Forbidden Drama

Last updated

Forbidden Drama
Forbidden drama cover.jpg
Studio album by
Released12 October 2007 (2007-10-12)
Recorded Real Sound & Vision by Victor Panfilov
Genre Progressive rock, art rock, neo-progressive rock
Length67:34
Label A&A Records
Producer byron and A&A Records
Byron chronology
Forbidden Drama
(2007)
A Kind of Alchemy
(2009)

Forbidden Drama is the debut studio album from the alternative/progressive rock band byron. Released on 12 October 2007 in Bucharest, [1] it contains the single Essential Piece. This single charted for a very long while on national radio stations, including City FM [2] and Radio Total. [3] The real hit, however, would turn out to be the second single, "Blow Up My Tears", which would stay at No. 1 in City FM's RomTop for several weeks. "Forbidden Drama" features a wide array of instruments including a string quartet, oboe and esraj. The album was manufactured and distributed by Romanian label A&A Records. [4]

Contents

Music

The album features an eclectic mix of art rock and adult-alternative, with progressive and classical hints. The band themselves acknowledge having been influenced by Queen, Jethro Tull, Peter Gabriel or My Brightest Diamond. Some reviewers noted certain Chris Cornell [5] and Bryan Ferry [6] influences in Dan Byron's vocals, while the music exhibited progressive overtones which drew comparisons with Dream Theater and Genesis. [5]

Concept

Forbidden Drama was conceived as a concept album, with 13 songs structured like a theatre play – with three acts and an epilogue. [7] The lyrics deal with topics of alienation, consumerism, herd behavior, breaking the mold and the freedom of the individual. These themes were in part inspired by the bands' own history, given that their manager was a "corporate type" and their guitar player has a background as a lawyer. [8] The album therefore showcases a transition process, from the corporate, depersonalized life depicted in "Fake Life" to a more artful, carefree existence in "No Man's Land". The title was considered representative, as the modern society "forbids small-scale, personal dramas". [9]

Track listing

Original release
All songs written by Dan Byron except as indicated.
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Fake Life"Dan Byron7:00
2."Forbidden Drama"Dan Byron4:26
3."Crossroads"Dan Byron4:27
4."Watercolor"6fingers3:11
5."Losing Control"Dan Byron5:01
6."The Dawn of a Drunk Bum"Dan Byron5:32
7."Far Away"Dan Byron5:49
8."Annoying Detail"Dan Byron5:27
9."On The Road"Dan Byron5:59
10."Essential Piece"Dan Byron3:48
11."Blow Up My Tears"Dan Byron6:00
12."No Man's Land"Dan Byron5:39
13."Toast Proposal"Dan Byron5:15
Total length:67:34

Personnel

byron
Additional musicians
Production

Related Research Articles

Iris (Romanian band)

Iris is a Romanian rock band established in February 1977 by Ioan 'Nelu' Dumitrescu (drums), Ion 'Nuțu' Olteanu and Emil Lechințeanu. They achieved success, followed by tours throughout Romania and recordings for radio broadcast. At the 2006 MTV Romania Music Awards, Iris won the Best Rock Award and were nominated for Best Band and Best Live Act.

Poi Dog Pondering

Poi Dog Pondering is an American musical group, noted for its cross-pollination of diverse musical genres, including various forms of acoustic and electronic music. Founded in Hawaii in 1984 by Frank Orrall, initially as a solo project. In 1985 Orrall formed the first line-up of PDP to perform its first concert; at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The band then embarked on a yearlong Street Performance Busking tour across North America, eventually settling in Austin, Texas in 1987, where they recorded their first three albums. In 1992, the band relocated, this time to Chicago, Illinois, where they began to incorporate Orchestral arrangements and elements of Electronic, House Music and Soul music into their Acoustic Rock style. The membership of Poi Dog Pondering has evolved from album to album, with Frank Orrall being the constant since the inception.

Timpuri Noi is a Romanian alternative rock band.

<i>First Utterance</i> 1971 studio album by Comus

First Utterance is the debut album of the progressive folk band Comus. It was released in 1971, with the opening song "Diana" being released as a single.

Dincolo de nori Romanian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994

"Dincolo de nori" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Dan Bittman at the Magic Sound Production in Craiova and was released as a CD single in 1994 by Metro Records Romania. "Dincolo de nori" was written by Antonio Furtuna and Bittman and produced solely by Furtuna, featuring a bass guitar, harmonica and keyboards in its instrumentation.

Elliot Minor English rock band

Elliot Minor are an English rock band from York, England. The band currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Alex Davies, vocalist and guitarist Ed Minton, drummer Dan Hetherton, bassist Ed Hetherton and keyboardist Ali Paul. The band had a string of Top 40 singles in the UK chart, including "Jessica", "The White One Is Evil", "Still Figuring Out" alongside their biggest hit "Parallel Worlds". In 2010, the band entered an indefinite hiatus which lasted until 2014 when they played some reunion shows and released a new single before returning to their hiatus.

