LEGENDARY PROG MASTERS SPOCK’S BEARD RETURN WITH THEIR NEW ALBUM THE ARCHAEOPTIMIST – OUT NOW
Scott’s Song By Song and Spotlight Site – ★★★★★ “Fans of SB will absolutely adore this album”
Metal Planet Music – “one of the pinnacles of Spock’s Beard’s superlative discography…the song construction and musicianship is in the premier league of Prog Rock”
Metal Hammer – “intelligent down to the smallest detail and technically flawless…timeless, fresh, and vibrant”
Classic Rock – “Like the best modern prog rock, The Archaeoptimist reveals more and more at every new sitting”
Prog – “Complex and multilayered without being bewildering…it does all feel rather special”
Written In Music – 4.5/5 “The Beard is back, sparkling and brilliant, with a captivating album full of unadulterated progressive sounds”
Legendary prog outfit Spock’s Beard’s highly anticipated new album The Archaeoptimist is out now. The new album sees the group at their effervescent and experimental best delivering some of their finest work from a career spanning more than 30 years.
Speaking on the new record, frontman Ted Leonard shared: “The new album is largely the brainchild of Ryo and a co-writer, Michael Whiteman, with lyrical contributions from Alan and myself. While not a concept album, the title is taken from one of the tracks called ‘The Archaeoptimist’. This epic follows the story of a young girl being raised by her father in a post-cataclysmic world and her pathway from being an inspiration to a leader. Other songs vary in theme from obsession with one’s work or task to musings about the passage of time forging ahead despite obstacles.
Musically, while tipping a hat to the Spock’s legacy, the new album has an energy that arguably surpasses many or our previous releases due, in no small part, to the addition of Nick Potters on drums. He’s an amazing and well-rounded musician who has perfect pitch and a great singing voice (yes, we found a drummer that is an amazing singer…named Nick!). Between Michael and Ryo’s writing, this album also has a melodic complexity that may sound new to fans. Anyone who has heard Ryo improvise will have likely picked up on a fusion influence and that certainly shows up in the writing.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m very proud, excited, and honestly relieved that it turned out as good as it did. Everyone put in a ton of work but none so much as Ryo in pushing this over the line.”
Spock’s Beard – The Archaeoptimist
Invisible [06:33]
Electric Monk [06:16]
Afourthoughts [07:31]
St. Jerome In The Wilderness [08:46]
The Archaeoptimist [20:57]
Next Step [10:58]
Formats:
- 2LP red vinyl gatefold edition
- 2LP black vinyl gatefold edition
- 2 Disc CD/DVD edition of The Archaeoptimist, features 5.1 & hi-res 24/48 stereo mixes and is presented as a digipack CD including an 8-page printed lyric booklet
- digipack CD, includes a 12-page printed lyric booklet
