Images of Eden (pictured left to right): Bryan Wierman - bass guitar, Gordon Tittsworth - lead vocals/keyboards, Matt Kaiser - drums/percussion, Dennis Mullin - lead guitar
RFUSA FEATURE BAND
IMAGES OF EDEN
Images of Eden (pictured left to right): Bryan Wierman - bass guitar, Gordon Tittsworth - lead vocals/keyboards, Matt Kaiser - drums/percussion, Dennis Mullin - lead guitar
“You’ll never be in Heaven without going through Hell.”
- Images Of Eden
"Dream-Catcher"
Images Of Eden is poised to be one of the next great progressive metal bands to come out of the United States. The York, Pennsylvania-based band has been slugging it out on the club circuit since 2001 and has seen several different line-ups. After a long struggle battling for recognition in the clubs of Northern and Central Maryland, the band is now about ready to cross the Rubicon that many independent groups rarely get the chance to cross, especially this day and age. On November 21, 2006, the band’s sophomore recording effort Sunlight of the Spirit will be released worldwide on the fledgling metal label Nightmare Records (which is run by Pyramaze vocalist Lance King).
Featuring the catchy hooks, tear jerking melodies and uplifting themes that have become their hallmark, Spirit is an album which soon could be mentioned in the same breath as other classic progressive albums such as Rush’s Moving Pictures, Dream Theater’s Images And Words, and Queensryche’s Empire. I have an easy time picturing this album being snapped up by eager prog lovers all over the world, and if not…maybe reading this article will help them make up their minds!
Images Of Eden’s powerful music machine is driven by vocalist/keyboardist/songwriter Gordon Tittsworth, guitarist Dennis Mullin, bass slinger Bryan Wierman, and the technical drum wizardry of drummer Matt Kaiser. In a recent interview with Rising Forces USA, Tittsworth describes the musical chemistry he and his mates share. “It’s nice to be able to work with phenomenal musicians who are probably the best musicians I have ever jammed with, and to know that no matter what we attempt to do, they can pull it off, and pull it off well," Gordon says. He goes on to say, "So I never feel limited at all, and I don’t think any of us do. So when we all piece everything together there’s this magic that happens, and it can’t be compromised." Need proof? Just see them live or give Spirit a listen! From the opening notes of “Kaleidoscope” to the closing crashing waves that indicate the end of “Midnight’s Tide”, it is pure musical perfection and bliss from the first note to the last. But, we will talk more about the album later.
To begin the story of Images Of Eden properly though, one must begin with the man whose musical vision had started it all…Gordon Tittsworth. The 34-year-old resident of Red Lion, Pennsylvania has had one incredible journey on his way to musical “Eden”, so why don’t we take a walk with Gordon Tittsworth and Images Of Eden as we trace the rise of this gifted progressive metal band?
Burning Ambition, Midnight’s Tide: The Early Years
From an early age, young Gordon Tittsworth was always interested in music. “I remember probably being like three- or four-years-old, and whenever we would go visit my grandmother, my uncle, who lived with her still, he had a whole record collection. Black Sabbath, Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith…everything. I just took to it immediately, and my mom even told me I was probably even as young as two playing his records on the record player," Gordon says. “It’s been as far back as I can remember, and it’s just been in the blood ever since.” After cutting his teeth on his uncle’s record collection, the life changing moment came at the age of six for Gordon when he bought Kiss’s Alive!. Like many a young fan back in those days, the Kabuki-painted faces of New York’s hard rock elite drove Gordon to want to be a singer himself. It would not be too long before Tittsworth would decide to take matters into his own hands and form a band.
Gordon Tittsworth
In 1988, Gordon, playing lead guitar and handling vocal duties, hooked up with guitarist Greg White, drummer Loren Duffey, and bassist/keyboardist Alan Kozlay to form the band Burning Ambition. “Think hair metal with a hint of prog. Take a very early Queensryche meets very early Fates Warning and not quite as polished,” Gordon said when asked to describe the sound of his first project. The band would record two demos, Fire From Within in 1990 and Sleeping Giants Waken in 1991 before splitting up, leaving Tittsworth alone to pursue new musical territories. It wasn’t until 1996 that Tittsworth found new musical mates in drummer Ryan Day and bassist Brian Dietrick, who along with Gordon on lead guitar and vocals would form the band Midnight’s Tide. Despite a promising beginning, the band would spilt up in 1997. During that time period, Gordon finally won a long battle with personal internal struggles that would push him to the brink of death. By the grace of God, he was given a second chance and decided to use that motivation to drive him even more towards his musical goals.
But…there are always bumps in the road, and his next band would change his outlook forever on how cutthroat the music business can be, and all the backstabbers that one can encounter.
Out Of Nowhere to Eden’s Gate: 1998-2001
In 1998, Gordon Tittsworth had became the vocalist of the band Out Of Nowhere, joining up with guitarist Chris Eaton, bass guitarist Rob McMullen, and drummer Chuck Newgent. Tensions soon developed between Tittsworth and Eaton. Tittsworth remembers: “I was in this one band called Out Of Nowhere…It was a decent bunch of musicians but there was a non-motivated guitarist who just tried to run things. He had no knowledge or no means to even think he should have been running anything. We really butted heads.” Eventually Gordon was fired by the band, which was a welcome thing for him. “At the time I was pretty fed up with the band. It wasn’t doing what I wanted so I was thinking of a reason to quit, so it just kind of worked out perfectly.”
For most musicians, this would be a time to panic, but not for Tittsworth. He saw it as an opportunity to finally let his creativity run wild and write the music he had always wanted to write. Gathering together six songs from his Midnight’s Tide period and then writing six more songs to complete the puzzle, Gordon decided to take on the ambitious venture of recording an entire album by himself, playing bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitars, and keyboards. Enlisting the help of friend and drummer Steve Kilgallon, Gordon spent the next year recording the album. “It was probably the best recording experience I’ve ever had in my life,” Gordon says. “The best part about it was there was no more compromising. It was, this is what I’m doing, here it is. If you like it, let’s talk, if not, sorry.”
After a year of blood, sweat, tears and recording, Gordon Tittsworth finally had the fruits of his labor ready to be released. But first, he had to think of a name for his album, so he titled it Images Of Eden. However, he did not want to release this work as a solo project. He wanted to form a band so he could perform the songs out live and eventually enter the studio again. Scrambling around for a name for the band he had yet to form, he decided at first to go with the name of his old band Midnight’s Tide. However, a conversation with his new wife Dawn changed his opinion and the name of his new project. Gordon recalls: “She said,'You know what, why don’t you call the band Images Of Eden? It totally goes with what you’re trying to say and it totally goes with the uplifting, spiritual theme that there is.' I was like, that’s it. It’s done.”
The Journey to Eden Begins: 2001-2004
With the name for his new project set as Images Of Eden, Gordon Tittsworth released the album Chapter 1 in 2001. The purpose of the album was to transport the listener to a new found perfect world, or an “Eden”, if you will. “The theme of Chapter 1 was just all the elements of a new found perfect world that I kind of came in to,” Gordon says. From the opening aggression and spirituality of “Stealth”, the musical redemption of “September”, the beauty of “Dawn (Another Sunrise)”, and the epic album closer “Autumn’s End (The Last Sunset)”, the album has that ability to take you out of the physical bonds of the Earth to the bliss and beauty of a personal Heaven in musical form. When the album was finally finished and released, Tittsworth felt like he had just finished “…climbing Everest." Well, if getting to this point was like climbing Mount Everest, then getting to the next level would be like climbing the whole Himalayan mountain range! He now had to form a band!
The long and arduous task of completing the Images Of Eden musical core was underway in 2001. Gordon had already drafted drummer John Swanson and keysman Maurice Carroll when he decided to try his luck on http://www.baltimorebands.com in search of more recruits to his cause. The ad produced a lead on a skilled and versatile axeman from the progressive rock band Illuvatar: Dennis Mullin. “He shot me an e-mail and we talked for a while on the phone and things worked out,” Gordon says. “He sent me a copy of his Illuvatar album Story 3 Days Wide and I sent him Chapter 1, and as soon as I heard his guitar playing, I said this is the guy for the job as long as he wants it.”
