Tom MacLean is an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...
multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the guitarist of
To-Mera
To-Mera are an English progressive metal band from South Oxfordshire. They were formed in 2004 and play a technical style of metal characterized by long songs, multiple time changes and jazz interludes.
History Formation of the band
The word ' ...
and as the former bassist of
Haken. MacLean was taught the classical guitar at the age of 10 and changed to electric at 14. It was not until he was 25 that he started to play the bass in order to join Haken.
Since leaving Haken, MacLean has been a member of the progressive metal band Psion.
To-Mera
To-Mera formed in 2005 between a few friends: Julie Kiss (vocals), Lee Barrett (bass), Akos Pirisi (drums), Hugo Sheppard (keyboard), and MacLean. They released a demo, which caught the attention of
Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records is a British record label based in England and founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal ...
. The band's musical style was drastically different from conventional
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...
; the band drew upon a plethora of influences such as
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 ...
. In 2006, Candlelight released
Transcendental. In 2008, To-Mera released their next album,
Delusions
A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some o ...
, in 2008. In 2009, they parted with Candlelight. Hugo Sheppard left after this, and they recruited
Richard Henshall
Richard James "Hen" Henshall is a British progressive metal multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for being the guitarist and keyboardist for the bands To-Mera, Haken (band), Haken, Nova Collective, and Opinaut. He has released one album ('' ...
for the post. They then self released the
Earthbound
''EarthBound'', released in Japan as is a role-playing video game developed by Creatures (company), Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The second entry in the Mother (video game s ...
EP. Their next full length, "Exile", was released in September of 2012.
Haken
Haken was formed by school friends Ross Jennings, Matthew Marshall, and
Richard Henshall
Richard James "Hen" Henshall is a British progressive metal multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for being the guitarist and keyboardist for the bands To-Mera, Haken (band), Haken, Nova Collective, and Opinaut. He has released one album ('' ...
at first in 2004. The members parted ways for a while to study at university, reuniting in 2007. The current members found Peter Jones on keyboards and Raymond Hearne on
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 ...
. Jones left soon after, and was replaced by Diego Tejeida. Charlie Griffiths was hired as their guitarist, and Henshall brought in To-Mera bandmate Maclean on bass. They released two demos in 2007 and 2008, which received excellent reviews. Their music caught the attention of Sensory Records, and the first album,
Aquarius
Aquarius may refer to:
Astrology
* Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign
* Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages
Astronomy
* Aquarius (constellation)
* Aquarius in Chinese astronomy
Arts and entertainme ...
, was released in 2010. MacLean left Haken in 2013 and was replaced by Conner Green.
Psion
In May 2015, Tom MacLean co-founded Psion, a
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...
band that includes drummer Jasper Barendregt, guitarist Nikolas Wolf, and lead vocalist Bryan Ramage. Psion released their self-titled debut EP on 1 September 2017 and made it available for streaming on
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...
.
Twelve Tone Studio
At the end of 2019, Tom MacLean launched his mixing and mastering service, Twelve Tone Studio, for rock, metal, and alternative artists.
Discography
With To-Mera
*(2005) Demo
*(2006) ''
Transcendental''
*(2008) ''
Delusions
A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some o ...
''
*(2009) ''
Earthbound
''EarthBound'', released in Japan as is a role-playing video game developed by Creatures (company), Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The second entry in the Mother (video game s ...
'' (EP)
*(2012) ''Exile''
With Haken
*(2007) Demo
*(2008) ''Enter the 5th Dimension''
*(2010) ''
Aquarius
Aquarius may refer to:
Astrology
* Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign
* Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages
Astronomy
* Aquarius (constellation)
* Aquarius in Chinese astronomy
Arts and entertainme ...
''
*(2011) ''
Visions
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
''
*(2013) ''
The Mountain
The Mountain (french: La Montagne) was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention.
They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins. Th ...
''
With Psion
*(2017) ''Psion'' (EP)
With Athemon
*(2021) ''Athemon''
With Brutta
*(2022) ''Brutta''
With Horasan
*(2022) ''Horasan'' (EP)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Tom
Progressive metal guitarists
British heavy metal guitarists
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)