ALBUM: The Battle - An Opioid Story
LABEL: KNH Records
RELEASE DATE: Projected: October 2023
The 2nd release from The ANABASIS finds the band in a slightly heavier mood with some sections of this album sounding like they could have been lifted from an Opeth album and others sounding more like Iron Maiden, circa 7th Son period. Meandering between haunting, tear-jerking melodies and hard-driving heavy metal riffing the songs range from 5 minutes to 21 minutes in length. This concept Prog Rock Opera may be the first of its kind in the genre. The ANABASIS have melded classic rock, classic metal and modern progrock in a way that will leave listeners wondering where this band has been and why they aren't more well-known.
Anyone who enjoyed the debut album, Back From Being Gone (2011, 10T Records) will find plenty to like here. However, the vocals have changed quite radically from the well-known YouTube star "PelleK" to a variety of relatively unknown talent. And while Gordon Tittsworth from Images of Eden is back again, this time he is one of the main characters in our story as he has been cast in the role of "Drug Dealer" and the good news is the part was written specifically for Gordon's voice and as luck would have it, our schedules somehow finally managed to both come up with a time to record. Those vocals are being recorded as I type out these words and we can't wait for you to hear them!
Barry Thompson
electric guitars, bass guitars, mandolin, Navajo pan flute, trumpet, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Barry Thompson is a multi instrumentalist who plays guitar primarily, but has also been known to dabble in some piano, drums and saxophone. He began playing music at the age of 10 when he took clarinet lessons in grammar school to escape the horrors of glee club and discovered that like his father before him, he had an aptitude for music.
In Junior High School, at the urging of the musical director, Barry switched from Clarinet to Tenor Saxophone, which he played in both the orchestra and the marching band.
By the time he was a freshman in High School, Barry had come to realize that girls were much more interested in a guy with a guitar than a guy with a sax. So, with a few lessons from his grandfather (an accomplished guitarist himself) before long he was playing some of the songs on the radio on his first acoustic guitar.
Barry's interest in other instruments waned for many years as he focused exclusively on guitar through his 20s and well into his 30s. This culminated in the formation of The ANABASIS - which is a 100% studio music project.
In 2004 Barry was a co-producer of the noted charity music project "The Tsunami Projekt" and he also appeared on Lee Abraham's excellent second album, "View From The Bridge" which also featured such notable UK prog musicians such as Karl Groom (Threshold) and Martin Orford (ex IQ).
Barry's musical influences range from bands such as Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, and Kansas to Iron Maiden, Opeth, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath.
He lives in Brockton, MA (USA) with his wife Sandie, his mother Sandi, his two dogs - Pebbles and Bam-Bam - and his Congo African Grey Parrot, Oscar.
Alycia Gray
lead and backing vocals
Alycia is a multi-talented vocalist who can bring the heavy when needed but can also bring the beauty. Her voice lands somewhere between Pat Benatar and Ann Wilson and she's got plenty of punch to go with it. With her incredible pitch control her live performances sound just as good as her studio performances. She's currently the lead vocalist for the local rock group "IncogNEATO" and she's also recording the vocals of "The Mother" for this album and we couldn't possibly be more excited to have her!
George Andrade
lyrics, arrangements
George Andrade wrote the book & lyrics and was Co-Producer for "AIRS - A Rock Opera" by Brockmann/Andrade (Fencesound Music). He also developed the concept, wrote the lyrics, and was Executive Producer for "Back from Being Gone" by the progressive metal band The ANABASISP (10T Records).
More recently, he has developed the concepts and written lyrics & narratives for the Norwegian rock/metal vocalist and songwriter PelleK on his albums "Ocean of Opportunity" and "A Marvelous Method of Reclusion".
He has written novel reviews for Horrornews.net, reviewed albums for Progarchives.com, and has provided critical readings of screenplays for independent screenwriters (most notably by Sean Ryan). He is listed in both the Locus Magazine Author's Index and the ISFDB (Internet Speculative Fiction Database) for his short story "Clowns", which appeared in HAUNTS Magazine #18 (Spring 1990).
He has also been an Artist-In-Residence for Very Special Arts Rhode Island, where he taught screenwriting at Dorcas Place in Providence, RI, whose mission remains to assist low-income adults in realizing their full potential through literacy, employment, advocacy and community involvement. He also wrote, produced and directed the short film "Supports" for Vision Cable in Pawtucket, RI, which won a RI Cable Award for "Best Entertainment/Variety" in 1992.
When last seen in the "private sector" (where they expect results), George was an assistant football coach at Mt. Hope High School in Bristol, RI (2012-2015); before that he managed the Children's, Teen, Family & Childcare, and Education Departments at Barnes & Noble in Middletown, RI.
Presently, George is writing a screenplay for PelleK (tentatively titled “Formally, Norskogen”) and researching his own massive, multi-book project called “Cloth Heart”. He has also begun work on the follow-up album to “Back from Being Gone” by The Anabasis.
He is the husband of Nicolette Collard-Andrade (24 years) and the father of Leigh Nicole (33), Taylor Evan (29), Dustin Joseph (27), and Hannah Kubrick (17). Phew.
