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CD/DVD Releases: Finn Arild's ''Testament''

Posted on Thursday, March 03 @ 23:00:00 UTC by nightowl

Although it was released this past December, Testament, we'd like to share Two Side Moon's announcement about the release.

Musician, songwriter and producer Finn Arild is a highly talented multi-instrumentalist with a passion for a wide range of musical styles and the skills and experience to put them to life.

Finn Arild was born a summer morning in February in Takapuna, New Zealand. Soon after, his family moved back to Norway where he grew up with his elder sibling's music of the 70s, but also with his father's love for classical music. When Finn Arild was six he learned to play the guitar and had four years of classical training from [when] he was seven years old. In that same period he learned to play the living room organ and it wasn’t long before he did a very decent version of Bach's "Toccata" and "Fugue." Twelve years old he had already written several songs and classical pieces and soon met other friends with music interests.

Through the early years he played with several local bands, and in one of these he met his good friend and keyboard virtuoso Reidar Wiik. They soon found out they had the same experimental minds and started writing and recording music with whatever was at hand. Utilizing two cassette players to record and overdub themselves, they achieved some quite skilled recordings with little equipment. Many years of songwriting, producing and studiowork followed as the equipment and experience improved. When their life went in different directions, Finn Arild decide to create his well received first solo album Serendipity. Inspired by the successes of his first album Finn Arild pulled out all the stops for his second solo project Testament.

His writing covers many styles, from classical via folk, jazz, pop and rock to hardcore progressive -- which his debut album Serendipitybears a proud mark of. Prime influences are progressive rock bands like Genesis, Yes, Marillion and Transatlantic which are more prominent on his latest album Testament. The lyrics are often about social, environmental or political issues and not seldom with a humorous, satirical touch.

Finn Arild sings, plays acoustic, classical and electric guitars, bass guitar and keyboards. He also produces, orchestrates, programs and mixes the music. In all his work the trademark is high quality, catchy and melodic music with deeper layers unraveling every time you re-listen.

He lives in Oslo, Norway with his wife and two cats.

Norwegian multi-instrumentalist and composer Finn Arild takes a big bite on his second album. This time it is nothing less than an epic progressive rock concept album telling the creation of the universe, life and - almost everything. The answer is not 42, but over 60 minutes of non-stop listening experience - no pauses included.

After finishing his art-rock debut album Serendipity, Finn Arild wanted to create something that would really honour his progressive rock roots. The album, which has taken five years to perfect, covers the modern story of the creation of the universe starting with the Big Bang, the creation of stars and planets, the emergence of life on planet earth - and the human race - discussing the mark we put on the world.

Testament features the seasoned Stockholm based drummer Mikael Wikman who recorded all the tracks in his Stockholm drum studio in online cooperation with Finn Arild. Also featured is his old friend Reidar Wiik doing some excellent piano work and tasteful background vocals of Finn Arilds wife Elin. Testament is thoughtfully written, elaborately produced and skillfully mixed by Finn Arild in his Oslo based home studio.

"An incredible start to the prog-year of 2011" says Scream Magazine. "On Testament, Finn Arild is truly revealed as a prog-artist where inspirations from Genesis a-la Wind And Wuthering, Eloy and Pendragon comes to mind when I listen to this beautiful album."

The Band:

Finn Arild Aasheim - lead vocals, classical, acoustic, eletric guitar, guitar synth, e-bow, bass, keyboards, background vocals
Reidar Wiik - piano (3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12)
Elin Helene Aasheim - background vocals
Mikael Wikman - drums

Tracklisting:

1- Genesis 16:43
2- Water 3:57
3- All Right 3:40
4- Inside 3:54
5- Alive 3:45
6- Intermission 1:51
7- Ride 4:35
8- Carnival 5:06
9- Excess 4:56
10- Robin 5:19
11- Liasons 3:04
12- Nemesis 8:06

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[Source: TSM Productions]

Posted in Album Release News