The name George
Bellas is synonymous with stretching musical
boundaries and human imagination with his
musical compositions. This new album is
ultra-modern in style and really reaches out
to a futuristic sound in its compositional
sense and outlook. The album ranges from the
explosive to the ethereal with emotionally
stirring segments. Adding to its uniqueness
“STEP INTO THE FUTURE” consists of just one
song that is 76 minutes in length.
George’s goal on "STEP INTO THE FUTURE" was
to compose ultra-modern sounding music that
used composition techniques that he had not
previously used on any of his other
releases. George comments, “I did not
initially plan to write a 76 minute song, it
just came out that way. I just kept writing
and writing and as more ideas came to me, I
eventually realized that this was turning
into a behemoth of a song. The album was not
a bunch of separate tracks that were merged
together after the fact, but it was indeed
written as one long continuous piece.
There
are several factors that differentiate "STEP
INTO THE FUTURE" from my previous releases,
one of which is that this album contains
only one song that is 76 minutes long. Other
significant factors are the compositional
techniques that I employed. Although I am
known to compose very complex, progressive
music, I did not want to use the same
elements found on my previous releases. So,
all fresh scales, meters and chords were
written specifically for this album. I was
very much inspired by advanced compositional
techniques such as: Interval Sets, Twelve
Tone Serialism, Poly-Meters, Poly-Chords,
Quartal and Quintal Harmony to name a few. I
was also inspired to have a bunch of very
melodic guitar playing with very lyrical
themes that at times had a melancholy feel
to them.
To put it simply, I was
imaginatively inspired with what the future
may hold. I would also say that "STEP INTO
THE FUTURE" is the most dynamic album I have
released so far. This album was not written
as a showcase for guitar solos, it is
composition in the truest and finest sense
there is. I really strived for something
that captivated my senses with ultra
imaginative, highly unique, creative writing”.
Backed once again by the ultra impressive
drum work of Marco Minnemann of whom Bellas
proudly states, “Marco Minnemann did an
incredible job on this album. I sent him
some very complex rhythm scores and he
plowed right through them recording nothing
short of awe inspiring drum performances. I
truly consider Marco Minnemann to be one of
the best drummers that has ever lived. It
was a honour to have a musician of such high
calibre contribute to "STEP INTO THE FUTURE"”.
Whilst this maybe perceived as specialist
stuff, “STEP INTO THE FUTURE” has enough
variation to take the listener on a journey
through unchartered musical territories and
will reward those bold enough to take on the
challenge.