The ever prolific GEORGE BELLAS is back, less than a year on from his previous solo album ‘Planetary Alignment’ with his boldest and most progressive body of work to date in “STEP INTO THE FUTURE”. The name George Bellas is synonymous with stretching musical boundaries and human imagination with his musical compositions. This new album is ultra-modern in style and really reaches out to a futuristic sound in its compositional sense and outlook. The album ranges from the explosive to the ethereal with emotionally stirring segments. Adding to its uniqueness “STEP INTO THE FUTURE” consists of just one song that is 76 minutes in length.
George’s goal on "STEP INTO THE FUTURE" was to compose ultra-modern sounding music that used composition techniques that he had not previously used on any of his other releases. George comments, “I did not initially plan to write a 76 minute song, it just came out that way. I just kept writing and writing and as more ideas came to me, I eventually realized that this was turning into a behemoth of a song. The album was not a bunch of separate tracks that were merged together after the fact, but it was indeed written as one long continuous piece. There are several factors that differentiate "STEP INTO THE FUTURE" from my previous releases, one of which is that this album contains only one song that is 76 minutes long. Other significant factors are the compositional techniques that I employed. Although I am known to compose very complex, progressive music, I did not want to use the same elements found on my previous releases. So, all fresh scales, meters and chords were written specifically for this album. I was very much inspired by advanced compositional techniques such as: Interval Sets, Twelve Tone Serialism, Poly-Meters, Poly-Chords, Quartal and Quintal Harmony to name a few. I was also inspired to have a bunch of very melodic guitar playing with very lyrical themes that at times had a melancholy feel to them. To put it simply, I was imaginatively inspired with what the future may hold. I would also say that "STEP INTO THE FUTURE" is the most dynamic album I have released so far. This album was not written as a showcase for guitar solos, it is composition in the truest and finest sense there is. I really strived for something that captivated my senses with ultra imaginative, highly unique, creative writing”.
Backed once again by the ultra impressive drum work of Marco Minnemann of whom Bellas proudly states, “Marco Minnemann did an incredible job on this album. I sent him some very complex rhythm scores and he plowed right through them recording nothing short of awe inspiring drum performances. I truly consider Marco Minnemann to be one of the best drummers that has ever lived. It was a honour to have a musician of such high calibre contribute to "STEP INTO THE FUTURE"”.
Whilst this maybe perceived as specialist stuff, “STEP INTO THE FUTURE” has enough variation to take the listener on a journey through unchartered musical territories and will reward those bold enough to take on the challenge.
