OUTLANDER: Outlander II

Outlander

Outlander II

© 2007 Outlander (666186102725)

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Imagine a music appealing to all fans of hard rock. The compositions are ingenious and the message mystifying. The vocals pure grace and power. The guitar, bass, and drums are virtuosic. Fiercely original heavy rock with hints of grunge, metal, and prog.

tracks

1 Moonchildren
2 Detonator
3 (untitled)
4 New Gypsy Hand
5 Voices
6 Extrinsic Fire
7 Got Your Back
8 Last Minute Decision
9 For You
10 Mine
11 Friend

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notes

Outlander is a trio of three brothers who grew up playing and writing music together for the last 20 years. Each brother has slowly mastered their instrument, and through working so closely together for so long have developed an unusually coherent and intricate style which is unparalleled amongst modern rock.

Outlander has played shows for years, everywhere from small pubs to the House of Blues in Chicago, and has received notoriety by garnering radio play on mainstream rock stations, by having their music used in film, and by the extremely devoted grass-roots following they have developed. Outlander shows often include effects devices built by the band members, interesting audio sampling as songs transition, a myriad of triggers which allow the trio to create a high energy wall of sound live, and sometimes the eccentric transparent glowing electric guitar or two.

Being brothers, and being so immersed in music for so long has helped the band members to create and perform songs on a plane of their own.

Chris Walczak, who plays bass guitar and sings, majored in music composition and has been commissioned to write a number of orchestral pieces for various symphonic orchestras worldwide.

Marty and Scott Walczak, who play percussion and guitars respectively, both obtained engineering degrees and are proficient audio engineers, which allows Outlander to apply unusual and ingenious recording techniques in the studio as well as creating new and unduplicated soundscapes for their music in general. All of these things help to truly set Outlander apart from the din of what has become hard rock.

Due in great part to their longevity as musicians, the band members are familiar with most all of the great classic and modern hard rock acts, as well as styles of music from jazz to fusion to classical to metal. Incorporating the best parts of so many bands into their musical style has helped Outlander to become accomplished songwriters and musicians, but it has also driven the band to transcend what has already been done and try to invent something altogether different, fresh, original, and innovative.

The product of this labor is their encore CD, Outlander II.

reviews

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  • Amazing
    author: Gina Berry

    I absolutely love this album!!! Everything from the lyrics to the music. These 3 brothers are extremely talented. I cant believe a record label has not snatched them up yet. You guys ROCK!!!!

  • Excellent!!
    author: Karl-Inge R. Refseth

    I encountered this band through play on the rushradio.net at the time word of a new Rush album had just surfaced (Snakes & Arrows). Suddenly there was this song that I could not recognize and my first thoughts was 'OMG! Is that a new Rush song?!!' I was so enthralled at such a possibility that it was not before Chris Walczak started singing I realized it was not Rush. But all the way up until that moment I was more than willing to belive it was Rush I was hearing. Not because Outlander sounds like Rush as much as they have the quality of a band like Rush, a quality which gives me a great listening experience. And the more I heard, the more I liked it. Now I've gotten hold of both their releases and I can only admit that this band has delivered the goods. I'm in for the long haul and hope they won't take so long until the next album as it took them to release no. 2. So once more; 'Thank you for the music!' :)

  • outlander II
    author: robert nagel

    great, had to order this cd and ship to germany :) great music guys.... and thanks to rush radio! keep on!

  • One heck of a solid album
    author: SK

    I enjoyed the first Outlander album, recognizing talent and a natural inclination towards songwriting. However, it never really stuck with me. I was extremely happy to see the brother's-three tackle another project. Pressing play and I could tell that this was an evolution of their sound, their songwriting accumen, and a further exploration of their readily apparent talent. The mix is far more grounded, where I found bass response to be a bit lacking in the first album. The production is first-rate, maybe not quite "radio ready" (in that overblown Nickleback kinda way) but excellent nonetheless. The singing is far better settled and really showcases Chris' pipes. Marty is just a monster on drums and Scott would give pretty much any highly respected rhythmic guitarist in the industry. Favorite song is "Voices" which seems to blend 6/8 time signatures for the verses and a 5/4 sig for the chorus - absolute highlight IMO set right in the middle of an extremely strong and well thoughtout album. Somebody sign these guys and get them on the radio.

