Glass Hammer announce `Valkyrie'

Sourced from the Progradar and Progarchy sites:

Renowned progressive rock outfit Glass Hammer have announced their 16th studio album, ‘Valkyrie’, will be released this autumn.

The new release will again see Susie Bogdanowicz taking lead vocal duties for the first time since their underrated `Three Cheers for the Broken Hearted' album back in 2009, backed by founding members Steve Babb and Fred Schendel, whilst also retaining drummer Aaron Raulston and guitarist Kamran Alan Shikoh.

A full on concept album in the vein of their highly regarded previous epics ‘Lex Rex’ and ‘The Inconsolable Secret’, ‘Valkyrie’ was rehearsed as if it would be a show then recorded all of the basic rhythm tracks live, but there’s still a lot of recording to do back at the studio at this point.

Bassist Steve Babb offered: "We’ve managed to come at this album in a totally new way. We have been in the rehearsal room for months, rehearsing the album as if it were to be a live concert. Our shows are so much more edgy than our studio albums and we really wanted to capture that energy. When we felt the ‘show’ was ready, we hit record. That happened over the last weekend and the results are outstanding. There is still a lot of studio work to do, but the basic tracks have been captured and we are well on our way to making “Valkyrie” a very unique album.”

“‘Valkyrie’ is about a soldier who marches away to battle only to find himself embroiled in a war that was far more than he bargained for. The story is intense, as is the music.”

No release date has been set yet but the band has promised “Valkyrie” for sometime in the fall of 2016.

Enjoy the teaser trailer!

New update taken from the Prog website:



The nine-track follow-up to last year’s `The Breaking Of The World' is to be released on September 27, and sees vocalist Susie Bogdanowicz playing her biggest role to date with the band, after fans demanded the move.

Bassist and producer Steve Babb tells Prog: “This is pure Glass Hammer. Fred Schendel and I are handling more of the vocals than we have in several years.

“But Susie is front-and-centre throughout most of the album – and our fans have not been shy in telling us that’s the way to go. Guitarist Alan Shikoh and drummer Aaron Raulson complete the Valkyrie lineup.”

Describing it as a concept album in the vein of 2002’s Lex Rex and 2005’s The Inconsolable Secret, Babb adds: “It’s the story of a soldier’s struggle to return home from the horrors of war, to the girl who loves him and must ultimately find her way to him. Of course, it goes much deeper than that – and that’s why I’ve dedicated the lyrics to those battling the long-term effects of trauma, and those who care for them. It’s a serious subject for a serious album.”

They took a fresh approach to the creative process, by rehearsing the entire album as a band for months, rather than developing the songs, recording them, and then rehearsing for shows.

Babb says: “The goal was to capture the edginess of a live concert while recording – hopefully that comes across.

“The burden was on Susie to bring the lyrics to life, and build an emotional crescendo for the album’s finale. Like a live show, it has to end with a bang.

“She delivers. The whole album builds till that final track and then – we’ll see you soon and I hope you’ll agree: it’s an epic finish.”

Pre-orders for autographed copies begin on August 30 via Glass Hammer’s website. http://glasshammer.com/

Tracklisting:
1.The Fields We Know
2.Golden Days
3.No Man's Land
4.Nexus Girl
5.Valkyrie
6.Fog Of War
7.Dead And Gone
8.Eucatastrophe
9.Rapturo

(no running times yet!)

nice!

Latest trailer for the album:



and I'm keen to find out who that no doubt absurdly handsome person mentioned at the 1:12 minute mark is!

Autographed copies of the album are available for pre-order from the band's webstore at the link here, as well as t-shirts, etc - http://glasshammer.com/official-store/

If you're a fan of the group, believe me, you're in for a very special treat with this album.

Edited by Aussie-Byrd-Brother - August 27 2016 at 13:19

Ahh, I see it now too!

Written part of a review, the band obviously took a part of it that looked nice for their promo.

But I've heard the album, and my gut instinct says that it's their best to date, really an incredible disc. And I truly think what I wrote above, it wasn't some knee-jerk excited spur of the moment praise! It certainly wipes the floor with the Anderson/Stolt disc

Edited by Aussie-Byrd-Brother - August 27 2016 at 13:30

I'm going to order it. Hopefully the autographed copies won't be too expensive but my guess is they will be.

Disc is ordered along with a t-shirt!

AEProgman wrote: Fan of these guys, I am looking forward to this one, even though there are other albums by them I still need to get (Inconsolable Secret being one of them).  They keep pumping them out and at good pace and quality. I still am waiting for that knock out 5 star album by them (to me IMHO), everything I have by them thus far have been solid 4s to upper 3s, hope this is it!  Guess I need to get Inconsolable Secret next since I have a little time until this one comes out.

Finally a full-length track to share with listeners from the album!



My (rather overlong and overly gushing ) review of the album can also be found here.

http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=1613518

If you're already a fan of the group, chances are you are absolutely going to love this album to bits.

Ah, see, clearly the problem is you're wrong and we're not.



It's called having free will to form your own difference of opinion, mate!