave Archer (synths) and Manfred Dikkers (drums) to create some truly stunning, inspired progressive music.

Torn Between Dimensions had a warm, organic feel as the all-instrumental interplay of Snelwar, Manring and Zonder created a complex, but introspective, set of related compositions. For Acts of God, that introspection is turned outward in the form of a cold stare at conflicts and resolutions prompted by recent world events. From the intensity and imagery-invoking 911 and Martyr, to the elated solace present in No Place and Ursa 5, to the desolation of End in Blue and Refugee, Acts of God has managed to strike a balance of emotions that once again run the gamut from elation and warmth to fear and horror.

Snelwar describes his collaboration with Trotta as the latest incarnation of At War With Self: "What's so amazing to me about Acts of God is that the vocals lend themselves perfectly to this set of compositions. To change focus from an all-instrumental project to a set of songs mostly containing vocals has strengthened the idea that At War With Self can successfully morph, live up to its name and push the boundaries from one release to the next. That, together with the heavy intertwining of funk and electronic styles with metal and progressive ideas really make this something unique - add to that the ability to get all of the musicians from the label to contribute tremendously in their own way without limitations on what they do - who all come from different backgrounds with vastly different styles - the project took on a life of it's own, yet stayed true to the original idea of combining disparate styles effectively and with incredible intensity.

Acts of God will be released early 2007, on Sluggo's Goon Music.




Edited by lerxtdude - November 20 2006 at 14:37

I love Torn Between Dimensions and this new approach is a wonderful surprise. Not only does it seem totally different from the style showcased on the debut, but "Threads" sounds EXTREMELY convincing to my ears - the arrangements are tasteful and highly original and the vocals fit the whole perfectly. I'm really happy that this project goes on. If the rest of the tracks sound as good as this one, I think we're already looking at one of of the highlights of 2007. The best of luck, people, and hopefully at least some of those who took part in the recordings will play this stuff live next year.

Edited by Uroboros - November 20 2006 at 15:26