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Founded in the late 90’s by Laurent James (guitars) and Julien Negro (bass), Lord Of Mushrooms has always been a unique entity in constant motion. From the first live covers of the formative years to the foundations of their new master work, the band motto has always been to create its own rules and not follow others. After a few years of uncertainty and a major change in its line up, the quintet has achieved today what will be definitively considered its touchstone, having outshined both its musical and lyrical potential with “Perspectives”. Now fronted by Gus Monsanto (ex Adagio), Lord Of Mushrooms is back to the front and blessed with an incredible collection of songs. “Perspectives” is, without any doubt, the most ambitious and challenging work the band has ever done. The main focus was trying to get off the beaten track. The new composition were deliberately smoothed to have a more direct approach for the listener but those looking carefully will find many non conventional modes, rhythms and melodies. “Perspectives” also has fewer old fashioned sounding synth sounds and more simple and crystalline pianos – incorporation of real classical and exotic instruments. If the essence of the band is still there, its sound has expanded and the music on the album can’t really be compared to anything else. Crushing rhythms and mind blowing solos, soft and eerie atmospheres supported by a real string ensemble, harmonic originality and beautiful lyrical work all thanks to incredibly tight musicianship are just some of the albums characteristics. Don’t try putting a label to the music of Lord Of Mushrooms, listen to these songs and enjoy their uniqueness!
The obvious change between “Perspectives” and the two predecessors (2002’s Lord Of Mushroom & 2005’s 7 Deadly Songs) is the line-up evolution. Three new members have joined the band and have indeed brought entirely new perspectives. Gus, on vocals, has already showed his qualities with renowned bands such as Adagio and is a much more powerful and memorable singer. Both Luca and Marco have played in an Italian progressive metal band and brought their unique background to the foundations of the group. The music on this new album is far more mature than Lord Of Mushrooms’ previous works, sophisticated but more direct at the same time. Laurent James comments, “Concept albums are a tradition with the band, and “Perspectives” is definitively more audacious and will encourage the listener to dig deeper into the lyrics to understand all the hidden meanings. “Perspectives” follows the path of a strange character, and analyses his thoughts during this initiatory journey of his. As the key to the story is only revealed at the end of the album, we cannot clearly detail every chapter specifically, but the goal of this concept was mainly to bring contemporary human matters to a different and somehow weirder level, and let the listener understand that, in the end, everything is but a matter of perspectives ! Musically speaking this album definitely has a much darker atmosphere, our previous releases sounded very positive and bright, we just needed this new balance. Changes in the line-up of the band have definitively matured Lord Of Mushroom’s music. The songs are catchier, with a harsher and more distinctive vocal delivery”. “Perspectives” demanded quite a long time for completion. Even if recording sessions started mid 2009, the songs emerged between 2008 and 2009, the band was playing a few of these titles live before the recordings initiated. As its members are scattered all around the globe, finalizing the project was not an easy task, but the band managed to make the best of what they had and transcended the difficulties they faced to deliver the best album possible. An album that is the epitome of cosmopolitanism, having two French musicians, two Italians, a Brazilian singer, and being mixed in Canada by Richard Chycki (Rush, Aerosmith, James La Brie, Dream Theater) and mastered in the USA by the critically acclaimed Andy VanDette (Rush, Deep Purple, Porcupine Tree). The icing on the cake is the unique sleeve design by artist Travis Smith (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Nevermore). Overall, “Perspectives” is the most cohesive work the band has ever done, and even if they already had a strong musical personality on the previous records, “Perspectives” has achieved a new level of musicianship and provided the band with its own unique identity. This new album sounds like Lord Of Mushrooms and no one else.
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