New Jersey’s Manuel Barbará is releasing his debut album “Moonrise” this coming March. The first single for this full length is the title track.
Featuring seven instrumental tracks of classically inspired progressive metal, Manuel Barbará puts a conscious effort into making each song into a cohesive, well-composed whole rather than a collection of flashy guitar tricks.
This recording features songwriter Manuel Barbará on guitars and programming, Nick Thorpe on bass along with Joey Ferretti on drums. The album is designed to take the listener on a journey through a series of loosely interconnected sound worlds that Barbará has created. He explains the single “Moonrise”:
“It was actually the first complete piece I ever wrote that I was really happy with. It has gone through many revisions since then, but it is still special to me as that first one. I wanted to make something big and epic and heavy with just enough of a weird edge to keep people interested. Funnily enough, the chorus riff, which seems to be everyone’s favorite part, was supposed to be a throw-away idea that I was going to replace later, but it stuck around.”
According to Barbará, this album is the first step towards his longtime goal to take his training as a classical composer and apply it to this style of modern metal that he loves so much in a way that goes beyond the standard Yngwie “neo-classical metal” thing.
A treat for anyone who enjoys imaginative progressive metal, “Moonrise” is highly recommended for fans of Dream Theater, Keith Merrow, and Periphery.
The single “Moonrise” can be heard via its premiere on TheProgSpace HERE.
Spotify pre-save here.
Apple Music pre-save here.
The full album is out on March 19, 2021.
Album pre-order is available on 8stringalchemy.bandcamp.com.
Track Listing
1. Moonrise (5:08)
2. The God Complex (6:08)
3. Children of Prometheus (4:54)
4. Mirrors I - Image (5:10)
5. Mirrors II - Silver (3:48)
6. Mirrors III - Reflection (4:20)
7. The Nightmare Weaver (6:15)
Album Length: 35:45
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