Lucius Fox new album "Quaternary Panorama"

Fuzzy loves the sticks & strings setup (check out The Swamp's DOS BRUJOS and my Bandcamp comp "Sticks & Strings vol. 1") and Fuzzy loves instrumental (my next comp is 100% instrumental stoner), AND Fuzzy loves a good concept album (I produced CROW & POE), so when LUCIUS FOX sent me their new album "Quaternary Panorama" which is all of these things wrapped up into a mind-blowing instrumental prog metal guitar & drums concept album, what else was my reaction going to be except to say, this album is EPIC!! Have a listen to "Quaternary Panorama" and then I'll break it down:


Right off, this album is non-stop energy. The drums never let up, the riffs always keep it fresh, and even a slower song like "Extinction/Rebirth" is still full of more than enough metal. That's a hallmark of sticks & strings: each instrument has to pull way more than its own weight and it really pays off with this album.

Next thing, there is an incredible flow to this album. (Excuse the pun, since the concept that ties the songs together is glacier flows and timelines.) This plays out like a rock opera, with ebbs and flows and a consistency to the riffs that ties it all together without ever getting repetitive. This album rips it up for nearly an hour without missing a beat.

So technically, when an album is instrumental, you might argue that it's not a concept album since there are no lyrics to tell the story. Fuzzy disagrees with that. The music sets the mood and tells the story with sound, and if you insist on "lyrics" then read along with the copious album notes (and you might just learn something, too). Metal for nerds? Maybe, but I'm a nerd so I dig it. A lot.

Each song is tied to a geologic era focusing on the Great Lakes, from long ago until after humanity's demise. Check out the liner notes on the album page. From the band:

Quaternary Panorama is a 20,000 year timeline of the Great Lakes region; beginning during the final advance of the Laurentide ice sheet and ending just after the extinction of the human race. It spans the formation of the Great Lakes, migration of indigenous peoples to the region, colonialism, anthropogenic climate change, mass extinction and the aftermath. It’s hyper specific to the Great Lakes region and mega nerdy, but it also gets down really hard and we are incredibly proud of it.

Photo taken by: Teresa O'Riley — at The Music Factory.

Lucius Fox is from Kalamazoo, Michigan with members:

• Jeremy Cronk - Guitar
• Paul Joseph Drake Jr. - Drums

MERCH!! Get the artwork and the CD from the Lucius Fox Bandcamp page.

SHOWS!! Next up are a couple of gigs in February; follow the band's Facebook page for dates.