Somewhere in the ocean between brute force and frailty, between relentless dissonance and unconditional harmony lies the island, on whose shores the paths of The Burden Remains and The Horns of the Seventh Seal meet.
Out of the depths rises a monstrosity beyond belief, a Leviathan of distortion, set to unite with the hymnal siren song and the apocalyptic thunder that escapes from the abyss of The Horns of the Seventh Seal. Out of the amalgamation of these elements emerges an amorphous behemoth, radiating steadily in black and gold, the contures disappearing, set to light the world in flame.
On «Touchstone», two musical worlds blend almost seamlessly: The fourpiece metal band The Burden Remains, and the 42-piece Ad-hoc-orchestra The Horns of the Seventh Seal, lead by Manfred Jungo - For two years had been working on a 60-minute conceptual album, until it finally came to the stage in September 2016, for two exclusive and never to be repeated-shows.
Post-Metal-like walls of sound without musical limits amalgamate with intricate horn sections and percussion, to form new depth structures. This foundation also forms the sonic grounds for a lyrical parable involving the mythical king Midas, whose fate is being depicted as an allegory for the touchstone of the modern society - The unquestionable and boundless consumption, the unsatiable greed of an unhibited materialistic world, whose longing for purpose remains unanswered.
This monumental encounter had to be captured in appropriate auditory form: The full work got recorded under Christoph Noths’ supervision, and sonically refined by Raphaël Bovey.
The Burden Remains are:
Philippe Aebischer (Guitars and Backing Vocals), Silvan Mangold (Drums)
Tommy Schweizer (Bass and Lead Vocals), Thomas Jenny (Guitars and Backing Vocals)
The Horns of the Seventh Seal are:
Piccolo: Rahel Riedo / Transverse Flute: Carola Schafer, Daniela Zimmerli, Laura Grossrieder, Petra Raemy / Oboe: Lea Beyeler / Bassoon: Barbara Bärtschi, Corinne Gasser, Simon Feyer / Clarinet: Cornelia Riedener, Fabienne Erzer, Julia Imhof, Nicolas Folly, Patrick Schurtenberger, Sandra Kaeser, Vanessa Herren / Bass Clarinet: Cathrine Marro / Alto Saxophone: Fabian Mülhauser, Philipp Spicher / Tenor Saxophone: Christof Waeber, Tamara Riedo / Baritone Saxophone: Michael Spicher / Trumpet: Anne Duchscher, Elmar Ru- daz, Fabrice Neuhaus, Lorenz Schmid, Patrik Waeber / French Horn: Adrian Feyer, Hugo Lehmann, Matthias Grossrieder / Trombone: Edith Paradis, Pascal Feyer, Yves Hayoz / Bass Trombone: Christoph Bigler / Euphonium: Michael Sallin / Tuba: Gabriel Schaller, Kuno Zurkinden, Sandra Gasser / Percussion: Alain Perler, Carole Pauchard, Géraldine Zimmerli, Loic Gilliéron
Music and lyrics written and performed by The Burden Remains
Orchestra compositions written by Manfred Jungo
Orchestra conducted by Manfred Jungo
Orchestra recorded by Christoph Noth at Fri-Son / Fribourg, September 2016
Drums recorded by Christoph Noth at Studio de la Fonderie / Fribourg, September 2016
Guitars, Bass and Vocals recorded at The Burden Remains’ Rehearsal Room / Wünnewil, October and November 2016
Reamping by Christoph Noth, Thomas Jenny and Tommy Schweizer at Studio de la Fonderie / Fribourg, November 2016
Aditionnal overdubs by Christoph Noth, Thomas Jenny, Silvan Mangold and Raphaël Bovey
Mixed and mastered by Raphaël Bovey at MyRoom Studio / Lausanne, December 2016 to April 2017
Cover artwork created by Philipp φπ Aebischer and Thomas Jenny
Graphic design by Adrien Bachmann
Live-photography taken by Alex Annen / Katharact’s Pix