Liquid tension experiment

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Liquid tension experiment
Liquid Tension Experiment at Nearfest 2008
Liquid Tension Experiment at Nearfest 2008
General information
Genre (s) Progressive rock , progressive metal
founding 1997, 2008
resolution 1999
Website http://www.yesiknow.net/lte/
Current occupation
Jordan Rudess
John Petrucci
Mike Portnoy
Tony Levin

Liquid Tension Experiment is a musical project from the field of progressive rock , which was launched in 1997 by Mike Portnoy , the drummer of Dream Theater at the time . Other members were bassist Tony Levin (including King Crimson , Peter Gabriel ), guitarist John Petrucci (also Dream Theater) and keyboardist Jordan Rudess (with Dream Theater since 1999).

history

First phase (1998/1999)

The project's first album, Liquid Tension Experiment , was recorded in just six days in 1998. The debut contains eight composed pieces as well as a 30-minute jam session called Three Minute Warning . After the release, a concert was given on January 31, 1999 at the NAMM .

The second album, Liquid Tension Experiment 2 , was largely recorded between October 11th and November 29th, 1998. It contains eight pieces that last between four and a half and just under 17 minutes, three of which are improvised. The almost 17-minute main piece 'When the Water Breaks' is named because John Petrucci's wife gave birth to their daughter Kiara during the recording work. It also contains some elements that point to the event: At the beginning a (children's) music box can be heard and Petrucci imitates baby sounds with his guitar several times during the piece. Due to the birth, some guitar tracks could only be recorded in 1999, a few months after the main recordings.

Keyboardist Jordan Rudess Portnoy and Petrucci's main band Dream Theater joined the group after the first LTE album was recorded , where he succeeded Derek Sherinian . Since three of the four LTE members were now active at Dream Theater, it was agreed that there would be no new LTE albums until further notice. Mike Portnoy also claims to have been betrayed by the record label Magna Carta, where Liquid Tension Experiment had released their two albums, which is why he does not want to work with Magna Carta again.

Second phase (since 2007)

In early 2007 there was a meeting between Tony Levin and the other LTE members. A continuation of the project in 2008 was no longer ruled out by the members.

On October 26, 2007, an album called Spontaneous Combustion was released under the name Liquid Trio Experiment . It contains recordings that were made while working on the second Liquid Tension Experiment album, at the time when Petrucci's second daughter Kiara was born and he was with his wife in the hospital. During this time, the musicians Levin, Rudess and Portnoy recorded a few spontaneous jams , as they did not want to let the booked studio time pass by unused.

To mark the tenth anniversary of this collaboration, the four musicians performed in the USA, including at the NEARfest in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) . In 2009 the live album Liquid Trio Experiment 2: When the Keyboard Breaks - Live in Chicago was released . The title of the album is a reference to When the Water Breaks from 1999 and refers to problems with Rudess' keyboard around the middle of the performance in Park West, which caused the musicians to swap instruments and the rest of the music To improvise the performance completely . Only this improvised part is completely contained on the album. Charlie Benante from the metal band Anthrax acted as a (spontaneous) guest musician .

Discography

  • 1998: Liquid Tension Experiment
  • 1999: Liquid Tension Experiment 2
  • 2007: Liquid Trio Experiment: Spontaneous Combustion
  • 2009: Liquid Trio Experiment 2: When the Keyboard Breaks - Live in Chicago
  • 2009: Liquid Tension Experiment: Live in LA
  • 2009: Liquid Tension Experiment: Live in NYC
  • 2009: LTE Live 2008 (box with all live recordings)

Videos

  • Mike Portnoy's Liquid Drum Theater