Dennis Mullin
With Mullin now on board, the fledgling lineup added bass player Chris Brush. The first lineup of Images Of Eden was now complete, but not for long! Tittsworth recounts to us the trials and tribulations of the first rehearsals: “We all kind of got together for the first couple practices, and they were rough. The drummer couldn’t hack it so we had to get rid of him. I put in another ad for another drummer, got him. The keyboard player couldn’t do it, he left, so I started playing keyboards. The bass player left.” As soon as it began, the first lineup had already disintegrated. With only the superbly skilled Mullin still on board, and new drummer Bobby Minter added to the fold, Images Of Eden began their musical crusade through the clubs of Baltimore as a power trio, with Tittsworth handling vocal, bass and keyboard duties. “The simple Rush thing, only I didn’t really want it to turn out that way!” Gordon says. This lineup would last for a good while, and would see the stage at Baltimore clubs like The Vault and The 8 x 10. Some gigs were successful, some were not, but the band was slowly building a reputation as a strong live act.
Bobby MInter (photo courtesy of Gordon Tittsworth)
In early 2003, long time drummer Bobby Minter decided to pack it in. Undeterred, Tittsworth decided to roll the dice on http://www.baltimorebands.com once again, and this time would emerge with one of the most skilled skin bashers in the mid-Atlantic music scene. Jacobus, Pennsylvania resident Matt Kaiser brought a great combination of feel and an unsurpassed arsenal of skill and machine-like precision to the Images Of Eden sound. His style brings to mind the likes of prog drum giants such as Rod Morganstein and Mike Portnoy. Recharged and re-energized, the band headed back out on the road. Soon after, the band would add more new blood in the personage of bass player Brian Gulin, formerly of Hyperchild. The band would see regular dates at clubs like The Zu, and would continue to win over fans with their precise execution on stage.
Matt Kaiser
In October 2003, Images Of Eden would enter Shadow Recording Studio to record a three-song sampler of new material. With Dave Lemme and Mike Donoghue at the helm, the band recorded early versions of songs that would eventually see the light of day on their next album. Although rough, these early versions of “Beyond the Horizon”, “I Remember When”, and “Aladdin” did not lack passion or power. It seemed like Images Of Eden was ready to step up to the next level…but of course, the Lord has a sense of humor, and he felt they needed to overcome one more obstacle.
Images of Eden with Dave Lemme and Mike Donoghue of Shadow Recording Studio (photo courtesy of Gordon Tittsworth)
Sunlight of the Spirit: 2003-2006
In early 2004, bass player Brian Gulin left Images Of Eden to pursue other musical interests. Once again short a bass player, Gordon, Dennis and Matt decided to move ahead undaunted and proceeded to record their second album (and their first as a band unit). Continuing to work at Shadow Recording Studio with Lemme and Donoghue, and also working at B.U.D. Productions with Illuvatar bassist Dean Morekas at the knobs, Images Of Eden started to make music and magic as they set about to make an album which would not only set the independent scene in Maryland on their ear, but would also make waves in the progressive metal scene. After a year of work, the album Sunlight of the Spirit was ready to be released. Originally released in November 2005 on the independent label NuParadigm, Spirit picked up where Chapter 1 left off, and with much more power and emotion. Many critics of progressive rock and metal are quick to dub the genre unemotional, pretentious, and mindless. Tell them to tear the cellophane off the jewel case and listen to the damn record! Spirit does showcase some great technical expertise, but with the hook-laden chords, uplifting melodies, and sweet and powerful vocals that have emotion and longing packed into every syllable, you cannot call this anything but a masterpiece! The themes of redemption, hope, and the positive (and in my case life changing!) message in the music may make some Christian music artists green with envy. It was almost like a higher power had come down from above and blessed this album with all of their love. You will be hard-pressed to get this close to musical perfection at this level!
Brian Gulin (photo courtesy of Gordon Tittsworth)
After Spirit was completed and before the ink could even dry on the album artwork, the void at the bass position was filled by the arrival of guitarist-turned-bassist Bryan Wierman. An old friend of Tittsworth’s, his arrival came out of nowhere…literally! “A friend of mine named Bryan Wierman who I had been in touch with and had known for eleven years shot me an e-mail from out of the blue,” Gordon says. “He was a phenomenal guitarist turned bass player and as soon as we jammed with him it was like the fourth piece of the puzzle.” Now that the puzzle was finished, the band celebrated the release of Spirit with a phenomenal performance at Mac’s in Essex, Maryland. Despite a terrible cold, Gordon managed to put on what he calls the band’s best performance to date. “I was actually fighting off a cold that week, I fought it off long enough to get that show done, and I almost completely lost my voice for the next couple of days and I lost a couple of days of work because that cold finally knocked me on my ass,” Gordon says. “So, with the full energy and every ounce of spirit, that was my favorite show because of what it stood for.” The band followed up that incredible performance with several more in early to mid-2006 at Mac’s. In February, Images Of Eden kicked off a memorable night of prog/power metal also featuring Division and Odin’s Court. They also appeared on the stage of the great Essex venue in May, July and August. As the 2006 year entered its twilight months, the band explored new regional territory at The Glad Crab in Dallastown, Pennsylvania on October 26th, and with a mind-bending performance at The Tourist Inn in Hallam, Pennsylvania on November 4th.
The incredibly active tour schedule has great purpose too, as the band prepares for some exciting things that lie “beyond the horizon”.
Bryan Wierman
Nightmare? Try Dream Come True!: The Future
Disappointed with the support of Spirit by label NuParadigm, Images Of Eden ended their partnership with the label in early 2006. In search of a new label, the band did not have to wait long to find help in marketing their astonishing sophomore effort. First, Hellion Records in Germany signed the band to a distribution deal. Soon after, Brennis Music in France also hooked up for distribution rights. Thanks to their support, hungry prog fans will have no trouble locating Spirit in their local record stores. In the United States, Perris Records agreed to feature the band on a compilation album. “God, I’m loving this. It actually feels like things are starting to happen,” Tittsworth happily stated to us. Things would just keep getting better!
Images Of Eden would soon be taken under the umbrella of Silent Planet Promotions (SPP). Mark Blair Glunt of SPP was on the lookout for progressive metal bands with a spiritual vibe, and who better than a band with an album called Sunlight Of The Spirit? “I got an immediate sense that Mark was 100 percent genuine and he is totally dedicated to his bands,” Gordon said. “This is not the type of person you run into every day in this business. For every genuine person I’ve met, I had to go through about 25 crooks to get to them.” An immediate bond was formed between the two. But, that was not all! Soon after, the best news would come as Images Of Eden secured a worldwide distribution deal for Spirit on Nightmare Records. Silent Planet decided to contact Nightmare head Lance King (also the vocalist for Pyramaze), and King was so impressed he decided to sign the Images Of Eden gang. Gordon tells us, “Needless to say, I was very pleased. Now I have a dedicated promoter and a well-respected label in the metal industry. Life had gone from good to great!”. We could not agree with him more!
But Images Of Eden is not a band content to rest on their laurels. Gordon Tittsworth is already in the process of writing music for the next album, which looks to be a continuance of the journey into Eden that started with Chapter 1 and continued with Spirit. “This next album is a major progression, lyrically, from Spirit, and it has the ultimate finale that actually sums up all three albums, not just itself. I can’t wait to unleash that, as far as when it will be, I don’t know. I don’t even want to project a date,” Gordon says. “The one thing I know is it’s definitely a departure from Spirit almost in an opposite direction but turns around and does a full 180 in the end. There are several surprises that take everything to the next level, even higher.” I am sure we will all be waiting for that to see the light of day. My guess is, if you think Spirit was awesome, you ain’t heard nuthin’ yet!
Images Of Eden seems to be on the fast track to metal success. What started as a dream for a young Kiss fan has now become a full-blown reality. Nightmare Records will release Sunlight Of The Spirit on November 21, 2006, worldwide, and we hope that metal fans around the globe will line up to buy this amazing record. It is one that is not to be missed. Hopefully we here at Rising Forces USA have a small hand in convincing metal fans that Images Of Eden is truly a rising force in not only the prog metal universe, but the heavy metal universe!
