''Chronomonaut'' is the seventeenth studio album by American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Glass Hammer Glass Hammer is an American progressive rock band from Chattanooga, Tennessee, created and led by Steve Babb and Fred Schendel. Babb and Schendel, who founded the band in 1992, are the only constant members in the lineup, having surrounded the ...

, released on October 12, 2018. A

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

and sequel to the band's fourth album '' Chronometree'' (2000), it features the same character, Tom Timely, now struggling to reach success with his progressive rock band The Elf King in the eighties. It was conceived as a stand-alone story rather than a direct continuation of the earlier album.

Story

The album follows Tom Timely in the 1980s, after the events of ''Chronometree''. Now the member of a progressive rock band named The Elf King. Together with his bandmates, which include guitarist Dwight -who often misses rehearsals- and vocalist Arianna, Tom tries to reach success and become a "prog god"; the story also involves him travelling back in the time to the golden age of progressive rock in the 1970s, and going missing.

Reception

''Progradar'' stated "Glass Hammer make a bold new statement with ''Chronomonaut’'', a new direction that gives them a definitive sound of their own. ..While not completely straying from their roots, Glass Hammer have taken a path less trodden and delivered what is, without a doubt, their best album yet and a fantastic new direction of power, precision and downright soul." Roie Avin of ''The Prog Report'' called the album "a progressive psychedelic trip with a captivating story and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout. 25 years into their career Glass Hammer continue to take risks and the result here is another gem in their impressive catalog." Brad Birzer of ''Progarchy'' stated "I could review this as a distinctive piece of American culture and Americana; as a treasure hunt and quest; as a progressive rock album; as a philosophical examination of nostalgia; as a theological pondering on the nature of time; or as a fully-blown science fiction tale worthy of anything written by Robert Heinlein or

Kevin J. Anderson Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', ''StarCraft'', ''Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files literature#Novels, The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the ...

. In some way, no review of this album can really be faithful to the material if it doesn’t take into account all of these things.", and called ''Chronomonaut'' "a majestic album that calls forth all that is best within us. No small feat, especially in our present cultural whirligig of insanity and horrors. In its own madness, ''Chronomonaut'' brings order and truth to the artistic and longing soul." Italian magazine ''La Gazzetta dello Spettacolo'' stated "With this new CD Glass Hammer reassert themselves as one of the most interesting and praiseworthy prog rock bands in the world, able to thrill the fans with their music, which is inspired by that of the greats of the genre, but is also rich in various personal inspirations".

Track listing

Personnel

;Glass Hammer * Susie Bogdanowicz –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

* Steve Babb –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Fred Schendel – keyboards,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s * Aaron Raulston –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

;Production * Fred Schendel, Steve Babb –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Bob Katz - mastering * Michal Xaay Loranc -

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

, booklet art ; Additional musicians * Brian Brewer –

on "Twilight of the Godz" * Jamison Smeltz –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

* Matthew Parmenter – vocals on "The Past is Past" * Chris Herin – guitar * Reese Boyd – guitar solo on "Fade Away" * Phil Stiles - guitar on "It Always Burns Sideways"

References

{{Authority control Glass Hammer albums 2018 albums Science fiction concept albums