EPK – Opus Arise – The Network (2022)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Band: Opus Arise
Album Title: The Network
Release Date: December 2, 2022
Label: Self Released
“After many years that seemed like forever, we’re extremely excited to release our follow-up “The Network”. Thanks to the experience and wisdom of Maor Appelbaum, we’re very stoked that we brought the album to what it needed to be after much trial and error. We hope everyone will enjoy this journey through this Cyberpunk-inspired world!” – Opus Arise
For fans of Animals As Leaders, The Black Mages, Liquid Tension Experiment, Powerglove, Scale The Summit
Opusarise.bandcamp.com | Facebook.com/opusarise I Instagram.com/opusarise
| Twitter.com/OpusArise | Spotify
“An instrumental journey with a lot of charisma… Anyone who likes to think outside the box from time to time and likes instrumental music should definitely give “The Network” a try.” – PowerMetal.de
“the album is impressively performed and produced, so, if you like very fast and earnest orchestral/progressive instrumental rock, you’ll like it.” – DPRP.net
“Vancouver’s Opus Arise is one of a rare breed pioneering the possibilities — the instrumentation is essentially a metal band plus a string quartet, and the strings are fully integrated into the music… The music is entirely instrumental. I find that the heightened presence of the strings which comes from them not being massed into large sections really adds to the impact of the music. On the rock side, you’ll hear a lot of the typical sounds of modern metal — the chugging guitars, the pounding double bass drums, the flashy guitar licks — but the addition of the strings sets Opus Arise apart from the legion of other bands… I’m often put off by the vocals in metal and the general lack of sonic variety, and Opus Arise avoids both of those problems nicely. I find their take on heavy rock to be refreshing and enjoyable.” – Exposé
“Anyone who likes to think outside the box from time to time and likes instrumental music should definitely give “The Network” a try.” – PowerMetal.de
“They ‘craft luscious soundscapes to dissonant chaos’, I thought that sums them up nicely; it is their 4th album which goes to the lands of DREAM THEATER, LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, ANIMALS AS LEADERS and especially BELIEVER.” – Profil Prog
Band: Opus Arise
Album Title: The Network
Release Date: December 2, 2022
Label: Self Released
Track Listing:
1) Inner Skepticism – 5:50
2) Electric Jungle – 6:02
3) Antimatter – 3:22
4) Digital Soundscape – 4:38
5) Reminiscence – 5:21
6) Change – 5:23
7) Timeshift – 5:21
8) The Unanswered Question – 5:13
Album Length: 41:13
Album Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Opus Arise
• All songs written by: Matthew Logan
• Produced by: Maor Appelbaum
• Mixed by: Ryan Shepard
• Mastered by: Maor Appelbaum
• Album Artwork by: Daniel Reyes
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
Album Band Lineup:
Shawn Hillman Guitar, Cello on “Digital Soundscape”
James Readman: Guitar
Daniel Carmago: Bass Guitar (Tracks 1-3, 5-7)
Matthew Logan: Drums, Violin II
Matthew Hannah: Keyboards
Michelle Gao: Violin I
Ellen Smith: Viola
Daryl Bennett: Cello
Kyle Hagen: Contrabass, Bass Guitar (Track 8)
L-R – Derek Ho – Cello (live only), Matthew Logan – Drums, Violin II, Ellen Smith – Viola, Michelle Gao – Violin I, Kyle Hagen, Shawn Hillman – Guitar, Cello, Matthew Hannah – Keyboards
Photo Credit Jade Weekes
Orchestral Metal ensemble from Vancouver, Canada. Classical strings and metal rhythms create luscious soundscapes to dissonant chaos.
Discography:
2022 – The Network – LP
2019 – Rebel Fleet (Star Wars Cover)
2018 – Invisible Walls (Demo Version)
2016 – Revelation – LP
Shared Stage with:
Felix Martin, Omnisight, Runaway Four, Viking Guitar.
Tours and Festivals:
(2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) – Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo
2018 – Vancouver Halloween Parade and Expo
2018 – Metalocalypstick Fest
2019 – Star Wars Night for Vancouver Canucks Game at Rogers Arena (January)
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The album as a whole explained
A CyberPunk-inspired world:
Plot:
-Research involving chord progressions that manipulate space and time.
