This is a new feature here on Progshine! Every month we'll have a new band/artist that will be the spotlight of the month.
This month we have the US band Elephants Of Scotland that's releasing its second studio album named Execute And Breathe (2014)!History:
Elephants of Scotland is the brain child of multi-instrumentalist and composer Adam Rabin, who took upon the challenge in 2010 to start a progressive rock project in Burlington, Vermont; a place better known for jam bands, cows and maple syrup.
After a year of the usual growing pains that include writing original music and finding the right combination of musicians that could work together and share a common vision, he settled on the talents of Ornan McLean - drums, Dan MacDonald - bass and John "Lefty" Whyte - guitars, with everyone contributing to lead and back-up vocal duties except for McLean who thinks drummers shouldn't sing.
EOS released their debut album Home Away from Home in the spring of 2013 which was met with positive reviews and praise from the international progressive rock community for which the band was previously relatively oblivious. On the strength of this album alone and with very few gigs under their belts, they were invited to play the prestigious three-day international progressive rock festival RoSfest in Gettysburg, PA in 2014.
With a year to prepare for that show and not wanting to rest on their laurels, EOS got to work on new material and put together a recording studio where they could work at their own steady and measured pace. The goal was to release a more mature and powerful album prior to making their appearance at RoSfest. They accomplished this with the self-produced sophomore release Execute and Breathe in the spring of 2014.
Shifting gears to rehearsing and playing a few shows as dress rehearsals, EOS opened the Saturday roster of bands at RoSfest at the acclaimed Majestic Theater with a blistering 90-minute show that included most of their two albums and ending with an unexpected standing ovation. Two days later EOS opened up for the amazing Swedish band Beardfish at the New Jersey Prog House Music Series at Roxy and Dukes in Dunellen, NJ.
These shows set the stage for what the band could do and provided the exposure they needed to launch their career and reputation as a contender in this lauded genre of music for which they are honored to be considered members of and that include many of the bands that have inspired them.
Through the internet, word of mouth, the quality of their albums and the power of their performances, they have a growing fan base around the world and are selling their music and merchandise as far away as Europe, Asia, South America, Mexico, Japan, the UK, Iran, India and Russia.
Elephants of Scotland plan to keep working, playing and sharing their music with the world and will release a live DVD of their RoSfest concert and an accompanying live album later in 2014.
Links:
Discography to Listen:
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Home Away From Home (2012)
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Execute And Breathe (2014)