Well I woke up one day and realized I wanted to write a true neo classical record. I came to the conclusion that neo classical wasn't presently that popular, so that iced it for me. What more reason did I need to do a neo classical record?!

My original vision was to go back to my “Defense Mechanizms” roots (which I did), yet to write a more cohesive record. My previous instrumental records have had some “classical meets metal” compositions, but "Orchestrate" is focused exclusively on that style. As the record developed, I realized "orchestral" was a better term than "classical", so I consider "Orchestrate" to be my one & only  neo-orchestral metal record to date. 

I recorded all the backing strings, etc on my Yamaha Motif ES keyboard (because the sounds floored me) and rather than playing chords, most of the time I treated it like scoring an orchestra, recording one "voice" at a time. Time consuming? Hell yes! So what! There is still plenty of guitar on the record of course, and Matt's drumming just kicked the whole thing in the arse!

My focus compositionally was to create strong themes first and foremost, before the musicianship & full arrangements came into play. I didn't intend on writing around any particular "culture" of music stylistically, but when I listen back, I hear many different styles, even some Russian / Slavic themes. I also wanted to create a record that breathes with a lot of dynamics, also with at least one tempo descelerondo, and some free time tempos.

IT IS MY FIRM BELIEF THAT ANYONE WHO DOESN'T APPRECIATE CLASSICAL MUSIC SIMPLY ISN'T LISTENING TO IT LOUD ENOUGH.

01) Opus Conceptus

02) String Theory

03) The Mad Composer’s Rage

04) Notes From the Kursk

05) Battle At Storm’s Edge

06) Guiprice

07) Mysterioso

08) Octavian II

09) The Anti Shred

10) Schizo Forte

Cover / Layout by John Holland (www.mistymountaingraphics.com)

Composed, Produced, and Mixed by Michael Harris at NOMAD Studio