Project Nightscape's 13-track progressive hard rock concept album, To Sin Our Mercies, is now available for pre-order on Bandcamp.
Anyone who places an order before December 9 will receive a free PDF copy of the action-horror tie-in novel, The Alchemist & Azriel upon its release in early 2017. The book will explore the fate of the supernatural threat at the center of To Sin Against Our Mercies. The last Nightscape novel, Cynopolis, was characterized by Kirkus Reviews as "entertaining, poignant and heady, a thoroughly enjoyable thrill ride powered by jolts of philosophy."
The songs on this collection reflect its tight symphonic design, complete with character-based musical themes or motifs. We established the track sequencing at the conceptual stage in order to properly develop and incorporate recurring motifs. From the beginning, the album was conceived as an extended suite to ensure the diverse material added up to more than the sum of its parts.
Tracks range from the haunting gospel-inflected rock of the first single, "(Living in) Sacred Time" and the prog-pop of "Only Reason" to the jazzy, off-kilter "Inmortuorum Memorias" and the galloping metal of "Occulted." The climax of the record is a ten-minute plus 'mini-epic,' "Starlost," that serves as a thematic coda to the main narrative. This song has it all: acoustic and electric guitars; real strings (cello, violin and viola); dueling male and female vocals; a variety of keyboard sounds, including Mellotron and Hammond B-3 organ; ripping keyboard and guitar solos (and duets); and complex but indelible vocal harmonies.
The sheer range of musical styles was both a challenge and a source of inspiration for Gaglio, the album’s sole guitarist and main songwriter. “We worked hard to make sure each track stood on its own merits and at the same time, contributed to a cohesive whole,” he said. “Attentive listeners will definitely be rewarded by the attention to detail. Many of the songs are linked through subtle motifs, some of which you may not hear so much as feel.”
An early mix of the album’s first single, “(Living in) Sacred Time,” debuted on September 9 as part of a free compilation CD distributed to opening night attendees of the sold out ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta. The song is now streaming in its entirety on Bandcamp and YouTube. The record will be released worldwide on CD and as a digital download on December 9 through Imperiad Entertainment. Key retail partners include Amazon, Bandcamp, CDBaby and iTunes.
To Sin Against Our Mercies tracklisting:
1. (Living in) Sacred Time 5:37
2. Only Reason 5:24
3. Interlude I: The Last Case of Dr. Lacy 1:46
4. Now Silence! 4:57
5. Inmortuorum Memorias 5:19
6. Interlude II: The Dead Buried in the Air 1:29
7. Occulted 3:47
8. Exorcised 2:00
9. To Sin Against Our Mercies 6:24
10. Hard Drift 4:12
11. Interlude III: Nova Regna 2:00
12. The Middle Sea at Rest 6:00
13. Starlost 10:07
Total running time: 58:03