At War With Self: Results

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At War With Self is the project conceived by multi-instrumentalist Glenn Snelwar, best known as one of the guitarists on the Gordian Knot debut which featured members of King Crimson, Cynic, Watchtower and Dream Theater. The debut At War With Self disc, Torn Between Dimensions, featured progressive metal instrumental compositions and Grammy-nominated bassist Michael Manring and Mark Zonder on drums (Fates Warning, Warlord, Slavior). The disc was critically acclaimed and was followed up with the 2007 release, Acts of God. Rather than replicate the debut, Acts of God was a complete re-invention of the project while remaining true to the concept of being progressive. Acts of God saw an entirely new line-up for the project, which was a collaborative effort between bassist Damon Trotta and Snelwar that incorporated new styles and the addition of vocals, and was also received with critical acclaim.

A Familiar Path is the third chapter of At War With Self, which is a return to Snelwar’s roots as a musician that maintains the concept of the project changing for each release. The original concept in which Snelwar combined classical guitars into progressive and thrash metal has been re-visited and fully realized with A Familiar Path. The new incarnation of At War With Self features Manfred Dikkers, who joins Snelwar again from the Acts of God sessions on drums and percussion. The tracks on A Familiar Path are “the heaviest, most aggressive and accurate version of what I’ve had in mind for combining metal and progressive influences with classical guitars” says Snelwar. Instrumental tracks such as a hybrid half-classical, half-metal rendition of a Heitor Villa-Lobos guitar study, the Slayer-meets-King Crimson aggression of Concrete and Poison and Diseased State, a new rendering of Reflections originally featured on the debut Gordian Knot disc and the guitar shred of The Ether Trail, are balanced with the vocally-centered title track and Ourselves. A Familiar Path is accompanied with artwork that completes the emotion and intensity inspired by the 42 minutes on the disc.

A Familiar Path was released November 2009.

See reviews for A Familiar Path »

Acts of God - 2007
Acts of God cover

At War With Self - sounds more like a psychological diagnosis than a band... an appropriate description in the biography for the debut of the project and its first release, Torn Between Dimensions, led by Glenn Snelwar (Gordian Knot), featuring Michael Manring (Michael Hedges, Attention Defecit) and Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, Slavior). The instrumental trio created an amalgam of tight-knit compositions encompassing progressive rock, metal, jazz, ambient and classical stylings, often within the boundaries of each composition. The end result was critically acclaimed and continues to grow a following as word of mouth of the project expands.

For Acts of God, the second release from the At War With Self project, Snelwar has desired to create a set of compositions with the intentions of living up to the label 'progressive' by dramatically changing almost every facet of the project while staying true to the underlying inspiration of the project's inception - to combine disparate styles and create music with no boundaries. No better choice than Damon Trotta as a co-writer and bassist to create what is sure to be as intriguing a release as Torn Between Dimensions. Trotta's background ranges from co-founder of metal acts Non-Fiction and System Addict, to the funk outfit Vehicle and has worked with the likes of Bernie Worell and Isaac Hayes. Prior to that, Snelwar and Trotta were in a progressive hardcore/metal trio together.. Trotta and Snelwar are back to their roots, with some added influences. With Trotta on bass, vocals, synths and programming and Snelwar on guitars, mandolin and synths, the duo is assisted by Sluggo's Goon Music labelmates James vonBuelow (guitars), Steve Decker (drums), Mark Sunshine (vocals), Dave Archer (synths) and Manfred Dikkers (drums) to create some truly stunning, inspired progressive music.

Torn Between Dimensions had a warm, organic feel as the all-instrumental interplay of Snelwar, Manring and Zonder created a complex, but introspective, set of related compositions. For Acts of God, that introspection is turned outward in the form of a cold stare at conflicts and resolutions prompted by recent world events. From the intensity and imagery-invoking 911 and Martyr, to the elated solace present in No Place and Ursa Minor, to the desolation of End in Blue and Refugee, Acts of God has managed to strike a balance of emotions that once again run the gamut from elation and warmth to fear and horror.

Snelwar describes his collaboration with Trotta as the latest incarnation of At War With Self: What's so amazing to me about Acts of God is that the vocals lend themselves perfectly to this set of compositions. To change focus from an all-instrumental project to a set of songs mostly containing vocals has strengthened the idea that At War With Self can successfully morph, live up to its name and push the boundaries from one release to the next. That, together with the heavy intertwining of funk and electronic styles with metal and progressive ideas really make this something unique - add to that the ability to get all of the musicians from the label to contribute tremendously in their own way without limitations on what they do - who all come from different backgrounds with vastly different styles - the project took on a life of it's own, yet stayed true to the original idea of combining disparate styles effectively and with incredible intensity.

Results

A Familiar Path - 2009

Acts of God - 2007

Torn Between Dimensions - 2005

Gordian Knot - 1999

Reflections - 1994