Melodic Metal - Progressing the Style of Heavy Metal Music

Liquid Tension Experiment - Biaxident

By Ryan Silke (ryansilke@hotmail.com)

 

            Progressive music is defined in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as ‘…a development of UK pop music that began in 1967…predicated on an achieved maturity of UK rock, divorced from American precursors, an ideology of free expression and a complementary striving for legimitation often founded on the appropriation of classical referents’. It is a genre that began with bands like The Beatles that changed the world’s view of music. Indeed the world was changing, and in fact the one everlasting definition of progressive is that of change. These days, the term progressive is viewed more as a methodology than a style of music. To be labeled as progressive, a musician has to explore new realms of their musical abilities and not be afraid of being experimental.

 

Various elements of progressive rock/metal can include: the blending of acoustic and electronic instruments; lengthy songs; multi-movement songs; elaborate instrumental sections or solos that are rarely improvised; the use of odd time signatures or unorthodox approaches to common time signatures; and a connection to classical European music.

 

The piece of music to be analyzed in this project is the song Biaxident, by a super group band known as Liquid Tension Experiment. The song is 7:41 minutes duration and was included on their self-titled 2nd released CD under the label Magna Carta Music Ltd. in 1999. The term ‘super group’ comes from the practice of uniting musicians to create a brainstorm of music. These groups consist of solo artists or members of prominent bands, and are formed at leisure as part of a collective interest among music colleagues to push their creativity and amalgamate new musical ideas. In the world of progressive music, the ideas of super groups have been very popular in the last 5-10 years. Imagine yourself as a fan of four to five different bands and finding out that a member from each was to form a super group. Wouldn’t that be exciting?

 

This was the case in 1997 when it was announced that drummer Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, a progressive metal band from New York, was spearheading a virtuoso musical project. ‘The project actually came together when Magna Carta approached me about the possibility of putting together a "Super Group" of my choice and I gave them a big wish list of all the people that I wanted to work with. Over the course of a year or so this was the lineup that ended up solidifying itself’’. The line-up he refers to came down to the following four musicians, each with a great musical resume behind them.

 

John Petrucci, also with Dream Theater, was chosen by Mike Portnoy to be guitarist (chordophone/electrophone). Mike and John had been friends since high school years. Attending the Berklee School of Music in Boston, the two formed a band with bass guitarist John Myung, keyboardist Kevin Moore, and vocalist Chris Collins called Majesty in 1986. The following year they were forced to change the name of this band when a Las Vegas group threatened legal action claiming they had adopted that name first. Names were considered and discarded, until Mike's father, Howard Portnoy, suggested they use the name Dream Theater, the name of cinema in California. So began the career of the heavy metal band that, to 1997, had successfully adopted status in the progressive music scene of the world through the production of 5 diverse albums and millions of copies sold.

 

Mike Portnoy wanted to keep his super group band separate from Dream Theater, but he was made to decide that the ultimate guitarist was the one who had been to the left of his drum set for 11 years. ‘Now to be honest…’ Mike wrote, ‘…the thought obviously crossed my mind….but my instincts (Ego) told me to try and keep this project completely separate from DT and all to myself’.

 

The keyboardist (keyboard-electrophone) for the super group became Jordan Rudess, a renown rock keyboardist who trained at Julliard in New York. Jordan entered this very prestigious school of music at the age of nine. Primarily a solo artist, his music career has been very interesting. Adopting the use of the popular synthesizer in the late 1980’s, he was quick to fall into the rock ‘n roll crowd of the American music industry. He has played with Vinnie Moore, Steve Morse, and was also a member of The Dixie Dregs for a short time. Jordan’s talent in his field of instruments even made him a candidate as a keyboardist replacement for Dream Theater in 1995, but it was Jordan’s choice to go a separate direction and join The Dregs. When Mike Portnoy asked him to join up for his project, Jordan did not turn the opportunity down.

 

Last on our list of musicians to form the super group Liquid Tension Experiment was bass guitarist (chordophone/electrophone) Tony Levin. Also a very prominent artist of his respective instrument, Tony played with King Crimson for a number of years. His career spans more than 3 decades and is easily identified as a ‘legend’ by many of his fans.

