The Album
The Making Of the Album ” Passing Through Gateways”
Having got agreement from all members of the band that they were up for it, it was time to plan the making of the album. The band got together for the first time in 30 years, in a pub of course, and after several beers and lots of reminiscing the course was set.
The songs were chosen, from 22 originals that the band regularly gigged back in the day, and a CD of old live performances was compiled as a basis of learning the tracks again – Thank you Kevin Penberthy.
Rehearsals began in March 2013, a very interesting experience for them all, and 7 months later they were ready for the studio. Studio 11 in Nelson was chosen as was top international recording engineer Andrea Quarin. Ten tracks have been recorded as follows:- “Two way Mirror” / “From the City” / “Buy the Time” / “4 Minute Warning” / “Kickstart” / “High Speed Loser” / “Witch Hunt at Salem” / “No One to Lean On” / “Love a Distance” / “Sea” /.
The album was given the working title of “March” the month in which Rob Rigby was born and the month he was taken from us. This provided the inspiration to work as hard as we could.
All the songs were written between 1977 and 1982 but the band has managed to retain the original spirit and vibe of the NWOBHM whilst incorporating a modern twist, particularly in terms of the production. Those who can remember the way Oxym used to play these songs live will notice a slight reduction in tempo with more control. The band feel that they have still brought out the very best of each song. We hope that you agree.
The band decided not to include new versions of their three previously released songs – “Music Power”, “Mind Key” and “Hot Rain” to enable their other songs to be showcased. However, the first 1000 special edition CD’s will contain a bonus track – “Hot Rain”, the original version specially re-mastered from the “New Electric Warriors” album featuring the voice and lead guitar of Rob.
“Passing Through Gateways” will be released on the 22nd January 2016 and will be available through all the major digital retailers and via this website for the CD version.
The album is available NOW. To buy please checkout our home page for the special limited edition CD and all major on-line retailers to download.
