2017 saw LA prog/rock band, The Longing, stamped an undeniable path of success through the prog scene, as they delivered the anthem for International Women’s Day and released the highly successful album, ‘Tales of Torment’. Now for 2018, the band meet public demand with the release of the deluxe version of that heart-wrenching collection; ‘Tales of Torment Deluxe Edition’ will be released on 20 July. An epic storybook of no less than 18 tracks, the deluxe edition carries x4 additional, previously unreleased, bonus tracks. With previous singles scooping countless radio airplay in the UK and 18 countries worldwide, plus UK Record of the Week, as well as numerous TV and movie slots including MTV, The Cannes Film Festival and a score for William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, there’s no doubt that The Longing is a highly influential force across the global prog/rock music scene.
“We wanted to give fans something ‘extra’ from the band,” comments Laura Bradley, band founding member, and vocalist, “When we compiled the original album it was a tough decision to select those precious x14 songs which would make the final album line-up. There were more stories that needed to be told, so we’re gifting fans with this new deluxe edition, which includes an additional x4 tracks. Now I feel the book of twisted tales is complete.”
Troubled and anguished, ‘Tales of Torment Deluxe Edition’ is a storybook of alternative tales, the type of narratives told from the perspective of the wicked witch and the twisted villain….those tormented cruel souls fighting against the injustice inflicted upon them. Catapult yourself into the mind of the wicked stepmother towering over the sweet Cinderella, see things from her point of view; twisted, bleak and macabre – that’s the world of ‘Tales of Torment’. A bitter-sweet canvass of angst-ridden frustration, ‘Tales of Torment’ sees Laura Bradley and the band create an epic musical masterpiece of hybrid orchestral; layering sharp synths on a bed of classical orchestral arrangement, pierced divinely with Bradley’s crystalline vocals. It’s the paradox of the delicate against the aggressive that creates the sheer exquisiteness of this melodic collection.
A masterfully crafted anthology of x18 tracks, each single-worthy in their own right, but which jigsaw together perfectly to conceive a storybook of beautiful prog/rock angst. Additional tracks include the beautifully crafted ‘Shadow’, exposing Laura’s feelings when her first producer in LA was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer; the chilling ‘Frozen Ground’, which spins the tale of a grand love story with a tragic ending (undoubtedly Bradley’s most challenging vocal composition to date); ‘Monsters’; a challenge from Bradley over the horrific wave of US school-shooters and ‘Down Came The Rain’, again, a biographical snap-shot from Bradley’s life where a friend took her own life, leaving in its place no ‘note’, just a heartbroken 12-year-old son, this track is the ‘letter’ that Bradley wishes her friend had written. These additional x4 tracks complete the story-book, leaving no tale untold. Those familiar with the original version of ‘Tales of Torment’, released last year, will already know the existing tales from the dark dimensions of ‘Dazed’, the haunting piano riffs and lyrics of ‘Come On’ (the first single taken from the album), through to the classic conflict between good and evil in the dark tragedy of ‘Not Anymore’, revealing one sister brutalized by an evil man and the war the other sister incites to protect them both. ’40 Days’ is a melodic tale of ‘missing’ and those countless days watching and waiting for a hopeful reunion.
There’s an indulgent sprinkling of covers throughout this album too. ‘Feel my love’ – The Longing’s first cover set Bob Dylan’s famous tune to a wildly different sound, where the eerie vocal reveals more of a deranged psychological madness that inhabits the world of a stalker, than Dylan’s original love-sick heart. Lose yourself in The Longing’s unusual version of Franz Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’, as the band marries gorgeous classical orchestration with a thundering symphonic metal rhythm section and a powerfully pure lyric soprano vocal to create the true symphonic epic fairy-tale.
Founded by LA-based musician/singer/composer, Laura Bradley, The Longing is a 5-piece band who transcend over-simplistic genre categorization, as they hover gloriously over the void between raw progressive metal and rock. Bradley has the ability to harness the power of her trademark angelic vocals, unleashing her voice with the spectral force of an emotional whiplash – that’s what instantly brings audiences to a standstill. Fuse this with Bradley’s impeccable poetic lyrics and compositional style, which injects a jagged, rhythm-driven musical perspective, and you begin to experience the energy igniting the ever-snowballing fanbase of The Longing. The band consists of guitarists John Huldt and Mashadi Maximus, bassist Michael Wallace and drummer, Tom Plumb – all formally trained, seasoned session and touring musicians with numerous high-profile production and engineering credits.
@thelongingband [rotatingtweets screen_name=’thelongingband’]Now for 2018, The Longing bring a raw slice of angst-ridden hybrid classic/prog/rock to the UK with this embellished album, ‘Tales of Torment Deluxe Edition’. It’s a realization of life, a battle with our inner demons – a journey you won’t want to miss. Let more tales unfold….
‘Tales of Torment – Deluxe Edition’ is released on Filthy Princess Records on July 20, 2018.
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