ARCH / MATHEOS Issue Guitar Playthrough Video For ‘Wrath Of The Universe’ Track
June 19th, 2019
 Jim Matheos and John Arch |
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American progressive metal project Arch / Matheos, a collaboration between former Fates Warning frontman John Arch and founder / current guitarist Jim Matheos, have released an official playthrough video for the track ‘Wrath Of The Universe’, which can be viewed below.
Arch / Matheos issued second full-length studio album Winter Ethereal on May 10th, 2019 through Metal Blade Records.
Winter Ethereal can be streamed in its entirety via YouTube below.
Writing sessions for the outing commenced in the spring of 2017. “The way we work together is no pressure, no deadline, at least until we get close to recording,” said Matheos. “We allow ourselves a lot of time and flexibility to see if we even have anything to say. That’s first and foremost. We start by writing, and if things start shaping up and we’re excited and inspired, we keep going until we’re confident that we’ll be able to do a whole record.”
Rather than reform the full line-up of the first record – made up entirely of Fates Warning members – this time around, the duo favoured mixing things up with a variety of contributing musicians. “We decided that it would be a good idea to use a different line-up and hopefully avoid a lot of the confusion created around the first record. At the same time, we didn’t want to give the impression that we were forming a new ‘band’ that would be touring / recording beyond this current record. With that in mind, I thought it might be an interesting idea to have a few different rhythm sections across the record, to give things a different feel and sound under the familiar top layer of vocals and guitars by John and I.”
Winter Ethereal’s recording line-up comprised both present and former Fates Warning drummers and bassists – Joey Vera, Bobby Jarzombek, Joe Dibiase and Mark Zonder – plus other musicians, such as Steve DiGiorgio (Testament / Charred Walls Of The Damned / ex-Death), Sean Malone (Cynic), and drummer Thomas Lang.
While not a concept album, Arch stated that “anyone who takes the time to read the lyrics will probably connect with a recurring theme touching on the mysterious weight or flight of human emotion that leaves us with more questions than answers.” In the context of the title, rather than referring to the season, Winter was chosen for having “certain connotations sometimes associated with it, such as isolation, a withering to rebirth”, and with Ethereal meaning “not of this world, or otherworldly”, there came a “meaningful marriage between the two words that best summed up the theme of the album.”
Discussing the lyrics, John Arch referenced ‘Pitch Black Prism’. “The impetus for this song started with seeing images of dolls left behind at the schools and homes near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster. Many weeks of research into the personal accounts and survivors’ testimonies led me deeper into curiosity. I was halfway into the song when I stumbled across a documentary called The Russian Woodpecker, which inspired a larger twist on the direction of meaning. However, it wasn’t until I saw a post from a Chernobyl survivor named Yuri, who was one of the musicians employed by the Russian Government sent with his bandmates and a ballet dancer into the heart of the disaster to entertain the dying, that the song became complete.”
Almost all collaborators tracked their parts in their respective home studios, while guitars and vocals were laid down at Matheos’ studio with him handling the production. “For me, having the freedom and drive to work in isolation is one of the things I like best about recording,” said Matheos. “It allows me to experiment, and often fail, without feeling inhibited or constrained. That said, John offered a lot of encouragement, whether remotely or in person, and pushed me into directions I wouldn’t normally go.” Matheos was similarly supportive when it came to Arch laying down his parts. “I really enjoy the studio situation, mainly because it feels like home,” the vocalist stated. “It is a low-key relaxing environment, Jim is behind the console, and I’m behind the mic, and no one is pushing anyone. Whatever creative differences we have, we work out with compromise. I appreciate Jim’s patience while I’m tracking vocals because it can be brutal at times. It’s also cool because I get a front row seat watching Jim track his guitars, sometimes late into the night ’til we both run out of gas. We are longtime friends, and a couple shots and laughs at the end of a long day make for some good memories.”
Nearly eight years separate Winter Ethereal and predecessor Sympathetic Resonance. “Sometimes after being away from something for a while and having life experiences to draw from, you feel you have something to say or offer. Music has always been the best medium for me to express what sometimes words alone cannot, and the timing for this record was just right,” Arch asserted. When it comes to the words he would most readily apply to the album, he immediately goes to “unpretentious, emotionally driven, and, sometimes, the hard truth. Sympathetic Resonance had many of these elements, but I think Winter Ethereal does it with more breathing room, giving the listener time for reflection.”
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The track listing is as follows;
01. ‘Vermilion Moons’
02. ‘Wanderlust’
03. ‘Solitary Man’
04. ‘Wrath Of The Universe’
05. ‘Tethered’
06. ‘Straight And Narrow’
07. ‘Pitch Black Prism’
08. ‘Never In Your Hands’
09. ‘Kindred Spirits’
Directed by David Brodsky for MyGoodEye, music videos were filmed for the tracks ‘Straight And Narrow’ and ‘Tethered’. Both clips can also be viewed below.
Debut studio record Sympathetic Resonance was released in September 2011 via Metal Blade.
Promotional photograph by Mark Cubbedge.