Jeroen Hendrix
keyboards, synths, orchestration and arrangements
Jeroen Hendrix is a Dutch keyboard-player. After studying classical piano for 10 years, he started playing synthesizers. Among his teachers are some well-known keyboardists like Derek Sherinian and Jordan Rudess. Jeroen's style is based on his classical background combined with progressive and rock elements. Through his online recording service www.keyboardtracks.nl Jeroen records keyboard work for bands and musicians all over the world.
In 2019, Barry Thompson asked Jeroen to become the full-time keyboardist and pianist for the international studio project, The ANABASIS and they began working on the follow up to 2011's critically acclaimed "Back From Being Gone" on which Jeroen played keyboards on two tracks.
It should be noted here that there is a pretty cool solo in "Fly" where Jeroen and Ryo trade keyboard licks.
Jimmy Keegan
drums, percussion
Jimmy started playing at 10 years old. A few months after receiving his first drum set he landed a TV show alongside the late River Phoenix. A few months later he was doing theater in LA as a cast member and musician. By 14 he started his first band Polo that would end up in regular rotation at Disneyland as well as winning "Starsearch" and performing on numerous telethons. By 18 he had started getting calls for sessions and tours. It expanded from there. “I was lucky to have a huge family with all kinds of music playing at all times. As I grew as a musician, I just continued that trend of listening to everything. Consequently, I get calls from R&B artists as often as rock, pop and country artists.” From Santana, John Waite and Kenny Loggins to Tevin Campbell to Tony Orlando.
In 2003 Jimmy began touring with Spock’s Beard alongside fellow Aquarian artist Nick D’Virgilio. 2012 saw Nick leaving and Jimmy taking over as the full time drummer with the release of "Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep" and 2015 with "The Oblivion Particle." Now on to new territory, A solo album coming and a new band Pattern Seeking Animals. The future is here!
Brick Williams
6, 7 and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars, lead guitar
Brick Williams is the founding member, primary songwriter and plays all guitar parts for prog/metal masters Hourglass, whose latest album, "Oblivious To The Obvious" was
recently voted "Album of the Year" for 2009 on www.perfectprog.com.
LeeLoo (The Beauty Dealer)
lead and backing vocals
Leanne Greenman, formally known as "LeeLoo" is an active professional singer, songwriter, performer and vocal instructor, and vocal producer originally from Long Island, NY. She studied both classical and musical theater, gaining her Associates Degree from Adelphi University, later leaving as one of the university’s top 5 singers, and as the school’s official matriculation singer in 2005.
Later in 2005, she wanted a complete musical make-over, and came to Boston to acquire her Bachelor’s Degree at Berklee College of Music. She studied a wide range of contemporary influences that make her the versatile artist she is today, including metal, R&B, jazz, classical, pop and rock. LeeLoo studied under Gabrielle Goodman, back-up singer to Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan.
Over the past 15 years, LeeLoo has worked in several private music schools including The Real School of Music, The Royal Academy for the Performing Arts, and Bosse School of Music, In Sync Center for the Arts, along with many vocal studios all over the Boston area. She teaches private and group vocal instruction, has trained others to become successful vocal instructors, and has run small music and band programs for children and adults of all ages. LeeLoo has provided private vocal studio coaching for many of her students demos and albums, helping to produce their own unique sound and gain the best quality vocal tracks possible for their projects. Leanne has given workshops on performance anxiety, somatic breathwork, and live performance instruction. One of her unique specialties is to help guide those looking to learn more edgy styles of music. She has successful taught people to scream, and use grit in their voices safely and effectively, helping to amplify the power of their natural sound.
Alongside her teaching experience, LeeLoo has fronted several Boston bands, such as Top 40’s Pop/Rock band, Big City Band from the Hank Entertainment Agency, has toured the Northeast with her original rock groups such as Kokopelli, Ground To Dust & Lure of the Animal, and has taught and collaborated on music projects and programs in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and has written several albums. She also works as a session musician and collaborates on a wide range of music projects from all over the world online.
LeeLoo has worked alongside Grammy Award winning producers, such as Sean McLaughlin (Rush, Elliot Smith) in collaboration on many projects with a variety of artists. She has recorded music for video games, television and movies. She has had the pleasure of working with internationally renowned bass player, Phil Baker (Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson) and piano/keys player, George Mitchell (Diana
Ross) and the world-known guitarist, Troy Williver (Bombay) to name a few.
Need help auditioning? No problem! LeeLoo has tons of experience auditioning for TV Shows like American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and The Voice, where she passed all the preliminary rounds. She has helped many of her students pass their auditions successfully and has inspired them to set their goals much higher as performers.
Diversity, versatility, and pushing the limits in edgy contemporary genres of music have been her primary focus of instruction. LeeLoo believes in building a foundation of technique while introducing the many psychological aspects of singing. Everyone learns differently, and LeeLoo will offer various methods and analogies to help you connect to your instrument and find true vocal freedom! She will challenge you, help you to find your voice unique voice, and to highlight everyone’s personal strengths and natural inflections of their voice. If you enjoy challenge, versatility and want to find your own unique vocal talent, or just want to see what your voice is truly capable of, LeeLoo is excited to help you achieve your goals!
LeeLoo is available to work with many different artists, either coaching them on their own albums in the studio or recording vocal tracks for various records. She is also a singer/songwriter and is available to WRITE, COACH, COLLABORATE OR RECORD on virtually ANY music projects you have to offer! You can contact LeeLoo on her website via her website located here: Vocalist | The Voice of LeeLoo