{"id":76875,"date":"2019-06-19T00:00:22","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T00:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=76875"},"modified":"2019-06-19T19:37:57","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T19:37:57","slug":"news-arch-matheos-release-second-studio-album-winter-ethereal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/news-arch-matheos-release-second-studio-album-winter-ethereal\/","title":{"rendered":"ARCH \/ MATHEOS Issue Guitar Playthrough Video For \u2018Wrath Of The Universe\u2019 Track (June 19th, 2019) | News @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARCH \/ MATHEOS Issue Guitar Playthrough Video For \u2018Wrath Of The Universe\u2019 Track<\/strong><\/span>
\nJune 19th, 2019<\/strong><\/span> <\/p>\n

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Jim Matheos and John Arch<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nAmerican 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 \u2018Wrath Of The Universe\u2019, which can be viewed below.<\/p>\n

Arch \/ Matheos issued second full-length studio album Winter Ethereal<\/em> on May 10th, 2019 through Metal Blade Records.<\/p>\n

Winter Ethereal<\/em> can be streamed in its entirety via YouTube below.<\/p>\n

Writing sessions for the outing commenced in the spring of 2017. \u201cThe way we work together is no pressure, no deadline, at least until we get close to recording,\u201d said Matheos. \u201cWe allow ourselves a lot of time and flexibility to see if we even have anything to say. That\u2019s first and foremost. We start by writing, and if things start shaping up and we\u2019re excited and inspired, we keep going until we\u2019re confident that we\u2019ll be able to do a whole record.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rather than reform the full line-up of the first record \u2013 made up entirely of Fates Warning members \u2013 this time around, the duo favoured mixing things up with a variety of contributing musicians. \u201cWe 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\u2019t want to give the impression that we were forming a new \u2018band\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winter Ethereal<\/em>\u2019s recording line-up comprised both present and former Fates Warning drummers and bassists \u2013 Joey Vera, Bobby Jarzombek, Joe Dibiase and Mark Zonder \u2013 plus other musicians, such as Steve DiGiorgio (Testament \/ Charred Walls Of The Damned \/ ex-Death), Sean Malone (Cynic), and drummer Thomas Lang.<\/p>\n

While not a concept album, Arch stated that \u201canyone 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.\u201d In the context of the title, rather than referring to the season, Winter<\/em> was chosen for having \u201ccertain connotations sometimes associated with it, such as isolation, a withering to rebirth\u201d, and with Ethereal<\/em> meaning \u201cnot of this world, or otherworldly\u201d, there came a \u201cmeaningful marriage between the two words that best summed up the theme of the album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussing the lyrics, John Arch referenced \u2018Pitch Black Prism\u2019. \u201cThe 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\u2019 testimonies led me deeper into curiosity. I was halfway into the song when I stumbled across a documentary called The Russian Woodpecker<\/em>, which inspired a larger twist on the direction of meaning. However, it wasn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almost all collaborators tracked their parts in their respective home studios, while guitars and vocals were laid down at Matheos\u2019 studio with him handling the production. \u201cFor me, having the freedom and drive to work in isolation is one of the things I like best about recording,\u201d said Matheos. \u201cIt 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\u2019t normally go.\u201d Matheos was similarly supportive when it came to Arch laying down his parts. \u201cI really enjoy the studio situation, mainly because it feels like home,\u201d the vocalist stated. \u201cIt is a low-key relaxing environment, Jim is behind the console, and I\u2019m behind the mic, and no one is pushing anyone. Whatever creative differences we have, we work out with compromise. I appreciate Jim\u2019s patience while I\u2019m tracking vocals because it can be brutal at times. It\u2019s also cool because I get a front row seat watching Jim track his guitars, sometimes late into the night \u2019til 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly eight years separate Winter Ethereal<\/em> and predecessor Sympathetic Resonance<\/em>. \u201cSometimes 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,\u201d Arch asserted. When it comes to the words he would most readily apply to the album, he immediately goes to \u201cunpretentious, emotionally driven, and, sometimes, the hard truth. Sympathetic Resonance<\/em> had many of these elements, but I think Winter Ethereal<\/em> does it with more breathing room, giving the listener time for reflection.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The track listing is as follows;<\/p>\n

01. \u2018Vermilion Moons\u2019
\n02. \u2018Wanderlust\u2019
\n03. \u2018Solitary Man\u2019
\n04. \u2018Wrath Of The Universe\u2019
\n05. \u2018Tethered\u2019
\n06. \u2018Straight And Narrow\u2019
\n07. \u2018Pitch Black Prism\u2019
\n08. \u2018Never In Your Hands\u2019
\n09. \u2018Kindred Spirits\u2019<\/p>\n

Directed by David Brodsky for MyGoodEye, music videos were filmed for the tracks \u2018Straight And Narrow\u2019 and \u2018Tethered\u2019. Both clips can also be viewed below.<\/p>\n

Debut studio record Sympathetic Resonance<\/em> was released in September 2011 via Metal Blade.<\/p>\n

Promotional photograph by Mark Cubbedge.<\/em><\/p>\n