''X'' is the tenth studio album by American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Spock's Beard Spock's Beard is an American progressive rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1992 by brothers Neal (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Alan Morse (guitars), John Ballard (bass), and Nick D'Virgilio (drums). Ballard was replaced by Dave M ...

. Similar to what

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

did for ''

Anoraknophobia ''Anoraknophobia'' is the 12th studio album by the British Rock music, rock band Marillion, released in 2001. It is regarded as the first instance of a music recording crowdfunding, completely financed by fans in a then-unique fundraising campaig ...

'', the album was funded by

pre-order A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...

s of a

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...

of the album before the album was recorded. Those who ordered the album's "Ultra Package" had their names listed in the CD booklet and included as part of the track "Their Names Escape Me", which is exclusive to the limited edition. The album was released independently in May 2010. A retail and digital release with Mascot Records was released in August 2010. This album is the last studio album recorded with

Nick D'Virgilio Nicholas D'Virgilio (born November 12, 1968), often abbreviated and referred to as NDV, is an American musician, singer, best known as a member of the progressive rock band Spock's Beard. He was also one of two drummers chosen to replace Phil C ...

performing lead vocals, who left the band on November 18, 2011, to focus on other commitments.

Critical reception

The ''X'' release continued the shift back to the classic Spock's Beard sound and is considered the strongest of the

era releases. Sputnik Music said, "X is a winner on all fronts. It’s truly a triumph and a further validation of their post-Morse configuration. Spock’s Beard had rediscovered the spark that had made them so great before: every song is carefully elaborated and flows very well." Metal Reviews reported, "X is without a doubt the band’s best record with this line-up and can be easily added into the upper echelon of their works overall."

Track listing

Notes
The above track listing is for the special edition. There are a few changes with the standard edition: * "The Emperor's Clothes" and "Kamikaze" are swapped over in the track listing. * "From the Darkness" has a slightly longer running time of 17:09. * "Their Names Escape Me" is not included.

Personnel

–

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and backing vocals,

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, additional

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s *

Alan Morse Alan Morse (born August 22, 1958) is an American guitarist for the progressive rock band Spock's Beard, of which he is the only constant member. He is the brother of co-founder Neal Morse, who left the band in 2002. Morse is married to Kathryn ...

– guitars, backing vocals *

Ryo Okumoto Ryo Okumoto (奥本亮; born May 24, 1959) is a Japanese rock keyboardist, best known for his work with American progressive rock band Spock's Beard. He joined the band in 1996 and has been a member ever since. When singer and keyboardist Neal ...

– keyboards *

Dave Meros Dave Meros (born 8 February 1956), is an American bass guitar player, best known as the bass player for progressive rock band Spock's Beard. Meros has also played or recorded with such artists as Gary Myrick, Bobby Kimball of Toto, Simon Phill ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, backing vocals, additional keyboards Additional personnel *Stan Ausmus – songwriting *John Boegehold – additional keyboards, guitar, vocals, songwriting *

Jimmy Keegan James E. Keegan (born November 3, 1969) is an American drummer and voice actor. He has played with artists such as Santana, as the drummer on the song "Primavera" on Santana's hit album ''Supernatural'' and with John Waite. He was the drummer ...

– backing vocals Production *Rich Mouser – recording, mixing, mastering

References

{{Authority control 2010 albums Spock's Beard albums