“The Demonomicron” is coming! I’ve been working on this album for 7 months now and I am still super excited about it. I listen to the album a couple of times a day and I still think it sounds great. If I like it after all this time then I’m sure others will like it as well. I’ve been hard at work on the album and at this point I’m only a week or two away from releasing it. I’m close enough to release now to talk about how it will be distributed and all sorts of other details.
Before I talk about when it will be available and where to get it let me quickly introduce the album for anyone who hasn’t heard me ramble on about it. “The Demonomicron” is an album of original music composed, performed, and (for the most part) recorded and engineered by yours truly. At 8 songs and around 45 minutes it is longer than an EP, and could probably qualify as a shorter-end LP.
The music is a bit hard for me to explain. In my opinion it is a form of metal but I think some metal geeks would take issue with that. It is technically electronic metal as it was all played and recorded by one person, there’s a good amount of effects, synths, samples, and all of the percussion is electronic. However, unlike most electronic metal I’ve taken great pains to make it sound as natural as possible. If I never told anyone otherwise I think most people would just hear a “real” band playing when they heard the album. The songs aren’t super fast like thrash, and except for the last one they aren’t super slow like doom. But there are elements of both of those genres. It is groovier and bassier than a lot of metal. If I *had* to pick a metal subgenre I’d say it is “groove metal,” but that’s a genre that’s been dead for almost 20 years. The album takes a lot of inspiration from White Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Type O Negtaive, and all that great 90s music I grew up with but also incorporates things inspired by more contemporary bands like Mastodon and Isis. There’s also a strong Rush influence on the record but that wont be obvious to the listener I don’t think; it was a very personal inspiration in how I approached making a record and some of the mixing, tonality, and composition (I can’t play anything like those guys so I can’t claim any inspiration there!) Black Sabbath was also a huge inspiration.
Lyrically the album is a collection of short sci-fi and horror stories. There’s songs about robot overlords, evil creatures, disasters in space, android insurrections, and all kinds of other stuff like that. Pretty much every song on the album is narrative fiction, which is something I’ve never done before. The songs pay homage to my favorite horror and sci-fi movies, books, and video games. Some of the lyrics were inspired by fringe history, alternate history, and conspiracy theories. It isn’t the “deepest” material in the world. But it is fun, mostly pretty original, and I truly believe all of it is quite good. If you enjoy horror and sci-fi I think you’ll like the lyrics to these songs.
The artwork was also a huge focus of this album. I don’t like the idea of just slapping a cover image on the MP3s and calling it a day. The bands I love all brought visual aesthetic and design to their work. I wanted to do the same thing, and I wanted to do so in a way that takes advantage of modern technology. I believe I’ve done that. I’ll talk more about that later.
So where will you get it, when will it be available, and how much will it cost? It will be available in a lot of places so you’ll really have your pick of where you are most comfortable. The best place to get the album will be www.thedemonomicron.com where the album will be available for FREE download in a variety of formats. I’ve decided to work with the helpful folks at Bandcamp and the hosting and distribution will be handled by them. You will be able to pay if you want to, but it will be free to anyone who wants it. The album will be available in MP3, AAC, FLAC, Apple Lossless, OGG, and I think others too. The album will also be available from iTunes, Amazon MP3, The Zune Marketplace, and other online retailers. That said I do not recommend buying the album from those places if you can help it. I’m putting it on those services in hopes that people who have no connection to me might find it. That said the album will not be free on those services as they do not allow free releases. My www.thedemonomicron.com site is the best place to get the album. You’ll be able to stream the album on Soundcloud, Last.FM, Grooveshark, and Spotify, though I hope you will take the time to download the album in high quality instead. Finally, the album will also be available as part of a short run of CDs. The CDs will also be available at www.thedemonomicron.com for $7 each. The album will be available as soon as it is ready; I’m not going to set an arbitrary date. It will be a rolling release: it will be on the site first, then iTunes et al, and CD later. Stay tuned here, on Facebook (facebook.com/adamdrewmusic), or on Twitter @thedemonomicron for more info on availability as it comes out.
Now, if I was just releasing the album that would be exciting enough, but there’s more. I’ve put together some really incredible bonus materials that make this album really special and not just another internet release. Anyone who knows me will (I hope) say that I have an insane work ethic, high standards, and put everything I have into what I do and this album reflects that. Alongside “The Demonomicron” I will also be releasing a gorgeous 26 page digital art book and a companion album of demos, remixes, and alternate versions called “The Alternomicron.” And better yet, all of this will be free.
I am incredibly proud of the art book. It is 26 pages of original artwork, photography, liner notes, and lyrics. It is all super high resolution and looks incredible on tablets, especially on the iPad 3. This art book is my attempt to recapture the experience of looking through the album art while listening to an album (something we’ve lost in the digital age.) It makes the album something you can sit down and actively enjoy by looking at the art and reading the lyrics while you listen to the album. It also gives the album a visual aesthetic which to me is hugely important. I believe that this book not only recreates that experience it makes it better. When viewed on a tablet this artwork is bigger, brighter, and more beautiful than anything that’s been provided alongside an album. It really makes use of the technology we have to improve the digital music experience. Most people listen to music while doing something else. I believe this lessens the impact of music. It is my sincere hope that people who listen to the album will take the time to (at least once) sit down and go through the book while listening to the music. The experiences were designed in tandem and fit together to enhance each other.
“The Alternomicron” is also something I’m really proud of. It includes some of the original demos from back when I first wrote the songs. I’ve also included some remixes by myself and some guests, and alternate versions that are completely re-recorded and re-imaged rather than just being remixed. There’s even some original music not found on “The Demonomicron.” If you like the main album and want more, “The Alternomicron” is a great way to get different perspectives on the songs. “The Alternomicron” also includes a digital booklet, but it is much smaller with some liner notes, links, and a bit of art.
So what’s the album’s current status? Recording and mixing have finished, the artwork is all done, and “The Alternomicron” is about 90% done. The album is currently out with the mastering engineer waiting to be mastered. Once mastering is complete I’ll probably need some time to live with the masters and see what I think. From there it’ll be time to release. I hope to release the weekend of the 28th, but I wont know until I have the masters back. Regarding “The Alternomicron” I am waiting on remixes back from a couple of folks and I have one or two more things I’d like to do for it.
That’s all for now. More to come. Exiting times!
