''The Black Chord'' is an 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 Astra. It is their second album, released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on March 27, 2012 on

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

, and on April 16 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on the independent label

Rise Above Records Rise Above Records is a London-based independent record label owned by Lee Dorrian (of the band Cathedral and formerly of Napalm Death). Founding Lee Dorrian started Rise Above Records in 1988 without the intention of the label being an ongoi ...

Reception

The album inspired positive reviews upon release, and was praised for its even more

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

and

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

feel as well as higher production values compared to their debut '' The Weirding''. The heavy metal review at ''

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

'' stated "

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

maestros Astra craft expansive suites that hearken back to the original root of mind-expanding, unrestrained and genuinely progressive rock. Rich with hallucinogenic and hypnotic promise, and slathered in layers of vintage, billowing instrumentation, the band's stunning sophomore album, ''The Black Chord'', expertly evokes the spirit, tone and vision of '70s cosmic prog." ''Ytsejam.com'' described the album as "combining the dark grooves of Sabbath, with the improvisational tangents of

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

, the moods of the early eras of both

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

and

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, as well as hints of space rock from

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

… the use of crunched

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, brass,

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

, a variety of

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

sounds and Moog/

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

synths,

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...

jazz drumming Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques an ...

, and growling bass… yield honest results as everything sounds organic…." According to ''Sound Colour Vibration'', there is a "depth and reality that a lot of progressive rock bands fail to obtain."

Track listing

Personnel

* Richard Vaughan: vocals, electric guitar, Mellotron M400, Memotron, Minimoog, Moog Rogue, Echoplex * Conor Riley: vocals, Mellotron M400, Memotron, Minimoog, Moog Rogue, ARP Odyssey, Oberheim 2-Voice, Crumar Orchestrator, Hammond A-100 organ, grand piano * Brian Ellis: lead electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar * Stuart Sclater: bass * David Hurley: drums, percussion, flute

Production

* Produced, engineered and mixed by Ian Lehrfeld * Mastered by

Brad Blackwood Brad Blackwood is an American audio mastering audio engineer, engineer. He has mastered albums for artists such as Maroon 5, Against Me, Lamb of God (band), Lamb of God, Black Eyed Peas, Sara Bareilles, and is a 17 time Grammy nominee and 3-time win ...

* Album sleeve art, design & illustration by Arik "Moonhawk" Roper

References

External links

The Black Chord review on Prog-Sphere.com

The Black Chord reviews and ratings on Prog Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Chord 2012 albums Astra (band) albums Rise Above Records albums