<i>Harbour of Tears</i> 1996 studio album by Camel

Harbour of Tears is a studio concept album by English progressive rock band Camel. It tells the story of an Irish family who are painfully separated as their young ones depart to the United States to seek a better future. Released in 1996, it was their twelfth studio album.

byron (band)

byron is an alternative rock band formed in 2006 in Bucharest, Romania. Dan Byron, former guest of Agathodaimon and ex-member of Urma and Kumm, initially wanted to start a solo project, but it soon developed into an actual band. Their music is hard to define; it would best be described as art-rock / adult-alternative with a lot of influences from different musical areas, mostly blues, progressive rock and jazz. All lyrics are written in English and touch aspects of modern man’s condition.

<i>One Shot Deal</i> 2008 live album by Frank Zappa

One Shot Deal is an album by Frank Zappa, posthumously released in June 2008.

<i>Lifeline</i> (Neal Morse album) 2008 studio album by Neal Morse

Lifeline is the seventh studio album by Neal Morse. The album features performances from Mike Portnoy on drums and Randy George (Ajalon) on bass, as well as special guest appearances including Paul Bielatowicz on guitar and Paul Gilbert, who features on a bonus cut. Live drummer Collin Leijenaar plays on the bonus track "Set the Kingdom".

<i>Ten-Sei</i> 2005 studio album by Miyuki Nakajima

Ten-Sei (転生) is the 33rd studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in November 2005.

The Irrepressibles is the creative guise of British musician Jamie Irrepressible.

<i>Cheat the Gallows</i> 2008 studio album by Bigelf

Cheat the Gallows is the third studio album by American progressive rock/progressive metal band Bigelf.

Kumm (band)

Kumm is a Romanian alternative rock band formed in Cluj in 1997.

<i>Croonin</i> 1993 studio album by Anne Murray

Croonin' is a studio album by Canadian country vocalist Anne Murray. It was released by EMI Music Canada and SBK Records on November 2, 1993. The album peaked at number 1 on the RPM Country Albums chart. Heartland Records put out a Croonin' album with two bonus tracks, and Murray sings Perry Como's hit "Round and Round" and Dean Martin's hit "Memories Are Made of This."

Kauan is an atmospheric doom metal/post-rock band from Chelyabinsk, Russia formed in 2005.

<i>A Kind of Alchemy</i> 2009 studio album by byron

A Kind of Alchemy is the second studio album from the alternative/progressive rock band byron. Released on 23 October 2009 at The Silver Church Club in Bucharest. It contains two singles, "Diggin' a Hole" and "King Of Clowns".

Bosquito

Bosquito is a Romanian rock band formed in Brașov in the year 1999. The group's current line-up consists of vocalist/guitarist Radu Almășan, drummer Dorin Țapu, guitarist Ciprian Pascal, bassist Mircea “Burete” Preda. The band is well known for infusing their songs with diverse influences, including Gypsy music, Latin, balkan, punk, and elements of symphonic music. The group has released 5 albums to date with several top-charting singles including "Pepita", "Marcela", "Bosquito", "Hopa Hopa", and the ballad "Două Mâini", which reached #1 in the Romanian Top 100 and remains one of the most celebrated love songs in Romanian music. In 2005, the band entered a hiatus on the Romanian market while relocating to the United States; the original line-up disbanded shortly thereafter. In 2011 Radu Almășan made a comeback as Bosquito with a brand-new lineup launching their first single in 6 years: "Când Îngerii Pleacă", and releasing a new album, Babylon in 2014.

<i>30 Seconds of Fame</i> 2013 studio album by byron

30 Seconds of Fame is the fourth studio album from the alternative/progressive rock band byron. Released on 16 March 2013 at Palatul Naţional al Copiilor in Bucharest. It's the first bilingual album in band's discography - there is a Romanian version called 30 de secunde de faimă.

Pasărea Rock

Pasărea Rock is a Romanian rock supergroup formed in February 2014, in Bucharest, Romania by three former members of the legendary band Transsylvania Phoenix: Mircea Baniciu, Josef Kappl (bass), and Ovidiu Lipan (drums). The first line-up included another Transsylvania Phoenix member — Cristi Gram on lead guitar — along with Vlady Cnejevici on keyboards and Teo Boar on guitar. Later, they were replaced by Sorin Voinea (keyboards) and Nicu Patoi.

References

  1. ""Forbidden Drama" cu trupa Byron". Adevarul.ro (6 October 2007). Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  2. "Artisti si trupe: byron".
  3. "byron reviews, music, news". sputnikmusic. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  4. "A&A Records: muzica, artisti, vedete, stiri". Alma.ro. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Byron vs Eminescu | Dilema Veche". Dilemaveche.ro. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  6. "BYRON Forbidden Drama music review by Nightfly". Progarchives.com. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  7. "Forbidden Drama on ProgArchives".
  8. Lu Cozma (31 March 2009). "Interview with Dan Byron" . Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  9. "byron". revistasunete.ro. Retrieved 22 October 2011.