Following their recent signing to the Madfish label, legendary prog outfit Spock’s Beard have announced their highly anticipated new album The Archaeoptimist. Set for release on 21st November, the new album sees the group at their effervescent and experimental best delivering some of their finest work from a career spanning more than 30 years.
Speaking on the news, frontman Ted Leonard shared: “The new album is largely the brainchild of Ryo and a co-writer, Michael Whiteman. With lyrical contributions from Alan and myself. While not a concept album, the title is taken from one of the tracks called The Archaeoptimist. This epic follows the story of a young girl being raised by her father in a post-cataclysmic world and her pathway from being an inspiration to a leader. Other songs vary in theme from obsession with one’s work or task to musings about the passage of time forging ahead despite obstacles. (…) I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m very proud, excited, and honestly relieved that it turned out as good as it did. Everyone put in a ton of work but none so much as Ryo in pushing this over the line.”
Laurence Todd RAMzine: “There are no weak tracks on this album. Rather, it’s the sound of a band benefiting from ‘new member bounce’ with the inclusion of fresh blood in the ranks. For a band who’ve lost key players like Neal Morse and Nick D’Virgilio to still be able to produce an album of this quality speaks volumes for their creativity.”