Dreams do come true. Just press play and enter Eden to discover why.
Matthew Bankes, Rising Forces USA
November 2006
Images of Eden - Chapter 1
Genre: Progressive Metal/Rock
Release Date: 2001
Label: Unsigned
Band Website: http://www.imagesofeden.com
Gordon Tittsworth was at a crossroads in 1999. He had just been fired from his previous band Out Of Nowhere in a very unprofessional fashion. That would be cause to crawl into a hole and hide for a while, right? Not in his case! In actuality, he was looking for any excuse to leave the band because of the bad situation he was in. Now that he was out, he had FREEDOM! He decided to use that freedom to focus his energies on making an album which showcased his abilities, and could be used to help form a new band which would help him create the music he always dreamed of making. Armed with a batch of killer songs, Gordon decided to head into the studio with session drummer Steve Kilgallon in tow to record this record. Showing incredible versatility, Gordon not only wrote the music, but did the vocals, guitars, bass and keyboards! After a year and a half of hard work, he emerged with what is now known as the debut album for the Maryland/Pennsylvania-based prog metal wizards Images of Eden, which is entitled Chapter 1.
We could spend days and moons and eons here in a fierce debate over whether this is a “true” Images of Eden record or if it is just a solo album. I don’t want to waste time here doing that. Instead, read my interview with Gordon Tittsworth (which is also on this site) and you should have all of your questions answered. OK? Now, let’s get on to the music.
The opening track, “Stealth”, leads off the fun, and you can rest assured that this record will deliver plenty of it. Driven by one of the best mid-tempo riffs I have ever heard, and kicked in the ass by the computer-like precision of Kilgallon’s drumming, this track should make you a fan of the band right off! If not, I feel sorry for you. Go home and bang your head into a wall 10,000 times. Maybe that will give you some sense!
“Tied To A Wish” is one of those tracks where I can close my eyes and make myself and all of my problems drift away like wind-blown smoke. Bursting with beautiful piano melodies, a simple but sweet guitar solo, and Gordon’s awesome vocals, this track will put you in mind of the joys of spring. I suggest you plug this into your portable CD or MP3 player and listen to this track outside during a cool spring morning. If it rained the night before, it’s a plus. Now, you’ll get the picture of how this song makes me feel.
I love the rhythm of this next song, “Return To Twilight”. Drums, bass, guitars and even Gordon’s vocals unite for a really amazing effect on this track. This has to be one of the coolest and most unique guitar riffs ever written. Where does he come up with this stuff? Pure genius! Another track to lose yourself in. As you go on, you will find this album is loaded with them.
The gentle sound of falling rain announces the arrival of another work of beauty. Acoustic guitars and yet another sweet melody invite you into the world which is my favorite track on the record, “September”. I fell in love with this song while on a Sunday morning drive through the farm country near my home. A testament to the fact that even sometimes bad things happen in your life for a reason, but if you make it through, the rewards are great. The melodies in this song are so amazing I cannot describe them with words. GT really belts out some killer vocals on this track. Let this song be your guide through hard times. You’ll be glad you did.
Native American pow-wow? The drums, the rain stick and the haunting keyboard may make you think so, but the tribal vibe then kicks into some more catchy guitar work and you are now in the land of the “Brave Horse”. I love this song! It’s really awesome live and one listen will have you hooked! Very nice guitar effects and a really simple but effective guitar solo equals another home run for GT! He’s batting 1,000 so far! NOW I’M ALIVE! Oh yeah!
“Jade’s Dream” leads off with more beautiful piano, and leads into a cool bass line and some more killer odd-meter riffs. Another melodic masterpiece. Damn! This is only the sixth track and I am running out of adjectives and clichés! See how great this record is already? Bottom line: A nice mellow number with a nice mix of heavy moments as well and another cool guitar solo.
Pretty, pretty music! Gentle feelings of reflection abound when the beginning of “Dawn (Another Sunrise)” hits your speakers. Drift off and enjoy. GT shows great emotion all around on this song, vocals, guitar…everything! The feelings of gentleness eventually end and are muscled away by another tight guitar riff. Cool keyboard solo in this one, too!
‘Edge Of The Ocean” is powered by yet ANOTHER sweet riff from GT’s seemingly endless bag of cool guitar riffs! This song will either take you away or cause you to start head banging….or both! Very few songs possess that ability. Good God! I am really grabbing for descriptions here!
Take a break for awhile during the nice interlude entitled “Images of Eden”. The mood is about to change!
Crashing chords and MORE cool hooks bring about some anger management as GT uses “Only In My World” to give a telling off to all the negative forces we have to deal with everyday. It’s a call to get out of the world that the news pumps into your mind everyday and for you to step into your own private Eden. Take his advice because it will save your sanity. I love this track because I am also sick of all the bullshit we have to put up with day in day out. Hey! Stay out of his world and while you are at it, stay out of mine too! Go on, GET! Great track!
Aggression comes out to play in the guise of heavy riffing on “One Last Hero”. Easily the heaviest and fastest track on the record, it is a frenetic cacophony of chords, heavy drumming and spoken word verses that lead to pain-filled screaming choruses and GT asking, “Where were you when I was falling down?”. Total madness! Very strange but very satisfying! I have a few theories on who he may be telling off on this killer but I will keep them to myself. I’m a journalist, not a psychologist.
The final epic, “Autumn’s End (The Last Sunset)”, has much personal meaning for me. Autumn is my favorite season and I always feel a sense of finality to the year when winter finally rolls around. The cold takes over and holds the world hostage for four months until spring, and then, rebirth! Melancholy beauty abounds in the vocals, the keyboards, and builds into loud guitars that explode at just the right spot during the song. Longing, sorrow and hope fill this final chapter from Chapter 1 as we forge on into the great unknown. A perfect epic!
Musically, Gordon Tittsworth proves himself to be a jack-of-all-trades in the musician department. It takes a lot of guts, courage and patience to perform most of the instruments on an album, let alone sing! His guitar and bass work is solid and dependable, and he has this ability to write awesome guitar riffs that don’t sound complex by themselves, but as a whole sound incredible! Great musicians have that gift to write music that fits the song as a whole, and doesn’t sound like complicated mish-mash. He also plays some pretty underrated guitar solos on the album too! Greg White does some sweet soloing in the guest role on the tracks “Brave Horse” and “Only In My World”. Keyboard-wise, GT also does a very nice job, going from soothing backgrounds to sweet melodies with no trouble. He also plays some good keyboard solos. His ability as a bass player needs to be mentioned as he plays some really cool licks on songs such as “Jade’s Dream”. His bass lines lock in perfectly with Steve Kilgallon’s tight and precise drum work. GT drafted the perfect drummer to play on this album, and the results speak for themselves. Vocally, Tittsworth is amazing. He possesses a great vocal range and shows great emotion and depth of feeling. You can feel the passion that was put into this record.
Production on this album is almost perfect and everything sounds clear and powerful. The drums boom, the guitars sound heavy enough to bang your head yet melodic enough to let your consciousness slip away and lose yourself in another world for almost an hour. Keyboards and bass are not overpowered in the mix. Everything is in its place.
Do yourself a favor and pick up the album which saw the birth of one of the next prog metal powerhouses in the world. In due time and with a little luck, you will see their name mentioned alongside names like Rush, Queensryche, Dream Theater and Fates Warning. Hurry, before it goes out of print! You’ll be sorry if you don’t!
Gordon said to me in the interview that completing this album was like “climbing Everest." Well, he should be as proud as Sir Edmund Hillary for completing this masterwork! With this record, GT had the perfect vehicle to showcase his abundant talent and songwriting ability. Now, would finding the right musicians to complete his band be like climbing K2? To be continued…
Review written by: Matt B.