 

The new group called themselves Liquid Tension Experiment. The name was thought up halfway through the creation of their first 1997 album. ‘…that just seemed to sum it all up because it was liquid in the sense that everything flowed so smoothly but it was tension because it was a very tense, stressful process to write and record this thing in such a short period of time’. The first all instrumental album, produced in the course of one week, hit the music stores in 1998 and was an instant success. Among the groups selling features was their ability to create melodic, emotional, and heavy music without the use of vocals; their instruments provided all the transmission power that was needed. It was almost as if music had moved beyond a point where we needed to hear voice to validate what we were listening to. All melodies were carried by keyboard or guitar riffs. The music also had a little something for everybody. Certain songs were heavy and fast; ideal for the hang-banging heavy metal fans or the fans of the pop-metal scene. There were also slower atmospheric songs, and one song in particular that was a guitar and piano duo straight from a classical standpoint. It was also extremely technical and demanding of talent. This was the Dream Theater aspect of the compositions.

 

Their second album, Liquid Tension Experiment 2, was even more successful than their first release. The track ‘Biaxident’, which will be analyzed, is included on this CD. It was chosen because is seems to sum up two things: the style of music of Liquid Tension Experiment, and the creativity, technique, and diversity of progressive metal. Typical with most of the compositions, the name of the track has no real meaning. At the end of production, or during recording, the group would sit down and think of titles and match them to songs. In the case of Biaxident, Petrucci had gone to the hospital suffering from extreme headaches (typical with the creation of a heavy metal CD). The medicine prescribed to him was named ‘Biaxin’, and so the name of the song was inspired!

 

The song can be split into four parts and each will be described separately. Even the first section contains several different styles to it. The opening piece of this track (the first 20 seconds) is a lively classical piano progression starting in E major in simple time. Jordan Rudess does not use an acoustic piano at all in this album, but the use of his Kurzweil K2500 keyboard’s grand piano patch provided a very accurate sonic re-creation. The use of the keyboard has always been an important attribute to progressive music because of the atmospheric capabilities a musician can create. While Rudess mainly uses his piano patch in this song, we also hear some electric organ effects in later parts, along with a string-voice combination patch nearing the end. It is typical that most metal bands use two guitars in their compositions so that lead guitar can do a solo section while the rhythm guitar keeps the beat moving. Keyboards help to create this melodic balance that is lost with only one guitar in use.

 

The rest of the band enters in a powerful clash of instruments at the 20 second mark, but the melody changes to a D Major progression. Fans of the band have identified that the main theme or melody of the song is based around one of the songs of the video game Final Fantasy VII – Aeris Theme. Indeed there is a striking similarity between the two and it is believed that Biaxident was slightly influenced by that track. Of course it is not uncommon for musicians to have influences, but there is always the effort to not totally ‘rip-off’ other artists. A fan of the progressive rock and metal scene, along with other genres, can detect a hint of many influences in this song. More of these will be brought up as they appear.

 

At the mark of 45 seconds, the guitar goes from a distorted, crunchy style of rhythm to an acoustic rendition of the main melody. The guitar melody is very static and does not take on an ornamented role. This section is heterophonic as the keyboard plays a variation of the same melody as rhythmic support. At mark 53 seconds, the bass guitar comes in to provide some added texture and ornamentation to this section. Through the use of vibrato and sliding techniques, bassist Tony Levin helps to add to the mystic quality of this slow paced section of the song. Levin does not use an ordinary bass guitar. Referred to as a fretless bass, because it lacks the markings on the fretboard to indicate what note can be played where, the instrument allows for a smoother, mellower style of legato playing. The overall mood of Biaxident ‘begged for some fretless’as Levin puts it.

 

Progressive metal is known for its strange time changes. This aspect of their music helps to add to the creativity that is often lacking in popular music. Biaxident has this quality in several sections. Starting at about 1:07, the beat changes from a 4/4 beat to an additive meter of 7/8 by combining a 4/8 and 3/8 meter together. The percussion helps to count these beats. The 7/8 meter is repeated three times, then ends with a 4/4 meter, then repeats three more times, then again ends in 4/4. Additive meters are not commonly used in most western music, but progressive metal and rock has been known to explore this field of rhythm. The percussion’s ride cymbals helps to keep track of the beats. The song is primarily polyphonic from this point on with all instruments collaborating together to form the texture of the composition.

