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The second of my "neo-prog" EP trilogy (where is the third, I wonder?) is "Visitors", and is very much an evolution of it's predecessor. This EP was probably the beginning of the end in terms of me becoming a perfectionist. I was so happy with how this EP
turned out, that it affected my abilities to put out music permanently; it raised the bar so-to-speak. Prior to this, I'd kinda throw anything I had even moderately close to being acceptable. I don't think its any
surprise that this EP also has my longest song to date-- the title track is just over 10 minutes, if I recall correctly. "Visitors" predecessor, "Signals in Time" (sound familiar?) had two longer songs on it, but
"Visitors" beats them in length (and, in my opinion, dynamics).
The opener, "Prologue", is unabashedly a Genesis ripoff. I am a massive massive Genesis fan, and I am in love with the energy that songs like "Behind the Lines" have and wanted to write something that carried that same
triumphant energy. For "Daedalus", I was listening to a lot of J-Fusion (specifically T-SQUARE at this time), and a lot of Bill Bruford's "Bruford", too. That snare was 100% a nod to the classic Bill Bruford snare sound.
Relistening to it, I can also hear some Camel in it. I've recently come to the conclusion that Latimer had, like, an unconcious influence on my lead playing.
"First Contact" is one I really enjoy. This one also has big Genesis energy, but probably in between 1976-1978. I think it's funny how during the writing of this and "Signals in Time" that I'd go "I want to use a weird
time signature-- lets do 6/8"-- like that's the most uncommon time signature out there. So brave! Also: there's a mistake from the rendering process and there's a, like, 2 minute silence at the end. This was not
intentional (I've had people ask me before).
"Visitors", the title track, the big boy. I'm very happy with how this turned out, honestly. Piecing together four or five disparate demos/ideas into a ten minute behemoth was, and is, a daunting progress but its one I really enjoy. It's like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. There's a section that had to transition from a normal 4/4 beat to a swing/waltz-ish 3/4. It feels a bit off-kilter because it feels like a 3/4 but it is still
actually 4/4; you can kind of count it like (123-123-12, 123-123-12, etc). Kinda neat. I didn't own a real 12 string at the time, so I ended up running my acoustic through an Electro-Harmonix Pitchfork pitch shifter pedal.
I don't think you get that nice resonant ringing you would with a real 12 string, but I think it got the job done. The heavy riff at the end is on my Squier Bass VI and I absolutely love how chunky that thing can get. I think at this point I use it more for lead parts than I do bass parts. The prog influence on "Visitors" (as well as the whole EP) is obvious, but its more specifically a blend of Genesis and Pink Floyd, I think. If I had to change one thing about it, it would be using a real flute in the intro (a good friend of mine offered his services to do so after the fact!).
I like bookends in albums. "Behind the Lines"/"Dukes End" from "Duke", "Proclamation/Valedictory" from "The Power and the Glory", etc. I also like climactic, cinematic and energetic pieces. "Epilogue" is a good mix of both, intentionally so. I've got like a Phil Collins/Genesis tom fill running throughout recorded with three seperate drum kit tracks and I still love the sound of it. The bookend part is...somewhat subtle. When the climax hits, the lead mimics the melody from "Prologue". Just a fun little nod, is all.
Re-listening to it, and writing about it, I really enjoy this album, and I recall enjoying the writing and recording process quite a bit. Even with the daunting 10-minute title track, I still enjoyed every second of it. I think it breaking me and bumping my standards for myself is ultimately a good thing. I'm much more wary of the quality of art I release now, and that's because "Visitors" was something special.
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