It was a perfect spring evening last Tuesday in Sterling Heights when Alternative Metal giants Deftones brought their tour to town. The sun was shining, and the birds were singing when a line of traffic started to form outside the Michigan Lottery Amphitheater. Cars were bumper to bumper as they tried to squeeze their way into the sold-out show at this Detroit suburb open-air venue. The opening act of the tour, VOWWS, could not make the gig so the second band on the roster, the mighty Gojira opened up the night.
A minute into the opening, title track of Mouth Of Swords (InsideOut), the new album from The Safety Fire, and you’re hit by full and complex layers of progressive metal and rock that reaches back to the ’70s and forward to the future as it takes inspiration from a broad range of themes and styles. Whether it’s chugging riffs or twidly high-pitched dissonant shredding, smooth flowing grooves or erratic rhythms and arpeggios, higher-range vocals or angry shouting, the songs are a conglomeration of many and varied parts.
Steven Wilson rightfully deserves the title of the dean of the modern progressive rock and metal world. In addition to his own groundbreaking work with his own bands such Porcupine Tree, No Man, Bass Communion, as a producer of albums by giants such as Opeth, and remastering the works of King Crimson, Jethro Tull and Caravan among other projects. Steven is out on the road supporting his third solo album The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories) on Kscope Records. Chatting at length with Ghost Cult, Steven talked about the making of the new album, his creative process, production work, lyrical inspirations and his favorite Pink Floyd albums among many other topics.