Projected, the band featuring Sevendust members John Connolly (guitar) and Vince Hornsby (bass) alongside Alter Bridge/Creed drummer Scott Phillips and guitarist/vocalist Eric Friedman (a.k.a. E-Rock; Tremonti), will release its third studio album, “Hypoxia”, on June 24 via Rat Pak Records. The 13-track follow-up to 2017’s “Ignite My Insanity” was tracked at Studio Barbarosa in Gotha, Florida with producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette, who has previously worked with Sevendust, Alter Bridge and Slash, among others
The official music video for the ‘Hypoxia’ title track can be seen below.
Connolly explains: “We wanted a performance video, but we wanted to strip it down literally to just the band and the song with atmosphere. It was cool to just jam without worrying about anything else.”
Regarding the “Hypoxia” LP, Connolly previously said: “To me, personally, it feels like the most cohesive work we’ve done especially considering it’s the first time we all went in the studio together. That in itself had a huge impact on the songwriting process. And it’s taken some time to finally get released but it feels like we’ve matured quite a bit as a band.”
“Hypoxia” shows a band building on its established foundation while incorporating new and exciting elements. Following the brooding album intro ‘Consequences’, listeners are then greeted to the crushing guitar riffs of Connolly to open the galloping track “Dead Weight”, setting the stage for the rest of the album’s journey.
Projected shows great range on its latest offering, establishing hooky and singable moments in songs like ‘Stain’, ‘Take Aim’ and ‘Scars’ while expertly crafting classic nu-metal styles in ‘The Thing That’s Real’ and ‘Hypoxia’. Songs like ‘Dark’ and ‘Death Is Mostly Permanent’ showcase the band’s ability to slow things down while still keeping a foot-stomping pulse.
“Hypoxia” track listing:
- Consequences
- Dead Weight
- The Thing That’s Real
- Stain
- Take Aim
- Hypoxia
- Without You
- Scars
- My Addiction
- Test
- Dark
- Death Is Mostly Permanent
“Ignite My Insanity” was a two-disc collection featuring 21 tracks. Alter Bridge/Tremonti’s songwriter Mark Tremonti co-wrote ‘Rectify’ and ‘Call Me The Devil’ and Sevendust’s Morgan Rose co-wrote ‘Concede’ with Projected.
In a 2017 interview with Shockwave Magazine, Connolly stated about Projected: “With Projected, its something that has given me a ton of opportunity, whereas in Sevendust we all know our parts. If I’m having a bad day in Sevendust, I need to remember that I’m only 20% of the puzzle and when the other guys are on, they can pick me up. The freedom and creativity is endless with Projected, and it has certainly brought me to somewhere where I’m not used to, but it’s so much fun, and these guys are so easy to work with.”
Asked if he has had any formal training as a lead vocalist, Connolly said: “Honestly, no. My training is basically the 20 years with Sevendust and everything I do is the wrong way. Other vocalists probably cringe when they hear the way I do it. I do hope that one day I can take some time and have someone give me direction and training, though. It’s funny, I can wake up and sing a half a song one day, not feel it, then the next day a song. Then some days, I’m on, I just keep going and blow my voice out. My friends will ask, ‘John, are you all right?’, and I’m fine, but I’m just pushing it to the limit. Then I’ll have to stop for a few days and then everything is all right again.
Video for ‘Hypoxia’