-He does research involving the Progressive Frequency Phenomenon. He has never found proof it existed, but his studies involved finding this evidence, as well as aiming to gain control of it.
-Many years into his research, he comes across the inner skepticism progression, and this is where his journey begins.
Track by track explained:
1. Inner Skepticism:
The inner skepticism chord progression is DMi7(b5), G7(b9/#5), CMa9, DMi. The combination of frequencies opens a wormhole into a future setting that blindsides the character. In this place, people have unseen technology and seem indifferent to his presence.
7/8, 9/8 section: He is looking for clues that will help him return home. Amongst all of the people wearing VR goggles and hologram-producing gadgets, he finally finds someone that notices his presence, engaging him in conversation. From his conversation with Character 1, he learns of a state-of-the-art device that evolved from the current day internet. It conjoins the concept of hardware and software, allowing the input of physical matter into software and the materialization of electronic data. This electronic realm is called the Network. Only the top 0.1% of society has control over it. It is basically a monopoly of everything from basic living needs to the most expensive items. Almost everything imaginable is accessible from the network, and anything can be materialized for the right price by the richest 0.1%, or by the best hackers.
After their conversation, the Protagonist is given an advanced hologram wristwatch, which is thousands of times for powerful than any computer today and can access the network through a network substation, with the correct polyphonic frequency code of course.
The protagonist shows the inner skepticism progression to character 1 (through the functions in his wristwatch) and realizes it only allows entry to this space-time. The only way to return home is to find the right corresponding progression of frequencies to re-open a wormhole to the exact time and date he came from.
2. Electronic Jungle:
Protagonist then learns that character 1 is also from a different space-time, and the electric jungle opening progression was the one he used in one of his compositions back in his time. When he played it for the first time after composing it in 1976, a wormhole brought him here as well. He didn’t know what had happened, so he eventually accepted this as his fate and had given up hope of returning. He called it the electric jungle because of the scenery in the place they are in; there is lots of advanced circuitry, electronic billboards, holograms, etc. Now he has faith in the protagonist’s research, it is their only hope of returning to their time-space.
After finding a network substation and stalking around, they notice several network users with their FOB-type holograms that immediately grant them access. The protagonist’s knowledge of computer science has allowed him to steal the encoded digital lock from unsuspecting users. All he has to do is turn the electronic data into combinations of frequencies and play it back in front of the substation.
3. Antimatter:
After numerous calculations, the protagonist approaches the substation and plays the Antimatter progression. They are immediately scanned and digitized. The moment the song drops into the metal section signifies their entry into the network. The rest of the song follows them individually as they lead their own paths through the network, discovering its capabilities. However, after a bunch of fun and games exploring, they both eventually become curious about their past lives in 2017 and 1976.
4. Digital Soundscape
This track conveys the feeling of what the digital realm of the network is like. Both characters focus on the details of their lives, listening to the ambient, distorted, pulsing sounds of the digital realm.
The rest of the album follows them through the (Reminiscence) of their past lives. To a certain extent, they are both filled with a great deal of heartbreak and regret, which is symbolized in the song (Change). As they continue on, the Protagonist’s mastery of his research is demonstrated in his (Timeshift) progression, which will return him home to his time when he plays it. The song timeshift is also about the search that the Protagonist does for his friend, Character 1. He wants to reveal his discovery and return them both home. Unfortunately, after searching for a while, he realizes Character 1 has been doomed to the network. He has been lost in the reminiscence of his past life and has lost touch with reality. There is nothing that can save him, so the Protagonist uses his progression to return home (The Unanswered Question).
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BAND STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS:
1. We tried many different guitars and tones for the record, it took much trial and error until we brought in the John Petrucci Majesty 7 with his Neural DSP which we will use going forward. It really allowed the space for the strings to come out with still being heavy and crunchy.
2. The track “Digital Soundscape” was recorded just one night in the studio, both Matt, Shawn, and engineer Ryan Shepard came together and it was a fun night of experimenting resulting in the final product.
3. Drums were recorded in the spring of 2018 in a mansion where the band originally rehearsed when it was a live project. We stepped foot once more to film the music videos for the album.
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