I finished recording this album on July 30, 2021. It was released on Monday, August 23, 2021 is now available on all of the major music streaming/download platforms.
This is the album I have wanted to make since the late 1990s. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull it off due to the complexity of the music. Improvements in technology made it possible to pursue this project, but I really had to improve my skills as a producer, composer, and musician to make it work. It took 4 years of work, but somehow I pulled it off.
I am describing the music in this album as “nerd metal” – which is possibly a novel genre in music. Something like Frank Zappa + Eddie Van Halen + Judas Priest + Neil deGrasse Tyson. Lyrics explore the theme of dark energy in a literal sense (modern physics/astrophysics/cosmology) and in a figurative sense (mental illness). Most of the tracks have much more rhythmic complexity than the vast majority of western popular music. Often odd time signatures primarily engage the listener intellectually, but I wanted these tracks to be music that people could really “rock out” to as well. I think I may have accomplished that.
Tracks From This Album
- Redshifted Starlight – High energy, fast tempo nerd metal.
- Dark Energy – Moderate tempo experimental nerd metal in 7/8 time.
- Pseudoclassical Mechanics – Solo guitar instrumental.
- Interferometer – Moderate tempo experimental nerd metal in 5/4 time.
- Neutrino Detector – Experimental nerd metal instrumental.
- Quantum Computer – Experimental non-linear nerd metal in 13/8 time.
- Roman WFIRST – High energy, fast tempo nerd metal in 9/8 & 4/4 time.
- Thought Experiment 1: Quark Goddess Gone Delirious – Experimental fusion
- Thought Experiment 2: Thinking In Spherical Coordinates – Experimental fusion.
- Thought Experiment 3: Unmitigated Propensity To Confuse – Experimental fusion instrumental.
- Beyonset (1998 Q1) – Rock piano ballad.
- You Are Enough – Moderate tempo metal/jazz/rap influenced prog rock/metal piece in 4/4, 6/4, & 5/4 time.
Liner Notes
All songs written, composed, & performed by Xavier Xerxes.
Xavier Xerxes – Guitar, Bass Guitar, Vocals, Keyboard, Drum Programming, MIDI Programming
Produced, engineered, and mastered by Xavier Xerxes.
Thanks to Robert Koehler, Alex Cremer, Brendan Howard, Robert Maller, Kickstarter backers, friends, family, former bandmates, & all of those who have supported my work over the years.
Thanks to my teachers who helped me see a broader & deeper world.
Thanks to all of those who influenced me musically, especially the following:
- Edward Van Halen who showed that so much more could be done with the guitar.
- Frank Zappa who showed that so much more could be done with music.
Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.
CD Cover Art