Date: May 12, 2006
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Images of Eden - Sunlight Of The Spirit
Genre: Progressive Metal/Rock
Release Date: 2006
Label: Nightmare Records
Band Website: http://www.imagesofeden.com
Gordon Tittsworth had a huge reason to be proud in 2001. He had just released the first Images of Eden record, which was entitled Chapter 1. This record was the culmination of almost two years of hard work and dedication that would force most musicians to check into the looney bin. Not only did GT write the songs and perform the vocals, he also played guitar, bass and keyboards (he had a session drummer). Whew! Now that he had an album recorded, and a name for his new band, he needed one more thing…a band! He found the first piece of the puzzle when he recruited guitarist Dennis Mullin from the progressive rock band Illuvatar. Several drummers, keyboardists, and bassists came and gone while the new band started to play the Baltimore club circuit. Stability on the drum riser would come with the addition of drummer Matt Kaiser, and Brian Gulin from the band Hyperchild joined on bass for awhile. This lineup would last almost a year before Gulin decided to part ways. Although he was now short a bass player, Tittsworth did not let that stop him and his new mates. He felt that he had finally had the musicians he had been searching for all of his life. Armed with his most compelling set of songs yet, the trio headed into the studio to record the follow-up album to Chapter 1, which was titled Sunlight Of The Spirit.
In an interview I conducted with Gordon Tittsworth, he says “The one thing about Images of Eden, and this wasn’t something that I meant to do, it’s just something that kind of started so I’m running with it... Each album starts where the last one leaves off. It’s like an ongoing story and progression through life, told in a positive and uplifting way. The first album began as thematic. It’s about putting the past behind and starting brand new, finding this “estranged”, peaceful world... after the “demons” have all gone away.” He describes it more poignantly than I ever could right there. Now that the past is behind you and you have fought all the problems of the world, it is time to enter Eden again. So, my friends, let’s push play and let Sunlight Of The Spirit be our guide back into Eden.
If you close your eyes and listen to the opening intro “Ascension”, you get the feeling that your spirit (no pun intended) is leaving your body and is escaping the physical plane. Eden awaits!
Well, I say, if Eden is anything like the opening song “Kaleidoscope” , I never want to leave! A punchy mid-tempo riff and the pitch perfect drumming are backed by a subtle keyboard texture, and then GT’s powerful vocals take over. His vocal delivery sounds even better here than it does on Chapter 1, if that was even possible! Awesome chorus harmonies in this one, and Mullin delivers the perfect riff! Musical perfection!
Soothing sounds of the keys and the sweet textures of the guitars are now taking you “Beyond The Horizon”. This song is beauty personified! GT hits some awesome high notes and tells us “Don’t tear yourself apart over things out of your control”. This song is a rallying cry for you to get up and find your own Eden, instead of waiting for Eden to come to you. Beauty and heaviness are balanced perfectly in this song, which would be a perfect single.
“To Live Another Day” talks about the long journey it takes to get to where you want to be in life. Punctuated by Rush-esque guitars and atmospheric keys (and a cool keyboard solo) this song is a short, but sweet track. A testament to the triumph of the human spirit.
A William Blake quote over a military style drum roll, piano, and strings begin the breathtakingly epic journey that is “Dream-Catcher”. The sounds build and the tension mounts…the intensity is about take over! It’s gonna get heavy! Nope..nope…they are maing you wait! A Zeppelin-esque movement begins and acoustic guitars and pianos take over before GT says “You’ll never be in heaven without going through hell”. The calm takes over again as this songs shifts tones once again. Once you have calmed yourself down and the defenses are gone, then the madness takes over with some bad ass riffing and some awesome soloing! A song that tests your patience in a good way! This song is an instant classic.
All of need someone to love in our lives, and if you have one, it is the greatest gift in the world. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” showcases all the beauty that there is in spending quality time with the person you love. Indulge yourself in the serenity of the acoustic guitars while GT sings of the joy of the moment, of indulging in the fruits that some call sinful, but what I call beauty and bliss. The beauty is disrupted as the acoustic melodies give away to electric riffing and you can sense that the moment is about to get nasty in a good way! Let the party begin!
While the beauty of love is explored in the previous track, the meaty guitar riff and the sleazy rhythm of “Aladdin” suggest that things have progressed to good a good old down and dirty romp in the sheets. This song is about as close to sex, drugs and rock n’ roll as Images of Eden is gonna get. Man, this is a fun track, from the awesome riffs to the nasty snarl of the guitar solo. A heavy rock ode to the sins of carnal knowledge.
We go from celebratory to somber with the first track of the Sunlight Of The Spirit trilogy, entitled “Emerald Rain”. The sound of falling rain is punctuated by the toll of a bell and a lonely guitar as GT’s vocals sing of remembrance of what once was. Later, the song shifts to a heavy riff and GT pouring all the emotion he can muster in to one amazing vocal performance. A perfect song to reflect on lost loves, lost relatives, lost whatever! Get your tissues out because this song will make the tears come.
Part 2, “I Remember When”, is an ode to those lost, but also a testament of strength as the message is “Now I‘m serene, now I’ve found peace. I am whole now and ready to start again“. I love the riff in this track, this song is so heavy! GT’s vocals on this track are incredible as well. A short track, but a powerful statement!
The trilogy concludes with the optimistic beauty of “Through October Skies”. The recovery from our loss is complete, we have beaten the past, and we are ready to take on the world! Another powerful song which showcases GT’s dynamic vocal range and Dennis Mullin’s multi faceted guitar work. A perfect end to the trilogy.
One of the most beautiful piano lines I have ever heard drives the short, but beautiful instrumental “Ethereal”. Short, simple instrumental. Very nice piece!
Reflections abound in the coup de grace, which is “Midnight’s Tide”. By far, the most powerful song on the album, full of awesome riffage, killer drumming, and some arrangements that may make Dream Theater green with envy! Gordon’s vocals are simply superb on this track as he powers us through a recollection of our lives as we look back on our mistakes, our losses, our sorrows, and we use those experiences to help us make our lives the best we can. SIMPLY AWESOME! I have heard few epics that are better than this one!
Production on this album is great! Everything sounds perfect in the mix and nothing overpowers anything. Musically, Images of Eden boasts a powerful trio of musicians. Guitarist Dennis Mullin can play almost any style that the music calls for, whether it be meaty mid-tempo riffs, beautifully crafted solos and acoustic interludes, or even fast paced metal riffs! He can do it all well. Drummer Matt Kaiser is a very skilled drummer, showcasing power and precision on the skins. His style puts me in mind of Mike Portnoy or Neal Peart. Gordon Tittsworth once again wears multiple musician-hats, playing bass with skill, keyboards with beauty and elegance, and belting out phenomenal vocals! I have heard few vocalists that have the power and emotion that GT has. He pours his heart and soul into every single syllable. Even though he is not on this recording, I have to acknowledge and welcome the band’s new bass player Bryan Wierman. A longtime friend of Gordon Tittsworth, Wierman adds another critical piece to the band’s sound. I look forward to seeing him live again and hearing him on future recordings.
Images of Eden should be proud of themselves. With Sunlight Of The Spirit, they have not only made one of the best progressive metal/rock albums of the year, they have re-written the rulebook on progressive metal. I am not bullshitting here: If there is any justice in this world of ours, Sunlight Of The Spirit will go down as one of the greatest progressive metal offerings of all time. Never before have I heard an album with such emotional depth and power! Such a delicate balance of walking the tightrope between complexity and accessibility! It is a REAL record. You feel what the writers are feeling, as if you just took their joy and pain and sorrow and put it into yourself. Images of Eden are more than a band, and Sunlight Of The Spirit is more than an album…it is a spiritual gate to a new awakening. Go out and buy this album and find your own Eden today!
Review written by: Matt B.
Date: May 25, 2006
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Images of Eden (pictured left to right): Bryan Wierman - bass guitar, Gordon Tittsworth - lead vocals/keyboards, Matt Kaiser - drums/percussion, Dennis Mullin - lead guitar
April 21, 2006
On a Friday in late April, Matt made the trip to Gordon’s home in Red Lion, Pennsylvania to interview the Images Of Eden (sometimes referred to throughout the following interviews as IOE) front man. Matt was fighting a cold but managed to gut it out! Gordon is a class act all the way down the line. In this interview, we go inside the mind of the front man of one of Prog Metal’s great “rising forces”. Enjoy!
