ANTIQUUS - An Exotic Realm Of Rarified Power Page 2
by Martin Popoff

"I have always been struck by the ironic notion," adds Andrew, "that explorers across the world and throughout history have searched out these shining places, and when they discover these rich new lands, and the people that inhabit them, these explorers impose their old-fashioned values and ideas onto them. Instead of accepting and embracing the idea of a New World, they simply try to recreate their Old World, and it has happened countless times, and almost always with disastrous results."

Moving to the construction of this captivating world of a concept album, bassist Scott Unger, explains that "Eleutheria was our first experience of creating and writing music based on our own original story. In some ways it was far more challenging than Ramayana because of this. For the first time we were having to create our own musical soundscapes to an original story idea. I have to say though, that Ramayana will always be special to me. It's like your first time experiencing anything. It charts the course for the rest of your career."

"Writing with two guitarists right from the onset was a major adjustment as well," says Andrew. "Musically, this record - largely because of the chemistry that exists between Geoff and Trev - is more focused on rhythm than melody. With Ramayana, we tried to create this very exotic jungle kind of feel to it. Eleutheria is more aggressive, and we try to create a feel that speaks more to the future and the unknown."

Directed for a call-out to specific tracks, peaks and valleys along the way through this very landscapey record, guitarist Trevor Leonard picks out I Am Alive as a favourite, "for the fact that I really like the high-energy intro as well as the dynamic acoustic section. I would have to say Leaves Of Grass is the most out-there, because there is no set 'verse-chorus-verse' formula in that song, which is a formula that unfortunately befalls many songs of today. Rather, it is a progressive movement of different parts and sections which express different emotional qualities, and in that I find it to be very exciting and interesting."

ANTIQUUS - An Exotic Realm Of Rarified Power Page 3