GAZPACHO - FIREWORKER (2020 ALBUM/DIGI-BOOK/16-PAGE BOOKLET)

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The CDS Towers’ kings of atmospheric Prog/Art-Rock return with 2020’s ‘Fireworker’ … This Norwegian band just get better with every album release!

Amongst GAZPACHO’s greatest achievements, conceptually, the album follows the band’s tradition of blending grand philosophical quandaries, stimulating literary leanings, and haunting personal turmoil.
A culmination of the themes and techniques from earlier collections, ‘Fireworker’ combines the fatalistic isolation of albyms such as: ‘Night’ and ‘Missa Atropos’, the ill-fated narrative drama of ‘Tick Tock’ and ‘Soyuz’, and the hefty theological/scientific contemplations of: ‘Demon’ and ‘Molok’.
Beyond that, its central premise (that humanity has always been controlled by an infallible and omniscient creature determined to propagate at any cost) means that ‘Fireworker’ comes across like the overarching umbrella under which all its predecessors occur.

Keyboardist Thomas Andersen elucidates: “There’s an instinctual part of you that lives inside your mind, separate from your consciousness. I call it the ‘Fireworker’ or the ‘Lizard’ or the ‘Space Cowboy’. It’s an eternal and unbroken life-force that’s survived every generation, with a new version in each of us."

The CD in a Hardback Media-Book packaging with a 16-Page Colour Booklet included.
The Heavyweight Double Vinyl LP contains three sides of music and one as an Etching in a Gatefold Sleeve.

About GAZPACHO…
GAZPACHO is one of the finest and most unique Progressive Art-Rock bands I have come across in many years!
Formed in Oslo in 1996 by childhood friends Jon-Arne Vilbo (guitars) & Thomas Andersen (keyboards), along with Jan-Henrik Ohme (vocals) and later joined by Mikael Krømer (violin / mandolin / guitar), Lars Erik Asp and Kristian Torp (bass), and Robert R. Johansen (drums / percussion), GAZPACHO have honed their unique sound over a string of eight critically acclaimed studio albums, three ‘live’ albums and numerous tours, including several with long-time supporters MARILLION.
Considering that the core member of the band are MARILLION fans, I guess it would be safe to say that GAZPACHO albums were always going to be influenced by them to some extent, and especially the later Steve Hogarth era, but they are much more that that!
GAZPACHO is different – in a fantastic way – and not very easy to pigeonhole. They are not a clone-band in any way – these guys very much have their own expansive sound built on a creation of subtle sonic shades, intelligent arrangements and gripping atmospheres, using emotion fuelled melody, thematic progression and building crescendos to dynamically create music that can only be described as thought provoking and unique.
As far as influences go, references have been made to quite a few names in almost every article or review I have read about them: PORCUPINE TREE, RADIOHEAD (but not so weird!), MUSE (but not so intense!), NO-MAN, PLACEBO, SNOW PATROL, PINEAPPLE THIEF / LUNATIC SOUL and of course (Steve Hogarth period) MARILLION, and I can substantiate virtually all of these claims in some way or another.
Jan-Henrik Ohme is a wonderfully talented vocalist who has a fantastic, pure voice and an immaculate sense of timing that is so easy on the ear. There is not even a hint of any other accent other than English (which is amazing really) and he has an appealing soft tone to his voice – You have to think somewhere along the lines of Steven Wilson at his most melancholic – Morten Harkett (A-HA) - Steve Hogarth for delivery and phrasing, Tim Bowness and a fair bit of Thom Yorke (RADIOHEAD).
The guitars and keyboards create an atmosphere of restrained power and play equally important parts in the band’s overall sound. Like PORCUPINE TREE, the keyboards are used to create subtle melodic leads and atmospheric backdrops as opposed to running off into strident, self-indulgent solo work, and to a certain extent the same could be said for the guitars. The band feature a fair bit of Mellotron - which I know pleases many - but they also use other instruments like violin to help create this brand of magical ethereal rock music that uses its restrained power to soothingly wash over you as opposed to cracking open your skull.

‘Fireworker’ is also available as a Heavyweight Double Vinyl LP – Stock # 2204787

‘Fireworker’ was released on 18th September 2020.

GAZPACHO: FIREWORKER CD Track List:

01. Space Cowboy (19:43)
02. Hourglass (4:15)
03. Fireworker (4:41)
04. Antique (6:24)
05. Sapien (15:22)

TPT: 50:25