  • A breath of fresh air
    author: Glenn Seburn

    ..Mind you its air with a blasting wall of sound behind it! These three talented "brothers" write, play and produce the kind of music I wish I could muster from my mind and out to my fingers. I stumbled across their first album quite by accident and absolutely love it. This is a great follow-up and speaks to me musically and lyrically. The power, the passion, the excellent playing just makes me smile. The band has obviously worked very hard and long to turn out this gem. I have given up trying to figure out the time signatures and just let the riffs take me away. :) Technically speaking, the guitar sounds are fabulous: thick, crunchy. A few more actual guitar 'solos' would have been welcome. The acoustic guitar on track 10? is wondrous alongside Chris's vocals. The bass has managed to take that classic Ric sound and beef it up nicely in the low end and the keys seem to sit in the mix right where they should. Drums. This is a very personal thing. Marty's playing continues to confound and amaze, but sonically I prefer a little more meat in the kick drum and crack from the snare. Vocally Chris really rocks it in a few songs, but is poignant and dreamy in others. (not THAT kind of dreamy lol) He seems slightly buried in one or two tunes, but it fits with the wall of sound created behind him. There are some wonderful lyrical moments that deliver great imagery (feel my ankles cracking!) that come from the heart and are wonderfully open to interpretation. All in all this is a fabulous CD - so far above what usually gets spoon fed to us from radio or media. The musicianship and songwriting shines! Well done and continued blessings on your work!

  • Outstanding!!!
    author: Paul Prelovsky

    It's been a long time coming, but well worth the wait! I'll need to make a roadtrip to see you guys perform live. Keep up the good work!

  • We want more!
    author: Harm Bakuwel

    Thanks for Rush Radio! Otherwise I would never heve found this brilliant band! Waiting for #3.......

  • killer
    author: Rod Borkenhagen Jr.

    Great CD, nuff said

  • Excellent second effort
    author: Benjamin A Seigel

    A powerful follow up to the first album, Outlander II is heavier, more modern-sounding, and stronger on references to the artists' spirituality. But that's not to say agnostics won't love it. Powerful guitars, a progressive sensibility, and well-honed production make this a great album. There is less synth on this album, and more Soundgarden-like vocals and riffs. Outlander is one of my favorite progressive rock bands--I put them up there with Spock's Beard and Rush. If you're disappointed by what passes for rock music these days, sequenced by clueless automatons in Los Angeles and dumped on to the air, listen to this band.

  • what a find
    author: tater tot

    I found this album just by stumbling around on cdbaby, and bought it solely on the song snippets I heard. Their style bridges a really broad spectrum of heavy rock, from classic late-70's "hard rock" riffage (ala Zeppelin) to very modern progressive rock/metal arrangements (the pounding complexity of Tool), with some Rush and Chris Cornell thrown in the middle. These guys proudly wear their influences on their sleeves, and they should, because their music owes a debt to the aforementioned bands, but far from aping their forebears they are (like any musicians worth their salt) molding that amalgam into something different that is uniquely theirs. They're not there yet, but man are they on their way! These 3 guys are solid - I would LOVE to hear them live. Although the musicianship is nothing to complain about, what really shines is the songwriting and the technical production - on a number of places in the album it's hard to believe that there's not some big-name producer behind the board. The lyrical content does have a religious/Christian theme throughout, but it is not overt and certainly nothing to be put off by - on the contrary, it's refreshing to hear a band rocking for all they're worth without having to put up with the usual obligatory lyrical cliches. It's great to find bands like this in a sea of mediocrity.

  • Perfect follow-up
    author: Dave O

    I was so excited when I received the email saying Outlander II was going to be available for ordering. I thoroughly enjoyed the first album and could not wait to hear the second; I ordered it immediately. The wait between releases was well worth it. I do not know how it was possible to improve because the first album seemed nearly perfect to me, but the second took all the great elements from the first, made them better, and added new sounds for a more mature, but still a heavy sounding Outlander. Great stuff!

  • Awesome #2
    author: Stephen Albanese

    The first album really took me by surprise...it was stunning debut album that we brought in to the store I used to work at and it sold. I to find it hard to believe these guys aren't signed...the musicianship and songwriting is incredible...they have a very original sound all their own...and I think it's only a matter of time til they're signed by some label with vision...great CD by a great band.

  • The 3 Masters Deliver Again!!!!
    author: WDP JR

    If you have Outlander's first album you know just how talented these 3 guys are. They are nothing short of brilliant with their instruments. I would challenge anyone to find a band out there today that is talented as these three guys. It is so refreshing to hear a band that is free of the corporate BS. This album has been in the works over the past 2-3 years and it shows. It is a bit heavier over the first album but a great follow up album. How these guys are unsigned is beyond my mind. This is ROCK at its FINEST!!!

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