After 15 years (!) of delays, the debut album, Utopia, is closer than ever to completion! All performances have now been done. This includes drums (by a guest musician who is in one of the biggest metal bands of all time) on the two newer tracks, lead vocals by a guest singer (from a major label), and my missing guitar solo on one new song. I also turned an instrumental into a vocal song.
The bassist and drummer who performed most of the album have since moved on to other projects, which is no surprise given how long ago they did their parts. And they were session musicians. Black Halo will now remain singer Chase Breedlove and I.
All but two songs have the final mix done, with mastering next.
There are two bonus tracks. One is a cover of “Double Vision” by Foreigner. The other is an original that doesn’t quite fit the album’s storyline. The plan is that it will only be available to newsletter subscribers.
I’ve also completed lyrics videos for the entire album and bonus tracks. These will be released all at once on the album release day.
– Randy Ellefson