DarWin first grabbed attention with the epic 17 track double album \u201cOrigin of Species\u201d in 2019. It won over fans and critics alike with its mix of virtuoso playing, heavy guitars, and symphonic rock, co-produced by Simon Phillips. The punchy follow up album \u201cDarWin 2 : A Frozen War\u201d took the concept a stage further, adding musicians Billy Sheehan, Guthrie Govan, Greg Howe and Derek Sherinian to the mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now comes \u201cDarWin 3 : Unplugged,\u201d a collection of orchestral and stripped back versions of tracks from the first two albums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Highlights range from the sweeping instrumental takes of \u201cEscape The Maze\u201d and \u201cThe Last Chance\u201d recorded at Abbey Road Studios, \u201dNightmare of My Dreams\u201d recorded in Iceland, to a poignant acapella version of \u201cAnother Year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The album, once again produced by Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who, Santana), features DarWin (guitars), Matt Bissonette (Elton John, Jeff Beck) on bass and vocals, The Chamber Orchestra of London, and The Reykjavik Quartet across its eight tracks. Phillips also adds his signature percussion and effects to the album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The songs first appeared as a bonus addition to the limited edition \u201cDarWin 2 : A Frozen War\u201d double vinyl LP, and are now being given a stand-alone release in \u201cDarWin 3\u201d on April 16th 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DarWin says, \u201cUpon completing our first and second albums, we quickly realized that completely different interpretations of the songs were possible by isolating the strings or acoustic instruments as much as possible. Indeed, they sounded like completely different songs, although the fundamental concepts and spirit of the songs remained intact. Simon went to work on doing new mixes with the exact same instruments and tracks from the recordings in the earlier albums to create these \u2018unplugged\u2019 versions of the songs. Matt Bissonette also recorded two new solo versions of \u2018Slowly Melting\u2019 and \u2018One Horizon,\u2019 with just his voice and bass. Simple and pure. \u2018Slowly Melting\u2019 was recorded on a live take with the voice and bass parts simultaneously. Many of these songs were deeply emotional journeys, and that character tends to shine through in these unplugged versions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DarWin\u2019s critically acclaimed debut \u201cOrigin Of Species\u201d was the first instalment in an epic saga that addresses the challenges of mankind in our coming era. It depicts the role of a changing planet, and the potential, as well as limitations, of technology to help solve mankind\u2019s greatest challenges. A complex project that eschews the hollow immediacy of much contemporary art. A story that demands attention and imagination. With music sweeping in scope, at times evoking hard rock virtuoso shredding, alongside grand orchestral compositions, warm harmonies and soaring choruses. A project that is even more relevant in the strange times we live in. Classic Rock praised it on release \u201cAt the end of it all, DarWin has saved the concept album as well as the planet.\u201d Prog Magazine compared it to \u201cDream Theater at their most melodic meeting a harder-edged Toto.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second album \u201cDarWin 2: A Frozen War\u201d picked up rave reviews across the board:<\/strong> \u201cDarWin 3 : Unplugged\u201d Track list:<\/strong> To pre-order:\u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/DARWIN-3-UNPLUGGED\/dp\/B08VR8M1YC\/ref=sr_1_1<\/a> DarWin first grabbed attention with the epic 17 track double album \u201cOrigin of Species\u201d in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2],"tags":[335,125],"class_list":["post-14812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-news","category-news","tag-darwin","tag-prog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14812"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14814,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14812\/revisions\/14814"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cA rock tour de force with melody, shredding, and orchestral flourishes\u201d –\u00a0Progrock.co.uk<\/a>\u201c<\/em>
Near perfect prog, 9\/10\u201d – Powerplay<\/em>
\u201cHighly interesting and mesmerising\u201d – RRRR Rockunited<\/em>
\u201cWow! More please soon!\u201d – AORMusic<\/em>
\u201cA triumph\u201d – At The Barrier Magazine<\/em>
\u201cA progressive rock album that is crafted, polished and at times simply breathtaking in its composition\u201d – The Razor\u2019s Edge\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 Escape the Maze (Orchestral)
2 Nightmare of My Dreams (Orchestral)
3 Slowly Melting (Unplugged)
4 Forever (Orchestral):
5 One Horizon (Unplugged)
6 Rise (Orchestral)
7 Last Chance (Orchestral)
8 Another Year (Acapella)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>https:\/\/darwin.tmstor.es\/<\/a>
DarWin’s official website:<\/strong>http:\/\/www.darwin.is\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"