 

The repeated melody at 1:26 is an example of keyboard overdubbing. The keyboard grand piano patch plays the main melody in an E Major progression, but in the background we can hear a very quiet strings arrangements providing added harmony.

 

The strong snare drum escalation starting at 1:45 is a good indication of the change of mood about to take place. The temp increases as the song starts to ‘rock out’ or riff in an unusual pattern of beats. The first two measures are common time (4/4), but the last measure ends in 5/8. The section is repeated once more but instead ends in 7/8. This is an extremely odd section of the song and helps to paint a picture of the kind of compositions that this band can create. The next section is in 3/4 rhythm with a guitar solo that has nice dynamics to it. The melodies of this song are very lyrical even though to lyrics are present. Jordan Rudess takes on a Dixie Dregs sonic style with a 6/4 compound section at 2:16. These segments, ala 1970’s Genesis or Kansas, play for a time, then the mode switches back to the earliest styles of the song.

 

The first section repeats itself in an ostinato pattern until it grabs a very jazzy/latin style at 3:38, which marks the second section to the four-section song. The band admits to having caught a ‘kind of Latin musical bug…’ during the writing sessions of Liquid Tension Experiment 2 and this is very evident during the next minute or so of music. I won’t analysis this section too much, except that there are two parts, a guitar solo and a piano solo. The meter is 3/4 or 6/4, depending on how you look at it. Spread throughout are strange little meters that I have trouble transcribing. Overall this is a very neat section of the track and is one of my favorite Liquid Tension Experiment moments.

 

The style of the first part of the song repeats during the third section. It looses its faster tempo for a short time after the latin section but picks up again with the re-introduction of the main melody. John Petrucci does some fantastic solo work with his guitar working around the main theme of the piece, and then the song ends on a fast paced ride through voiced keyboards, riffing guitar work, and speedy percussion. This is the fourth and last section. The end is very Queenryche, or Yes sounding if the reader is familiar with these old progressive bands.

 

To sum up Biaxident: Many musical styles are presented in this song, from an evocative classical mood, to a rock n’ roll groove, and to a jazzy latin vibe. There is so much variety in the song that it is difficult to form a firm definition. While several recurring themes are evident, this piece is primarily atonal in the harmonic composition. The use of four different instruments makes it largely polyphonic in texture, and also very ornamental in form and timbre. Unusual rhythms and time signatures make the piece interesting and complex, while at the same time melody creates a very emotional composition.

 

Now I shall write a little about the fans of progressive music. The genre has begun to delve into a mainstream world of promotion and glamour in the past few years, but very few Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, or Pain of Salvation songs have managed to become hits on North American music networks (thankfully). Often the music lacks a certain selling feature that is otherwise so easily packaged by major pop labels. Progressive metal is too complex, too long, and even too irritating for society’s youth. ‘Radio friendly’ is not a term to be used when defining these types of compositions.

 

I have come to observe certain traits in fans through participation in Internet chat forums and other fan interaction websites. Typically, a fan of progressive music appreciates music that is emotional, technical, well composed, has thought provoking lyrics, and is imaginative. Often the music is deeply layered both in composition and in the story that is told, so, a degree of involved concentration is required to fully grasp the ideals of the piece. Fans are usually musicians themselves, and they explore the genre of progressive music because the complexity of the songs compels them to achieve equal ability. An amount of intelligence is therefore also required in order to fully appreciate the musical styles.

 

In a world where music is shoved down our throats by mass media promotion, the progressive genre has provided countless fans of 80’s and early 90’s rock and metal to progress towards an enlightened period. The music, as represented by Liquid Tension Experiment’s Biaxident, is a nice escape from the monotonous stream of pop music frequented daily on our radios and television screens. The creation of this super group in 1997 was done as a fun project and idolizes the idea that music should be quirky and full of creative prowess. Interestingly, the group was disbanded in 1999 when Jordan Rudess became a full time member of Dream Theater, establishing that 3/4 of the LTE lineup was now 3/5 the membership of DT. Keeping LTE in action would have been both redundant, and counterproductive to the schedule of the busy Dream Theater crew.

 

 References:

 

London: MacMillan Publishers Ltd, 2001.