Singled Out: Michael Abdow's Seance In Black (Part I)

08-31-2023

Michael Abdow (Fates Warning/Ray Alder/ex-Last Chance To Reason) is gearing up to release his new album, "Seance In Black," on October 6th. To celebrate we asked him to tell us about the single "Seance In Black (Part I)". Here is the story:

The concept behind the single and title track "Séance In Black" is neither occult nor religious but rather an amalgamation of philosophy, story telling, historical reference, artistic intent and spiritualism. The way I write music is very much finding sounds and ideas that resonate with me on a level that makes me feel something. I later spend a great deal of time reflecting on each piece and what it means, where it came from and what it is trying to say. I see the music as its own life form and by running it through these filters, I try to let it bridge its subconscious origins with its physical world as an experience.

As artists, we summon from the world unseen and not always felt; seemingly something from nothing. This is the "Séance" (Part I). We make it real and experiential in the form of art for the observer or listener to access, transport, and ultimately transform. That is what great art does. I'm no genius or medium but taking an intuitive rather than intellectual path in discovering the music I make is a way to deepen the meaning of what I do.

Much of the music on the album is based in the prog rock guitar world but in a program or soundtrack setting. Following this music in an almost mantric way as guided in Part I can transport the listener to "Different Worlds" (Part II). This is the transport. A very ethereal section, Part II is the death of the conscious world and the becoming of true infinite reality.

Ever so dramatically, "The Third Day" (Part III) enters as a nod to the biblical story of transformation and propping the door open to our actual reality. The listener discovers who they really are, or at least a part of them resonates and reveals itself through the experience of the first two parts and they return to silence with an overwhelming emotion.

The single "Séance In Black" is a bit of a conceptual overture while the rest of the tracks on the album "From The Silence", "Oracle", "Eternity", "Welcome Desolation", "The Turning" and "Evidence Of Angels" mirror and break out the detail of the concept.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the album here