Matt Bankes (MB): When did you start to get into Rock and Metal music?
Gordon Tittsworth (GT): As far back as I can ever remember. I remember probably being like three or four years old, and whenever we would go visit my grandmother, my uncle, who lived with her still, he had a whole record collection. Black Sabbath, Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith…everything. I just took to it immediately, and my mom even told me I was probably even as young as two playing his records on the record player. It’s been as far back as I can remember, and it’s just been in the blood ever since.
MB: What made you decide to want to be a musician?
GT: I was probably about five- or six-years-old when I got my first real rock record which was Kiss Alive!. My cousin gave it to me, and I was five-years-old and I was just a Kiss freak by then. I would probably say I was six or seven when I said “I want to be a lead singer in a band”. As much discouragement as there was at the time, and even still today, I’ll never stop.
MB: What was the first band you performed in?
GT: It was in 1988, and we were called Burning Ambition. We were kind of like a less polished Images Of Eden, and a little more of the core 80s sound. Think hair metal with a hint of prog. Take a very early Queensryche meets very early Fates Warning and not quite as polished.
MB: How did you decide on the name for your current band Images Of Eden?
GT: To take you there, I am going to have to take you back a little bit further. I’ve always wanted to be in a band and I’d been in different bands over the years through the late 80s and early 90s. In every band I was in, as fulfilling as it may have been, there was always some kind of element that it was lacking. Whether it was butting heads with other musicians or somebody not being up to par, or dealing with arrogant assholes and just basic bullshit artists. Because of that I was like, it’s time now. I was in this one band called Out Of Nowhere just before IOE. It was a decent bunch of musicians but there was a non-motivated guitarist who just tried to run things. He had no knowledge or no means to even think he should have been running anything. We really butted heads. I had kind of had my fill with non-hackers over the years. It’s kind of funny…ironic actually, the guitarist (of Out Of Nowhere) I guess could sense I was trying to run the show a little bit, so he sent the bass player out to fire me.
MB: How unprofessional.
GT: So the bass player fires me, and at the time I was pretty fed up with the band. It wasn’t doing what I wanted so I was thinking of a reason to quit, so it just kind of worked out perfectly. Right when that happened I still had a couple of songs together from my previous band which was called Midnight’s Tide. That band was actually with a good friend of mine on drums, Ryan Day. I actually sang lead and played lead guitar and we went through a couple of bass players. That was really the first band where I could open up my full creativity to its full potential. I was only in Out Of Nowhere a couple of months. After Out Of Nowhere, I pulled six of the best Midnight’s Tide tunes and decided, “Alright…I’m going to do an album with me playing everything” and I had a friend of mine at the time who was a drummer who said, “Dude, I’ll play drums for you, no problem, let‘s do this thing, let‘s get you jump started” (Steve Kilgallon). I took the six best Midnight’s Tide tunes which were “Stealth“, “September”, “Brave Horse”, “Only In My World”, “Dawn (Another Sunrise)”. All the songs sort of had a theme going and I just let the creativity go. I finished the other six songs and then I had twelve songs. They all had a theme. At the time I was actually going to call the album “Images Of Eden” so I had the album title, but I didn’t have the band name. So I was like, “Alright, I got an album called Images Of Eden”, I didn’t know what band name I was going to use. I was going to use my old band name Midnight’s Tide, but I thought Midnight’s Tide stood for something back then…it’s time to start brand new. I was talking to my wife one night and we were talking about it. She knew most of the tunes and the themes. She said, “You know what, why don’t you call the band Images Of Eden? It totally goes with what you’re trying to say and it totally goes with the uplifting, spiritual theme that there is.” I was like, that’s it. It’s done. I recorded the album and strategically placed the songs to show an entrance into an Eden or a perfect world. The theme of Chapter 1 was just all the elements of a new found perfect world that I kind of came in to, so, there you are.
MB: About Chapter 1, you recorded that album almost completely by yourself (with a session drummer) to use it as a basis for forming the new band. What was it like to record an entire album by yourself? What kind of experience was that, was it a tough experience?
GT: It was probably the best recording experience I’ve ever had in my life. The reason I say that is because I was going through a lot at the time. I was in the process of getting married, and in the process of just starting a whole new life and kind of leaving the past behind. It was the first time where I had free reign to do anything I wanted with no prior expectations of me, and no standards that I had to hit. It was just pure uncensored creativity. It was probably the only time in my life I ever had that. I didn’t have that with Spirit, I probably wouldn’t have had that with Spirit, and I wouldn’t trade Spirit for what it is. Basically it was pretty cool as far as the recording process. I gave Steve Kilgallon (session drummer) a demo tape of the songs in a really rough form. He learned the drums in a couple of weeks, we went into the studio, he recorded all the drums in a matter of about two days, and then I spent the next year and a half piecing it together. I would do all the guitars, all the heavy guitars, all the acoustic guitars, all the bass guitars, all the keyboards, all the lead guitars, some little sound effects and then I did the vocal tracks and then we mixed it down. It was great, it was nice to see that album piece itself together. Took a long time on it, and of course I funded it myself. Right when it was done, it was just like climbing Everest. The best part about it was there was no more compromising. It was, this is what I’m doing, here it is. If you like it, let’s talk, if not, sorry.
MB: How quickly did interested musicians come forward to join up with you after you finished Chapter 1, and was it a tough process to choose the right musicians?
GT: Yeah, very tough to choose. I had a drummer who I worked with who was on board and ready to go as soon as we could get the rest of the musicians. I had a keyboard player who I worked with who was also on board. I put an ad on BaltimoreBands.com (http://www.baltimorebands.com) and I immediately got a response from a guitarist named Dennis Mullin. He shot me an e-mail and we talked for a while on the phone and things worked out. He sent me a copy of his Illuvatar album Story 3 Days Wide and I sent him Chapter 1, and as soon as I heard his guitar playing, I said, "This is the guy for the job as long as he wants it." I knew that we were done. The initial bass player was someone that Dennis knew. We all kind of got together for the first couple practices, and they were rough. The drummer couldn’t hack it so we had to get rid of him. I put in another ad for another drummer, got him. The keyboard player couldn’t do it, he left, so I started playing keyboards. The bass player left. So here we are, we’re a three-piece. Dennis Mullin, Bobby Minter playing drums and me singing lead, playing bass and playing keys. The simple Rush thing, only I didn’t really want it to turn out that way! It kind of worked out that way for a little while. It ended up not working out with Bobby, and right around the same time Matt Kaiser came on board, who I also found through BaltimoreBands.com. That was about three years ago, so we played as a three-piece for awhile. Then Brian Gulin from Hyperchild joined for a little while (on bass guitar). He left, we recorded Spirit, and then a friend of mine named Bryan Wierman who I had been in touch with and had known for eleven years shot me an e-mail from out of the blue. He was a phenomenal guitarist turned bass player and as soon as we jammed with him it was like the fourth piece of the puzzle. I took about four and a half years to form the unit as it is right now, so let’s hope it doesn’t change anymore, man!
MB: Dennis Mullin, Matt Kaiser and Bryan Wierman seem to compliment you perfectly. What is it like to work with them in the studio and on stage?
GT: It’s nice to be able to work with phenomenal musicians who are probably the best musicians I have ever jammed with, and to know that no matter what we attempt to do, they can pull it off, and pull it off well. So I never feel limited at all, and I don’t think any of us do. So when we all piece everything together there’s this magic that happens, and it can’t be compromised.
MB: Have you considered hiring a permanent keyboardist?
GT: Yes, we want a full-time keyboard player. Finding a full-time keyboard player is, I’m sure, going to be rough, and I have got so many other things on my plate that it’s not the first and foremost thing, although it would be nice. Our songs take a little bit of a different turn live because not all the keyboard parts are there, but I think that our live show has gotten a little bit more punch, a little more drive. With that said, I’d love to have a full-time keyboard player. So, anybody who reads this, if you’re interested, come find us!
MB: Yes, e-mail Gordon at gordon@imagesofeden.com. Free advertising!
MB: The latest record, Sunlight of the Spirit, I think is a great record. When did you start writing for this album and how long did it take from start to finish?
GT: It was kind of wild, the actual writing process for Spirit. I actually enjoyed writing Spirit more than Chapter 1, just because I really felt like things were coming out quickly and in abundance. Right when Chapter 1 was in the process of being recorded and I was finishing up the recording of Chapter 1, “Dream-Catcher” was actually the first song that I wrote. I liked it so much I would have wanted to put it on Chapter 1 but it was kind of too late. It’s kind of a good thing because it really worked out on Spirit. I wrote “Dream-Catcher” and then some time went by and I would piece a couple of songs together and have some parts done. I had about four or five songs done, and then there was a couple of weeks where I was in between jobs and I had a lot of spare time. I had all the notes made, I had a lot of lyrics done and I had a lot of general notes on how I wanted some songs to be. I actually knocked out close to half the album within a week's time, so all in all, it took probably a process of a year and a half, but not full-time. The way I write, I never make time to write. Inspiration finds me and I capture it at the time. So I could be anywhere, in traffic, in the shower, sleeping, and I always got a notepad and I am always writing stuff down and it just so happened that in that couple-of-week period is the time I took my collection of notes and I actually formed the songs. Another thing about writing Spirit, if I actually sit down and try to write something, and try to think about something and make something happen, it doesn’t work. There are actual times when I’ve either sat down with my guitar or in front of the keyboard and you just get in to this consciousness, you feel there’s this mental and emotional gate that’s open, and this inspiration just kind of flows through you. It’s almost kind of creepy. There have been times where I’ve sat down and I started playing stuff and I get into this zone and I can’t really describe it, but a musician who writes will know what I’m talking about. “I Remember When” for example is a song where I just sat down and within about an hour and a half time I had a four-track recording of the entire song, completely finished, and when I listened to it back I was like, “Where did that come from?" It’s almost as if you’re this medium of a higher being channeling the song through you. It’s almost kind of scary because I’ve had a couple of other instances of that happening. Once was with ‘Dream-Catcher”, another one was with “Brave Horse” and “Stealth” off of Chapter 1, and even parts of “Beyond The Horizon” .
MB: I think the production on Sunlight of the Spirit is really great. Did you have access to Pro-Tools?
GT: Yeah, as a matter of fact, a friend of mine, Dave Lemme and Mike Donoghue from Shadow Recording Studio did the recording. We’re friends with them. Dave was in a band called Cycle Of 3 that we played with so it was cool, it was like fellow musicians and friends. He actually used a 36 tracker, Pro-Tools. Dave Lemme actually started the recording, we did the drums and the guitars over there and due to cost, he actually did the rest of the recording at Illuvatar bass player Dean Morekas’ place. He actually used SONAR, so it’s a mix between Pro-Tools and SONAR, but it was actually fully mixed and mastered in Pro-Tools. We spent a lot of time on it. We had six sets of ears just listening to it and tweaking it out. The experience of the people involved, they just had phenomenal ears and all of us really made that production happen.
MB: Can you give us a brief description of the album and what it’s about?
GT: The one thing about Images Of Eden, and this wasn’t something that I meant to do, it’s just something that kind of started so I’m running with it...each album starts where the last one leaves off. It’s like an ongoing story and progression through life, told in a positive and uplifting way. The first album began as thematic. It’s about putting the past behind and starting brand new, finding this “estranged”, peaceful world...after the “demons” have all gone away. The ending of Chapter 1 is “Autumn’s End” and is actually a transition into this second chapter, if you will, which is called Sunlight of the Spirit. If you listen to “Autumn’s End” it's almost a little bit of a reflection on a new inner peace, knowing that life will go on and the sun will rise again tomorrow. This metaphor of “The End” is actually a transition that leads into the first track on Spirit which is “Ascension” (into “Eden”), which then leads into ‘Kaleidoscope” which is being in this “perfect world”. I’ve always looked at Eden not as a physical place, but more of a metaphor, like an internal peace. “Kaleidoscope” is kind of secluding yourself in your own perfect world, whether it is mental or physical…whatever you want to call it. A perfect world can exist but it definitely isn’t on this earth, it has to be emotional. Sunlight of the Spirit is an actual spiritual phrase. It is basically living your life the best you can, seizing the day, making it happen and you’ll see this reward come in turn. The theme of “Beyond The Horizon”, I look at it as more of a found spirituality, whatever brings you an inner peace, whatever makes your world better, use it that way. If it happens to be Christianity, then so be it. The whole theme of the actual song “Sunlight of the Spirit” is kind of like going through anything that has totally changed your world, and turning something negative into a positive. The first part, “Emerald Rain”, is about any kind of change, whether it’s something bad, whether it’s not there anymore, any kind of loss. It’s about working through that and working into a better place, getting yourself into a better place and just kind of holding on to the memories, and knowing everything bad that’s happening is really making you stronger, which is the whole point of that song. At the end of the album, you’ll notice there’s a lot more in between, but it all takes place in this “Eden”…the very last song “Midnight’s Tide” is a major reflection on life and beating yourself up and having regret, being sorry for the things you have done, the negative things. It’s about redemption, about forgiving yourself for the mistakes you have made in the past and knowing you can’t change the past, but we’re going to go on from here and make it the best we can. The end of “Midnight’s Tide” leaves a wide open door for the beginning of the third CD.
MB: I went through an experience like that, and I could share it with you after this interview.
GT: I think it’s relatable for everybody. When I write, it’s not specific enough where you know exactly what’s happened to me, I make it general so that you can relate it to your own life but it’s based on something specific for me.
MB: I think you write some really awesome lyrics. They have that ability to take me away from my troubles. What experiences influence your lyrics?
GT: Nothing influences my lyrics except life experience. Somebody had told me one time that it really feels like I generally live what I’m writing about, and that’s the absolute truth. I think if you don’t live and feel 110 percent what you are writing about, it doesn’t come across as genuine. Anytime something extremely positive or negative happens, I capture the opinion that I have in my lyrics. I let the lyrics kind of form themselves and then I piece the lyrics together to form the album later in a way that kind of tells a story. I don’t know what the next album is going to be about until I write it. I didn’t know what Spirit was going to be about until it pieced itself together.
MB: What singers have influenced you the most? You put me in mind of a few people but you have your own flavor.
GT: I would have to say there are four that are the major ones. First it was Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden, then I found Geoff Tate from Queensryche right when The Warning came out and I was twelve-years-old. I was twelve-years-old and I knew that this is one of the best singers on the face of the earth, so I was fairly smart for my age, at least I think! (laughs) After that, I found what I would say are my two favorite singers now. John Arch, the former singer of Fates Warning. He writes in a way that his albums, specifically Awaken The Guardian, just take me totally out of the world I’m in and place me where I want to be, in that “Eden”. To date, my favorite singer of all time, who I haven’t kind of listened to in a while, I don’t know why, but I just recently picked up their old albums is Ray Gillen from Badlands…
MB: May he rest in peace.
GT: Yes, may he rest in peace. I have the first two Badlands albums. I have just recently acquired Dusk, and I listened to Dusk, and this guy has everything. He’s got the most phenomenal voice and he’s got this soul sound to his voice that nobody else has. As phenomenal as Tate is in a textbook sense, Ray’s just got this emotion that grabs you a little more. He was in my opinion the best vocalist.
MB: You do have great stage presence. Is stage presence an important part of a live performance to you?
GT: It’s about 50 percent of it as far as I’m concerned. As a musician I can stand there and watch people stand there like logs and bang out the most phenomenal music in the world and be fine with it, but not everybody is a musician, and the non-musicians want to see you move, they want to see you get into it. Even the musicians do too. I mean, if the band is awful, but they are just really phenomenal on stage, I still might actually see them again if it was a high energy performance. As far as us, we try to put as much stage presence into everything. Sometimes it’s a little difficult when you’re playing something a little more on the technical side , it’s hard to do back flips. I try to lay into it, I try to make you see and feel that I’m giving 110 percent and I always feel like that If I’m not borderline being carried out on a stretcher at the end of the show, I didn’t put my full into it and I feel almost like I did an injustice and a disservice to everybody.
