''Until We Meet Again'' is the debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by rock

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

White Noise Owl White Noise Owl is a rock supergroup composed of lead vocalist Pete Murray of Lo-Pro and Ultraspank, bassist John Fahnestock of Lo-Pro, Snot, and Amen, drummer Will Hunt of Evanescence and Dark New Day, and guitarist Chris Shy of Aurora Sky. Th ...

. It was released on March 11, 2014. A

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

, "Feed", was released a week prior on March 5, 2014, while "End Over End" was later released as the EPs first and only official single.

Background

Writing and recording

The EP's earlier origin tracks back to guitarist Chris Shy, the prior guitarist of band Aurora Sky, who envisioned doing a project with Pete Murray of

Lo-Pro Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...

. He contacted Murray after the release of Lo-Pro's third album, ''

Disintegration Effect ''Disintegration Effect'' is the third studio album by American hard rock band Lo-Pro. It was released on May 14, 2013. The album was a departure from the prior two Lo-Pro albums, while half of the album retained the band's usual melodic hard rock ...

'', in June 2013. The two communicated vaguely about working together through email, which eventually led to sending song ideas back and forth. Upon completion of their first complete song, "Feed", the two decided to start work on writing songs for an EP, and the two were tasked with forming a real band. Murray recruited

John Fahnestock Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...

, whom he had worked with on Lo-Pro's first album ''

'' prior to Fahnestock leaving during the six-year gap to their second album, ''

The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge ''The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge'' is the second full-album by Lo-Pro, originally scheduled to be released was May 25, 2010, but was delayed to June 8, 2010,bass player. Shy had always envisioned

Will Hunt William Hunt (born September 5, 1971) is an American drummer. He has been a member of rock band Evanescence since 2007, and has also played for Skrape, Dark New Day, Black Label Society, Device, Crossfade, Staind, Static-X, and Slaughter. ...

, prior drummer for

Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut s ...

, Device and

Dark New Day Dark New Day was an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, Troy McLawhorn of DoubleDrive, Corey Lowery of Stereomud and Stuck Mojo, and Will Hunt of Skrape. Their debut al ...

, as a member, and proceeded to recruit him for the project. The entire recruitment process had been done entirely over phone and Internet; the band had not ever all been together in person until the start of the recording sessions. Recording started at the end of 2013 and early 2014, with music producer

Ben Grosse Ben Grosse is an American record producer and mixer, known for his signature sound involving metal and hard rock music. Grosse has mixed and produced numerous albums for popular artists such as Dream Theater, Marilyn Manson, Sevendust, Disturbe ...

, who had previously worked with

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...

Disturbed Disturbed may refer to: Books * ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author) Film and TV * ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell * "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs'' * "The Disturbed", a 2 ...

, and

Filter Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...

. Grosse was chosen because Murray had desired to work with him since the recording of Lo-Pro's debut album, due to his involvement in producing ''

Title of Record ''Title of Record'' is the second studio album by American rock music, rock band Filter (band), Filter, released on August 24, 1999 by Reprise Records. The album's earlier sessions were marred with slow progress due to lineup changes and frontman ...

''. The album was recorded in East West Studios.

Concept and sound

Murray stated that the band was meant to sound like an evolution and maturation from the music he had previously done with

Ultraspank Ultraspank was an American metal band from Santa Barbara, California, United States. They released two albums, a self-titled album in 1998, and a follow-up, ''Progress'', in 2000. The band disbanded shortly after the release of ''Progress'' in 20 ...

and

. Murray states that while "anger" had been an inspiration for his music in the past, he feels he has "mellowed out" over the years, now being inspired by practicing

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

, which led to a theme of "the power of a quiet mind" for the EP. Murray explained the album title, stating:

"''Until We Meet Again'' acts in the same way that “Sincerely” is the closing of a personal piece of correspondence. It was our way of authoring our name to the songs as a whole and the experience in general."

Both Murray and Shy felt that they were able to make the music the way they truly desired, without any external pressures such as a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, since it was released independently, or fear of having to conform to "pay the bills", since it was not the only band or source of income for any members. The lyrics for "Bomber" were inspired by Murrays thoughts of likening the aggressive nature of people who "only thrive with drama" with World War II bomber plane attacks. "End Over End" was inspired by Murray's "here we go again"-type feelings upon starting up another band. The specific line "it was anarchy in the streets of my thoughts" refers to the chaotic nature of his own mind prior to finding peace in later years. "Breathe" is about keeping life's trouble's in perspective, with Murray stating "Bottom line is we really don’t have much to complain about. There are people in this world who have it so much worse. If you’re breathing, you’re winning. It’s that simple. I don’t need to throw a wedding at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

to feel like I’ve accomplished something"

Release and promotion

A minute-long teaser clip was released in December 2013, with the band aiming for a "Spring 2014" release timeframe. A second teaser clip was released a month later in mid-January. The release date for ''Until We Meet Again'' was later narrowed down to March 11, 2014, with the band's first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Feed", was released as a

a week prior on March 5, 2014, while "End Over End" was later released as the EP's first and only single.

Reception

The ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' gave the album a 4 out of 5 star review, comparing it favorably to the work of

and

Seether Seether are a South African rock band founded in 1999 in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. The band originally performed under the name Saron Gas until 2002, when they moved to the United States and changed it to Seether to avoid confusion wit ...

, and concluding that "In five songs that will leave you breathless, White Noise Owl has harked back to the past three decades of rock to provide a glimpse of what could be the future sound of

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

Track listing

Personnel

;Band * Pete Murray - lead vocals * Chris Shy -

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 ...

- bass *

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 *

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 ...

References

{{Lo-Pro 2014 debut EPs White Noise Owl albums Hard rock EPs Alternative metal EPs