James LaBrie, known internationally as the vocalist for progressive metal icons & Grammy-winners Dream Theater, embarks on uncharted waters with his fourth solo album, titled ‘Beautiful Shade of Grey’, out 20th May 2022. Today sees the launch of the album’s second single, “Give & Take”, and you can watch the Wayne Joyner-produced video here:
James comments: “This
track is a take on the coercive manipulation between the corporate elite and
the proletariat class. An atmospheric soundscape with beautiful feel and
scope.”
Paul Logue adds: “Musically
Give & Take is a nice balance of Dream Theater, Eden’s Curse and a even
little Queensryche thrown in for good measure. The dark musical undertones
allow James’ vocals to really shine whilst his lyrics take the listener on a
journey through the classic tale of good versus evil.”
Watch the previously
released video for the track ‘Devil in Drag’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwDfh5Mvd0o
The new endeavor sees
him traverse personal maturation, loss, a myriad of complex relationships, and
most importantly – LaBrie’s burning passion for music. On paper, the latest
studio offering from the Canadian singer first took shape shortly after the
global pandemic began to emerge. But in reality, LaBrie formed a bond with his
fellow collaborator, bassist Paul Logue (Eden’s Curse), nearly a decade
earlier.
The two first met in
2011, when James would lend his voice to a feature for Logue’s band, UK melodic
metal outfit Eden’s Curse, on the song “No Holy Man”. As years went by the two
remained in touch, occasionally kicking the tires on the idea of working
together on another project. But when Dream Theater performed in Glasgow during
the late winter of 2020, LaBrie and Logue would run into each other at the
airport – once again asking the question. But this time, armed with the
knowledge that a drastic change in the world was all but imminent, LaBrie made
the decision to set things in motion.
On the album, Logue
plays acoustic rhythm guitar (both six & twelve string) and acoustic bass,
while guitarist Marco Sfogli, who’s contributed on all of LaBrie’s solo albums
since 2005’s ‘Elements of Persuasion’, handled the leads and solos. Logue
recruited Eden’s Curse keyboardist Christian Pulkkinen to lend his playing on
the record, while the suggestion to recruit James’s son Chance to play drums
would also come from Paul. ‘Beautiful Shade of Grey’, as LaBrie describes it,
was a title that only came to him once he identified the record’s two core
themes throughout its track list. “A lot of these lyrics are dealing
with the beauty of human beings, and a lot are dealing with the grey areas of
the in between. You’re not exactly happy, but you’re not exactly sad, either.”
The record starts off
(and ends) with the track “Devil In Drag”, which emerges as a wall of
synthesizers and acoustic strumming before exploding into a full-blown
ensemble. LaBrie expresses that the song was written about “someone who
started out as a decent human being, but along the way lost touch with their
roots – overtime becoming self-serving, narcissistic and devoid of principles
or values.” Going on to say, “’Devil In Drag’ is written from the
perspective of someone who’s known them all their life and, seeing them now,
asking ‘what happened?’”
‘Beautiful Shade of
Grey’ will be released as a Limited CD Digipak, 180g LP + CD & as Digital
Album, with artwork by Thomas Ewerhard. Pre-order now here: https://jameslabrie.lnk.to/BeautifulShadeOfGrey
The full track-listing
is as follows:
1. Devil
In Drag
2. SuperNova
Girl
3. Give
And Take
4. Sunset
Ruin
5. Hit
Me Like A Brick
6. Wildflower
7. Conscience
Calling
8. What
I Missed
9. Am
I Right
10. Ramble
On
11. Devil
In Drag (Electric Version)
Look out for more
information in the coming months!
Find James
LaBrie online:
https://www.facebook.com/officialjameslabrie
https://www.instagram.com/jameslabrie.dt/
https://twitter.com/jameslabrie
InsideOutMusic online:
www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic