Manuel Barbara |

NEWS RELEASE

Montreal, QC – February 2, 2021

For fans of Dream Theater, Keith Merrow, Periphery, Tesseract, Jeff Loomis

Manuel Barbará Presents His Progressive Metal Album “Moonrise”

“Moonrise” Guitar/Bass Playthrough Premiere via TheProgSpace

Album Out March 19th, 2021

New Jersey’s Manuel Barbará is releasing his debut album “Moonrise” this coming March. The first single for this full length is the title track.

Featuring seven instrumental tracks of classically inspired progressive metal, Manuel Barbará puts a conscious effort into making each song into a cohesive, well-composed whole rather than a collection of flashy guitar tricks.

This recording features songwriter Manuel Barbará on guitars and programming, Nick Thorpe on bass along with Joey Ferretti on drums. The album is designed to take the listener on a journey through a series of loosely interconnected sound worlds that Barbará has created. He explains the single “Moonrise”:

“It was actually the first complete piece I ever wrote that I was really happy with. It has gone through many revisions since then, but it is still special to me as that first one. I wanted to make something big and epic and heavy with just enough of a weird edge to keep people interested. Funnily enough, the chorus riff, which seems to be everyone’s favorite part, was supposed to be a throw-away idea that I was going to replace later, but it stuck around.”

According to Barbará, this album is the first step towards his longtime goal to take his training as a classical composer and apply it to this style of modern metal that he loves so much in a way that goes beyond the standard Yngwie “neo-classical metal” thing.

A treat for anyone who enjoys imaginative progressive metal, “Moonrise” is highly recommended for fans of Dream Theater, Keith Merrow, and Periphery.

The single “Moonrise” can be heard via its premiere on TheProgSpace HERE.

Spotify pre-save here.
Apple Music pre-save here.

The full album is out on March 19, 2021.

Album pre-order is available on 8stringalchemy.bandcamp.com.

Track Listing

Moonrise (5:08)
The God Complex (6:08)
Children of Prometheus (4:54)
Mirrors I – Image (5:10)
Mirrors II – Silver (3:48)
Mirrors III – Reflection (4:20)
The Nightmare Weaver (6:15)

Album Length: 35:45

More Info:
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Instagram.com/8stringalchemy
YouTube
EPK

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EPK – Manuel Barbará – Moonrise (2021)

Publicist – Jon Asher – asher[@]ashermediarelations[.]com

For fans Dream Theater, Keith Merrow, Periphery, Tesseract, Jeff Loomis

Manuelbarbara.com | Facebook.com/8stringalchemy | Instagram.com/8stringalchemy | YouTube

8stringalchemy.bandcamp.com | Spotify | Apple Music

Album Title: Moonrise
Release Date: March 19, 2021

Track Listing

1. Moonrise (5:08)

2. The God Complex (6:08)

3. Children of Prometheus (4:54)

4. Mirrors I – Image (5:10)

5. Mirrors II – Silver (3:48)

6. Mirrors III – Reflection (4:20)

7. The Nightmare Weaver (6:15)

Album Length: 35:45

Album Credits
– All Songs Performed by: Manuel Barbará, Nick Thorpe, Joey Ferretti
– All Songs Written by: Manuel Barbará
– Produced by: Manuel Barbará and Charles Henry-Volk
– Mixed and Mastered by: Charles Henry-Volk
– Album Art: Annie Tohill
– Drums Recorded by Benny Grotto and Sam Stallings at Mad Oak Studios

Album Band Lineup:
Manuel Barbará – Guitars, Programming
Nick Thorpe – Bass
Joey Ferretti – Drums

Discography
2021 – Moonrise

Manuel Barbará is a New Jersey based musician and composer with a passion for progressive metal and contemporary classical music. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music where he earned a degree in guitar Performance and Composition.

He was not born into a musical family. He did not grow up surrounded by music, and he did not dream of being a musician from a young age. In fact, despite taking piano lessons as a child, he rarely thought of music even as a recreational activity. For most of his teenage years, he intended to pursue a Computer Science career. However, inspired by bands such as Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd he took up guitar at the age of sixteen. Under the tuition of renowned guitar teacher Matt Mills, he successfully auditioned for Berklee less than three years later.

Metal drew him in with its complexity and sophistication, energy and passion. Through it, he found a gateway into the classical tradition. He has had the opportunity to study both of these styles under mentors such as Joe Stump, Jon Finn, Shaun Michaud, Norm Zocher, Marti Epstein, and Arnold Friedman.

Precision, structure, discipline, and ambiance, characterize both his guitar playing and his compositional style. Drawing from his eclectic musical background he takes equal inspiration from bands like Periphery, Tesseract, and Dream Theater as well as from instrumental guitarists like Tony MacAlpine and Paul Wardingham and composers such as Dubussy, Bartók, Pärt, and Stravinsky.

Taking his training as a classical composer and applying it to this style of modern metal that he loves so much, and going beyond the standard Yngwie “neo-classical metal” influence, Barbara will present his debut album “Moonrise” this coming March 2021.

Barabra adds:

“This music has been part of my own little universe for so long, and I am beyond excited to share it with the world. The process of making the album has been an epic journey, a learning experience, and a trial by fire all wrapped into one and I am looking forward to bringing it to an audience. The purpose of music for me, after all the craft and technique and study are done, is to draw the listeners in and allow them to experience totally new worlds. The details of those worlds will be up to each individual person, but I hope the audience will join me on this small adventure I’ve prepared.”

Much of the writing of the full length was done during the very early days of his training in classical composition and he has even more music to come (unrecorded, as of yet) that is much more refined and elaborate in its use of compositional techniques and harmonic language.

Category: Manuel Barbara

0 Manuel Barbará Presents His Progressive Metal Album “Moonrise”, Guitar/Bass Playthrough Premiere For Title Track via TheProgSpace

0 EPK – Manuel Barbará – Moonrise (2021)