Changeling (Musikprojekt von Tom Fountainhead) freuen sich, das außergewöhnliche Ensemble von Kernmusikern für das mit Spannung erwartete, selbstbetitelte Debütalbum bekannt zu geben. Dieses elektrisierende Projekt unter der Schirmherrschaft des Labels Season Of Mist katapultiert Fountainheads charakteristisches Gitarrenspiel in die Stratosphäre der genreübergreifenden Meisterschaft.
Tom Fountainhead hat eine unglaubliche Karriere als einer der produktivsten Gitarristen des Metal hinter sich. Er hat mit weltweit anerkannten Künstlern und Projekten wie Obscura, Belphegor, Defeated Sanity, Nader Sadek und unzähligen anderen zusammengearbeitet. Mit einer konstanten kreativen Flamme, die in Fountainheads Geist brennt, ist das Changeling-Projekt ein neues Projekt für Tom. „When I first starting writing the material that eventually became Changeling, it was initially conceived as a new band together with my old pal Christian Münzner (Alkaloid, Obscura, Necrophagist, Spawn of Possession)“, merkt Tom an. „At the time, we were both unhappy with being prevented from performing the material that each of us had written and performed for Obscura and it felt only natural to join forces in a new project and to continue where both of us had left off with that specific style of technical death metal. Changeling essentially became an endeavor for Tom & Christian to realize their creative freedom with.“
„Together, we compiled a list of potential musicians to work with and Mike’s name was on top of the list for both of us, not only as one of the very top drummers in the scene, equally at home playing extreme metal as well as fusion or prog, but also because we had already spent time together on tour“, sagt Tom. „Mike Heller (Fear Factory, Malignancy, Raven) was an obvious choice to make. With his unyielding precision and dynamic drumming, he sets an unshakable foundation for Changeling‚s complex soundscapes.“
„I met Tom many years ago when he was playing with my buddies in Defeated Sanity. We knew back then that it was only a matter of time before we would work together on something. Needless to say, I was excited when he gave me a call to see if I’d be interested in helping him get Changeling off the ground. I didn’t hesitate even for a second, and definitely enjoyed the challenge of helping to bring his vision to life. What a bastard of an undertaking, but I can’t wait to see what the world thinks of it!“ – Mike Heller
Christian schloss sich wieder Obscura an – was Tom die Möglichkeit gab, sein eigenes Material in andere und aufregende Gefilde zu bringen. Da Tom und Mike nun ihre Kräfte bündelten, begann die Suche nach einem Sänger. „Continuing on my own also made it possible to finally work with Morean, who was still bandmates with Chris in Alkaloid at that point. Him and I had first met through Nader Sadek, with whom we both played shows around 2016,“ sagt Tom. „Morian is somebody whom I greatly respect and admire and having the opportunity to do an album together was a dream come true. I consider him a friend, an inspiration and my favorite composer & lyricist in the genre, so he really was my one and only choice to be the voice of Changeling.“ Der rätselhafte Morean (Alkaloid, Dark Fortress), der für seine poetische Lyrik und seine fesselnde Stimme bekannt ist, bringt ein tiefgründiges und introspektives Element in die umfangreiche Klangpalette von Changeling ein.
„In the early days of the pandemic, Tom Fountainhead approached me to see if I was interested to supply vocals and lyrics for his new album, which at the time was in its early stages of songwriting. My only possible answer was „yes, of course“! […] We share a wide horizon of influences and interests, so this collaboration was an open door to push each other further and further in ambition and lust for innovation. On Changeling, Tom managed to apply the same uncompromising commitment to originality and virtuosity in his songwriting as he does in his guitar playing […]“ – Morean
Das Projekt Changeling wurde auch für Tom konzipiert, um dort weiterzumachen, wo er mit dem Obscura-Album Akróasis (2016) aufgehört hatte. In Toms Worten: „“[…] it meant that we needed an extremely capable bass player in order to expand on the combination of fretless guitar and bass parts that we originated on that album.“ So kam Arran McSporran (Virvum, Vipassi) ins Spiel. „Initially a bit of a wildcard decision, he was the one person that I didn’t know personally before we started recording, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made“, bemerkt Tom. „Initially a bit of a wildcard decision, he was the one person that I didn’t know personally before we started recording, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.“ bemerkt Tom. So gesellte sich Arran am Fretless-Bass zu dem bestehenden Trio und vervollständigte den Kern dessen, was Changeling werden sollte.
„When Tom asked me to be involved in the project I jumped at the chance because I’m a big fan of his playing. Then when he mentioned Mike, Morean and some of the guests that would also be taking part I was really excited to hear what the culmination of these disparate inflences would sound like – particularly after I first started talking to Tom regarding his concept for the project and we found out that we have many of the same favourite bands, artists and influences, which made me feel right at home! This album has some of the most outrageous bass parts I’ve ever recorded, underneath some of the most outrageous guitar solos I’ve ever heard with some incredible playing by all the people involved. Tom’s a wizard and what an honour it was to play fretless together on this album!“
– Arran McSporran
Changeling werden ihr selbstbetiteltes Debütalbum im Jahr 2025 auf Season Of Mist veröffentlichen. Mit diesen vier Kernmitgliedern und über dreißig Gastbeiträgen, die von den produktivsten Gitarristen des Metals bis hin zu grandiosen Orchestern und Chören reichen, wird das Debüt Changeling die Metalwelt in ihren Grundfesten erschüttern.
Seht euch das Video zu Abyss hier an:
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
FFO: Obscura, Devin Townsend, Ne Obliviscaris
Fountainhead & Changeling online:
Website: http://www.thefountainhead.de
Facebook: http://facebook.com/tomfountainheadgeldschlaeger
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tomfountainhead