MB: What in your opinion was your best live gig so far?
GT: I would say our CD release party (at Mac’s The Club in Essex, Maryland) back in November of ‘05, only because there were so many factors to getting Sunlight of the Spirit recorded and released. I think the stars had to line up perfectly in so many ways. I was actually shocked that we got it finished, and I was actually shocked that we had got copies made. There were so many obstacles working against us that my goal was to get to that CD release. We had practiced and rehearsed for that release party and it had been a year and a half since we had played a live show. I was actually fighting off a cold that week, I fought it off long enough to get that show done, and I almost completely lost my voice for the next couple of days and I lost a couple of days of work because that cold finally knocked me on my ass. So, with the full energy and every ounce of spirit, that was my favorite show because of what it stood for and it was like I almost climbed Everest twice for that show to happen.
MB: Your worst show?
GT: I’m glad you brought this up because this is a fun story to tell. We had a “Spinal Tap” moment a couple of years back when we had our old drummer Bobby Minter. We had played a great gig this one weekend at a place called The Vault, had a ton of people show up, really cleaned house financially and did a great show. The very next week we had a gig at the now defunct Eight By Ten in Baltimore, although I think it’s back now. We were the headlining band and everybody came out the week before, so…we got there that night and the first band was a five-piece ska/funk/jazz/pseudo something or other from Boston.
MB: Like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones?
GT: A bit like the Bosstones but put a little more funk in it. They all had three-piece suits on and they came out and played. It was almost like a comedy routine. After that, the second band was a hip-hop band. We had brass and funk and hip-hop, and here we go…I was like, “We are going to scare these people to death!” So we get out on stage and it’s midnight. We already had beer spilled down a big stack of our equipment because there was only a couple of feet to get in. We started playing, and in the middle of the second song the place was completely empty except for Dennis’s brother, and the bartender. We played five songs and then they cut us off, then they gave us five bucks and said, “Have a nice day." The drummer was all pissed off, and I was like, “You know, this is a Spinal Tap moment."
MB: Do you have any upcoming plans for shows and places you want to play?
GT: London, Berlin, Rome…
MB: New York, London, Paris, Munich?
GT: Exactly. That would be the long-term goal, yes. Whatever it takes to get there, it’s not going to happen tomorrow. The first thing is to stir up enough buzz and what not. We have no problem with touring but we have to tour within our means. We’d definitely like to branch out,. Since I just moved to Pennsylvania, we’d definitely like to do York, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Baltimore, which is what we know. Maybe even get out to Delaware, down to Virginia…start out regionally.
MB: You just picked up a distribution deal in France and Germany! How do you feel about that?
GT: God, I’m loving this. It actually feels like things are starting to happen. First thing we secured was Hellion Records in Germany, who’s going to do some promos and get the word out and sell our CD. Then just recently Brennis Music in France who are actually going to put it in all the retail stores across France, so you could go into Paris and go into a music store and find Spirit. I had been sending out a lot of press kits to a lot of prog labels all over the world, I’ve been doing a lot of networking, radio, promo, the whole nine yards, just throwing it out there. They say the more shit you keep throwing at the wall, the better the chances of having it stick. Now we are talking to Perris Records in Texas, we're actually going to be on a compilation that’s going to be distributed nationwide and in some case worldwide. I’ve looked at InsideOut, sent them something, Magna Carta…it takes time.
MB: Have you written any new material yet, and when can we expect a new Images Of Eden record?
GT: I wish I had the next one in my hand right now! This clown gave me advice years ago and I’m so glad that he did because I so didn’t take his advice. This guy gave me bad advice when he said, “When you write your albums, write it but don’t shoot your load on each album. Save some for the next album." I said that’s the worst advice, man, because the only way you are going to improve is if you totally outdo yourself on an album and be like, “What the hell am I going to do now?” , because there is nothing left in the vault. That’s what I did with Chapter 1, and I said, “Oh my God, how am I going to do another album, I don’t have anything left,” and then I started writing and inspiration came through and I started writing Spirit, and then after Spirit I was like, “You know, I’m tapped out but at least I know it’s not over,” because I know more stuff will come. What’s happening now is I’ve got about 90 percent of the lyrics done for the next album and I’ve got the whole concept, and it picks up in the exact place where Spirit leaves off. On both Chapter 1 and Spirit, each album had kind of a finale at the end of the album that really summed it up, then the next one will pick up from there. That’s how I like it. At the end of an album, I want the last thing you hear to be kind of mind-blowing. This next album is a major progression, lyrically, from Spirit, and it has the ultimate finale that actually sums up all three albums, not just itself. I can’t wait to unleash that, as far as when it will be, I don’t know. I don’t even want to project a date. The one thing I know is it’s definitely a departure from Spirit almost in an opposite direction but turns around and does a full 180 in the end. There are several surprises that take everything to the next level, even higher.
MB: Do you have any closing thoughts?
GT: Definitely check us out at http://www.imagesofeden.com. I appreciate you doing this, Matt. My whole thought is that it’s give and take in this business. It’s great to have people who will spread the word of your band, so I appreciate you doing this and we will definitely help you guys out anyway we can, it’s great. To everybody who is reading this definitely check us out, probably unlike any other band you’ll really hear today especially from a local standpoint. We hope you like what you hear, and stay tuned. There’s always more coming.
Thank you, Gordon! You are definitely a class act all the way. The progressive metal world needs to be prepared for Images Of Eden, as they have re-written the rulebook with their latest record Sunlight of the Spirit. Be sure to go to their official website at http://www.imagesofeden.com and pick up a copy of both Chapter 1 and Sunlight of the Spirit today!
October 2006
Many new and exciting developments have happened with Images Of Eden in the last few months. First off, Images Of Eden was taken under the umbrella of Silent Planet Promotions. Then, the band was picked up by Nightmare Records for a worldwide distribution deal! You can imagine how excited that makes us here!
Being that Images Of Eden is the subject of our Spotlight section, we felt the need to conduct a follow-up interview to bring you fans up-to-date on the exciting times surrounding this up-and-coming progressive metal force! So, we asked front man Gordon Tittsworth about all the great events that have happened to Images Of Eden as of late.
Matt Bankes (MB): Well, Gordon, many big things have happened since we last spoke! First off, you hooked up with the promotional company Silent Planet Promotions...how did that come about?
Gordon Tittsworth (GT): Back in April/May of this year [2006], I was in the process of shopping many labels, distributors, promoters, webzines, etc. searching for distribution/promotion. I received many favorable responses, more than I actually had anticipated. One of which was Mark Blair Glunt of Silent Planet Promotions [SPP], so I sent him a copy of Sunlight of the Spirit. He e-mailed me back stating that we were exactly the type of band he wanted to work with: Progressive Hard Rock with an uplifting spiritual vibe. We spoke for about an hour on the phone talking about both SPP and IOE. I had previously been in contact with about five or six promoters but I knew just after our conversation that SPP was the promotion company I wanted to work with. I got an immediate sense that Mark was 100 percent genuine and he is totally dedicated to his bands. This is not the type of person you run into every day in this business. For every genuine person I’ve met, I had to go through about 25 crooks to get to them. In the last six months, Mark has turned into more than just a promoter. He has become a friend and someone I can count on for direction and inspiration in this “most rewarding yet frustrating business in the world”.
MB: And the biggest news of all...you got a worldwide distribution deal with Nightmare Records! We here are very excited about that! How did that come to pass?
GT: As soon as I started shopping for labels/distributors, I had sought out advice from some colleagues in the business (specifically Frank Hill/Eric Compton from Maximum Metal, Maurice Taylor from All Too Human, Chris Lotesto from Ion Vein, Trey Gadler from Azrael’s Bane, Johnny Lokke, Tom Argo from Progman Records, and several others) and many of which had suggested to contact Lance King at Nightmare. Well, after my first conversation with Mark at Silent Planet, he decided to contact Lance directly to have him personally check us out. At the same time, I sent him a copy of Sunlight of the Spirit. About a week or two after that, I got a voice mail from Mark stating that Lance was ready to do a full, worldwide distribution of the CD. Needless to say, I was very pleased. Now I have a dedicated promoter and a well-respected label in the metal industry. Life had gone from good to great!
