[youtube]http://youtu.be/ZcVZ3OL4YE4[/youtube]
It’s not that unusual to have a band add another musician, but it’s not really that often that it’s an instrumental band adding a vocalist. That’s what Canadian/American prog band Intervals have done, as they announced at the end of last year that former Haarp Machine vocalist Mike Semesky, who’d been playing bass in the band since the beginning of last year, is now singing as well. Here’s what Mike had to say about singing with the band.
I’m extremely happy to announce that I am the singer of Intervals. I joined the band on bass in early 2013, but after writing and experimenting with vocals over demos of the band’s new material, the four of us knew that that was the direction we were meant to go. I feel so blessed to be a part of such a talented group of musicians and I’m extremely proud of the album we all worked so hard on. We can’t wait for you all to hear it!”
Revolver premiered the track “Ephemeral” from the band’s forthcoming full length, A Voice Within, on December 30th. It’s a nice, organic step up for the band, splitting the difference between Haarp Machine and a heavier Thrice. Here’s what writer/guitarist Aaron Marshall had to say about adding a vocalist:
“We’re incredibly excited and proud to announce Mike as the band’s singer. Intervals has always been about open minded, forward thinking, progressive music with no boundaries. It’s also been about staying true to the art we feel compelled to make, and we couldn’t be happier with the dynamic Mike brings to the music. For those who remember, the band put out a feeler for a vocalist with the release of “The Space Between”, but in lieu of finding the right candidate, we decided to move forward with our initial intent: Make music. Mike joined the band as our bass player, but after only a few weeks of touring, it was apparent that this was the chemistry we were after all along. The human voice is an instrument and from our perspective, we are by definition, still an “instrumental” band, now with added dimension and perspective. The band still retains its identity in guitar driven, progressive rock/metal and there’s something on this record for everyone. We couldn’t be more thankful for the support you have all shown us over the past few years and we hope you continue to follow along on this journey we share. This release is our proudest musical accomplishment to date and we can’t wait for everyone to hear it!”
Intervals have released two EPs so far, The Space Between and In Time. In addition to adding vocals, former Jeff Loomis drummer Anup Sastry and guitarist Lukas Guyader are also new to the band. A Voice Within will be released this Spring, and if you’re in the UK, you can see the band on tour with Protest the Hero, Tesseract and The Safety Fire starting Monday (6).
