ZONDER WEHRKAMP: Mark Zonder's First Segment Of The 5 Part Video Released!
June 2, 2019
ZONDER WEHRKAMP, a new band featuring drummer Mark Zonder and guitarist/keyboardist Gary Wehrkamp, released their debut album If It's Real on May 24, 2019! Today the band has unleashed Mark Zonder's first segment of the 5 part video, watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/mark.zonder/videos/vb.629984919/10157182978389920/
Mark says: "As promised here is the first segment of the 5 part video I did explaining how I approached the debut album-both from a mental point of view as well as from the physical. In future segments I get into the gear and how I incorporate the electronics with the acoustic. I also get into some semi-deep philososphies on dynamics. Even though this is drum based, I think it can work for any musician."
If It's Real album is available on all digital download and streaming platforms worldwide. For those who want a physical product, CDs are available via CDBaby and at ZWband.com. Fans who purchase from ZWband.com will receive an autographed copy of the album.
Mark Zonder comments on new album:
"Please listen to the ZONDER WEHRKAMP album as new music, a new experience. Yes, it is Gary Wehrkamp and myself doing the entire record ourselves and artists trademark sounds usually come through the music, but this is not a Warlord, Shadow Gallery or Fates record. This is just Gary and I being creative in a dark, moody and atmospheric way. Enjoy the journey."
While ZONDER WEHRKAMP takes the two musicians on a different path, their musical pasts are very much influences on their current project. If It's Real resonates with a tenebrous emotional intensity wrapped in a more melodic, ethereal sound and philosophical take on progressive hard rock.
If It's Real tracklisting:
I Can't Believe
If It's Real
I'd Do Anything
Last Place
Two Years
Where Are The Children Going?
Too Late
The Next Big Thing
It's Not The End
Goodnight
Produced by Gary Wehrkamp.
All songs written by Gary Wehrkamp and Mark Zonder except "Last Place" and "Goodnight" written by Gary Wehrkamp.
Mixed by Gary Wehrkamp.
Mastered by Rich Mouser at Mousehouse Studios, Altadena - California.
Front/Back cover and band photos by Alex Solca Photography.
Also watch:
"Do Anything" video:
"If It's Real" album medley video here:
"If it's Real" video:
"Two Years" visual slideshow video:
More information at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZWBAND | www.zwband.com
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4iVTxFkMYB6P4bLQJfGXw
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More information about ZONDER/WEHRKAMP Aka ZW Band:
Long known for their work in the progressive and underground metal scenes in bands like WARLORD, SHADOW GALLERY, AMARAN'S PLIGHT and FATES WARNING, guitarist GARY WEHRKAMP and drummer MARK ZONDER are exploring darkness in a brand new light with their new band, ZONDER/WEHRKAMP (aka ZW Band).
The collaboration results in the album If It's Real which resonates with a tenebrous emotional intensity wrapped in a more melodic, ethereal sound and philosophical take on progressive hard rock.
In the last two decades Zonder and Wehrkamp have co-written nearly 100 songs together for various projects and toured together for a reunion of Zonder's seminal cult band Warlord. When the two were approached by a metal label to record a moodier, less traditional prog-metal album, they ran with the idea.
"We have spent a lot of time over the years doing traditional over the top prog and have some really great stuff, but when we were asked to do something different by the label, we dug in and really started to push the envelope on the production side of things," said Zonder.
While the label situation wasn't right, the organic result of their studio sessions was music that--while not as heavy or as fast as their previous bands--still contained a thematic and sonic link to their progressive roots with a brooding depth and complex instrumental performances.
From songs like the title track that delves into mental anxiety and suicide to cuts like "It's Not the End" with a message that brings the listener back from the brink, "If It's Real," delves into how we cope with simply being alive and, many times, alone in our own minds.
"This album traces the journey of the human condition through an array of emotions ranging from painstaking pitfalls to glimmers of hope," said Wehrkamp.
While ZONDER/WEHRKAMP takes the two musicians on a different path, their musical pasts are very much influences on their current project.
One of the most influential drummers in metal history, Zonder burst onto the scene with Warlord in 1982 and went on to play drums with prog-metal heavyweights FATES WARNING for eight albums starting in 1989. With periodic Warlord shows on the European festival circuit, involvement in the bands SLAVIOR and SPIRITS OF FIRE and stints with artists like Graham Bonnet and Arch/Matheos, Zonder maintains a steady presence in the metal world. Since 1993, Wehrkamp has been one of the guitarist/keyboardists in the innovative progressive metal band SHADOW GALLERY, which released six studio albums between 1992 and 2009 on labels like Magna Carta and Inside Out.
Having made critically acclaimed records and toured the world playing to hundreds of thousands of hardcore metal fans, Zonder and Wehrkamp are betting the departure from their musical roots will still generate enthusiasm from long-time followers because the soul and authentic creativity they've always delivered is the driving force behind this music, too.
"This album isn't about doing something different for the hell of it," said Wehrkamp. "It's about challenging ourselves to step outside our own self-imposed boundaries and expectations and dare anyone who pushes play on these songs to do the same. This record is all about introspection and discovery. And we want our fans to take the trip with us."
More information at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZWBAND | www.zwband.com
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4iVTxFkMYB6P4bLQJfGXw
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Kyle Scott
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