MB: Do you feel any added pressure on you and the band because of the fact you now have a worldwide deal?
GT: Taking this next step and exploring new waters not knowing what to expect is always a bit of added pressure, but it’s a “problem” that I’ve wanted to deal with my whole life, so I welcome and embrace any new “pressure”. I’m a lot busier now with many more opportunities coming down the pipeline, but I really feel that IOE is finally moving in the forward direction. There’s nothing more frustrating than feeling stagnant. The pressure I feel now is, “What more can I do to get the name out there and get people prepared for the release?” I know a lot of it is timing and because of that, I’m also in the process of writing the next CD. I figure if I start now, it should be ready to release when the time is right. I’ve really learned a lot about how the music biz works and how one goes about getting a CD distributed worldwide. There’s no one single way to do it. It’s a combination of a lot of things. All we can do is get the name out here, drop the record, cross our fingers, and pray.
MB: Do you think offers for national tours or opening slots for national headliners are possibilities now?
GT: I really do believe that many more doors will open (and are already opening). With Lance’s support and Mark’s worldwide contacts/promotion, etc., we have a much better than average chance of things happening. I’ve seen first-hand what Lance and Mark are capable of, and with that, I know we have all of the resources to get overseas and do a tour. We really can’t beat having our name next to Nightmare and SPP. I know the first step is to get the CD out there (Nov 21st) then we’ll talk about the next step. The goal is to get to Europe, South America, Japan, etc. and live the dream. Nothing will stop us. It’s just a matter of “when” and not “if”.
MB: The worldwide release date for Sunlight Of The Spirit is November 21, 2006. What are you doing to gear up for it? (Thank you for using a quote from us in your ad campaign!)
GT: No problem, brother. Thanks for the quote! Yes, Mark has already launched a worldwide promotion/radio campaign. This consists of webzines, magazines (print and otherwise) and many radio stations including Internet. I’m also in the process of saturating the cyber landscape with our logos and advertisements. The goal is to get people so sick of seeing our info that they feel compelled to check us out.
MB: Is there a possibility that Chapter 1 will be re-released, or re-recorded with the whole band or re-mastered?
GT: Absolutely. I’m going to wait about a year to 18 months before tackling that. Since Chapter 1 was never officially released in retail, I’m going to take some time to really think about the approach. Lance already said he’d pick up Chapter 1 and release it for us. I just don’t know when yet, but I’ll know when the time is right. It will be the same recording but I will definitely be re-mastering it before releasing it. Also, some of the internal artwork will be changing. I will be thinking more of how I want to market it also. I don’t want people to think it is a “post-Spirit” release. It will be made clear that it is before the fact... basically the beginning “solo album”, if you will. I may even put a bonus track or two on it. Who knows?
MB: Do you fear that a worldwide deal will cause you to lose touch with the following you have earned in the Baltimore area? Do you fear it will cause you to change as a person?
GT: Not at all. I really feel that this is something that we (IOE) needed to progress and go further as a band. We weren’t getting the recognition I feel we deserved in Baltimore. I feel extremely grateful for our fans and to local bands that we’ve become friends with over the years for supporting us, but personally, I have no loyalty at all to the Baltimore club scene. Frankly, I’d be grateful to be able to get the hell out of the Baltimore scene altogether. Bands are treated as second rate citizens and basically have to beg to play, then the club owners want you to sell tickets to promote their club, which is something they should be doing anyway. If you don’t sell “enough” tickets, the club won’t have you back. Also, if you don’t play covers, they don’t want you because you won’t “draw”. It’s a double-edged sword that only benefits the owners and screws the bands. The only thing that the Baltimore scene has done for us is make us realize that our true destiny lies outside of the town. Unless you’re a “modern rock cover band”, you are not appreciated in Baltimore and in a lot of cases, not welcome. On the other side of that coin, we’ve experience a whole new attitude here in York, Pennsylvania. The club owners have been wonderful so far and very willing to help us out. They also appreciate original music more. For example, we had a club owner call us and offer us a major gig with a national act on New Year’s Eve, giving us the 10:00 p.m. slot just to “help us out” because he really liked our music. On top of that he insisted we play our originals. That kind of offer would NEVER happen in a million years in Baltimore. Do I sound sour? Nah!
As far as changing as a person due to any success, I only see myself becoming more peaceful, and more appreciative of the things that come. When I got into this business, I realized right away that more bad things will happen than good, and to really appreciate the good. I think that money and success only enhances the current attributes of a person. If you’re a genuine person, you will only become a more genuine person, and if you’re an a-hole by nature, you’ll only be a bigger a-hole with money and fame.
MB: On a separate note, you are offering your services as a session vocalist. Can you tell us more about it?
GT: This is something that I refused to even consider awhile ago, but then it hit me all of a sudden... why would I limit myself when I could contribute to other projects and possibly learn something by exploring different styles and expanding my limits? I have been approached to join a few different bands over the years to do studio work (or more) but I never could at the time. My services are more for studio session vocals. If there is a project that is ready to go, but just needs the vocal tracks, I’m available. I haven’t even thought of what I would charge yet. It would depend on where the band is located, whether they are paying major $$$ for studio time vs. recording it themselves. I’m not about to bankrupt anyone. If a band really liked my style and really wanted me to sing on their record, I’d work with them and find a way to make it happen.
MB: It's been an honor getting to know you and Images Of Eden. We wish you the best! Can you say a few kind words about our crew at Rising Forces USA (RFUSA)?
GT: Matt, it’s been an honor getting to know great people like you, Andrea, Keith and all of RFUSA. You have really done some great things for us and other local/regional bands. Anyone reading this should really get to know you and your work because you really stand behind the bands you cover, not just review the material then move on.
Purchase Images of Eden's albums and other merchandise at http://www.imagesofeden.com (click on Music).
Sunlight of the Spirit
Distributed by Nightmare Records
International Retail Release Date: 11/21/2006
Tracks:
1. Ascension
2. Kaleidoscope
3. Beyond the Horizon
4. To Live Another Day
5. Dream Catcher
6. A Midsummer Nights Dream
7. Aladdin
8. Emerald Rain
9. I Remember When...
10. Through October Skies
11. Ethereal
12. Midnight's Tide
Musician Credits:
Gordon Tittsworth: Vocals, Bass Guitar & Keyboards
Dennis Mullin: Lead Guitar & Keyboards
Matt Kaiser: Drums & Percussion, Backing Vocals
Chapter 1
Independent Release
Release Date: March 5, 2001
Produced by Gordon Tittsworth
Engineered by Bill Dickson at Drat Productions
All songs © 2001 Images Of Eden
Tracks:
1. Stealth
2. Tied To A Wish
3. Return To Twilight
4. September
5. Brave Horse
6. Dawn (Another Sunrise)
7. Jade's Dream
8. Edge of the Ocean
9. Images of Eden (intro)
10. Only In My World
11. One Last Hero
12. Autumn's End (The Last Sunset)
Musician Credits:
Gordon Tittsworth: All Vocals, Guitar, Bass & Keyboards
Steve Kilgallon: Drums & Percussion
Here's your chance! Answer the following trivia question correctly to have a chance to win a free copy of Images of Eden's latest CD Sunlight of the Spirit! (Hint: It's lurking somewhere within our spotlight on Images of Eden.)
Question: Who was the session drummer who assisted Gordon Tittsworth during the recording of the Images Of Eden album Chapter 1?
To enter, click here to send us an e-mail containing the following:
1) The answer (of course!)
2) First and last name
3) Mailing address
4) E-mail address
The deadline to enter is December 31, 2006. The winner will be chosen at random from all entries containing the correct answer, and will be announced here on January 10, 2007. Please see below for contest rules. GOOD LUCK!
Contest Rules:
1) Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
2) Limit ONE ANSWER PER PERSON!
3) Staff of Rising Forces USA (RFUSA) and members of the featured band are ineligible to enter.