Cosmic Cathedral – the union of Neal Morse (Transatlantic), Chester Thompson (Genesis), Phil Keaggy (Glass Harp) & Byron House (session player with Robert Plant, Dolly Parton, etc.) – recently announced the release of their debut album, Deep Water, on April 25 via InsideOutMusic.ce the release of their debut album, Deep Water, on April 25 via InsideOutMusic.

With the album’s centerpiece being the 38-minute-long Deep Water Suite, the band are pleased to launch the video for the first part of that epic track. Watch the band perform the Introduction and ‘Launch Out Part One’ below.

How do you make an album that is different to what is usually expected of you? One answer is to work with musicians who also have decades of experience and worldwide recognition, plant a few seeds, then stand back and see what happens. For the Cosmic Cathedral project and their debut album Deep Water, this is exactly what Neal Morse did, joining up with Chester Thompson, Phil Keaggy & Byron House. As Keaggy comments: “It was an honor to be invited and included in the making of the Deep Water project with Neal, Chester and Byron.”

Much of the album was created from jam sessions where Morse’s long-time audio partner Jerry Guidroz put the best parts together, then Morse and the band developed them into songs and epics. “Much of the album, and certainly ‘Time To Fly’, came directly from the jam sessions, where we were spontaneously creating in the room. Even a lot of the lyrics just came out of our mouths! It was amazing!”

What resulted from all this was a more groove-orientated feel, which Morse calls a “prog meets yacht rock meets The Beatles” kind of album, with an unmistakable jazz fusion influence: “These guys are real groovers: even if they’re playing proggy stuff, it has more of a Steely Dan feel to it, but when Phil and I start singing it sounds like The Beatles! In Deep Water, the ‘New Revelation’ section is based on a jam that turned into something that could have been on a Sting album! So there’s a lot of variety here.” Keaggy adds: “The album is a musical feast- full of creative imagination and heartfelt lyrics. In my opinion, this recording is one of the highlights of my musical career!“

And Chester Thompson says, “I am super excited for people to hear this album. There was great communication between all the players. One of my favorite projects I’ve ever been a part of!”

And coming from someone who’s played with Genesis and Frank Zappa, that’s quite a statement!

The album will be available as a Limited CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP & as Digital Album. Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

The Heart Of Life
Time To Fly
I Won’t Make It
Walking In Daylight
Deep Water Suite I: Introduction
Deep Water Suite II: Launch Out, Pt. One
Deep Water Suite III: Fires Of The Sunrise
Deep Water Suite IV: Storm Surface
Deep Water Suite V: Nightmare In Paradise
Deep Water Suite VI: Launch Out, Pt. Two
Deep Water Suite VII: New Revelation
Deep Water Suite VIII: Launch Out, Pt. Three
Deep Water Suite IX: The Door To Heaven

Video for Deep Water Suite II: Launch Out, Pt. One