Changeling Usher in New Progressive Era for Death Metal on Debut Album
Latest Brainchild from Fretless Guitar Virtuoso Tom Fountainhead (ex-Obscura, Defeated Sanity, Belphegor, Nader Sadek)
Chatting Live with Fans on YouTube + Reddit
Featuring members of Trans-siberian Orchestra, King Diamond, Cynic, Fear Factory, Alkaloid, Ne Obliviscaris, Virvum + more
“The album boasts more ideas and greater creativity than many bands manage across a career” – Wonderbox Metal
Fretless guitar virtuoso Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschläger is known for his work in Obscura’s Akróasis era, his live work with Defeated Sanity, Belphegor, Nader Sadek and many others. Now, he’s continuing to bend progressive death metal under his blistering fretwork as Changeling. His latest brainchild is both an homage to the genre’s biggest innovators and an expansive vision of its future.
“…it’s putting the genre on notice”, Metal Epidemic writes in a 4.5/5 review. “There’s not one second on Changeling‘s sixty-minute runtime that’s not highly intriguing or infectious”.
Power Metalcommends Changeling for balancing “on the knife edge between playful genius and brute madness”.
Changeling comes out tomorrow, Friday, April 25 but you can hear all 10 eye-opening songs today by listening to the full album stream on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
Tom Fountainhead will join the live stream today at noon Eastern Time to chat with fans.
Pre-order & Pre-save
Tom is also hosting an AMA tomorrow, Friday, April 25 on r/TechnicalDeathMetal at 11 am Eastern Time.
Changeling fuses the heaviness of technical death metal with classical, jazz and world music. Along with plenty of Tom’s signature mind-bending fretless guitar solos, the album features fretless bass, synths, oud, microtonal arrangements, a choir and more than 50 guest musicians, including current and former members of Fear Factory, Alkaloid, Virvum, Subway to Sally, Trans-siberian Orchestra, King Diamond, Ne Obliviscaris and Cynic.
Lead single “Abyss” carves colossal riffs from quarter-tone modulations. The whirling arpeggios of “Falling in Circles” call back to Tom’s performance on “Akróasis” while the title track ventures into oriental percussion and microtonal synths. Together, the songs on Changeling unfold like a psychedelic experience, moving from disorientation to dissolution and finally, realization.
Tom composed Changeling with spatial audio specifically in mind. The Dolby Atmos version of the album hits streaming services May 23.
Changelingblends progressive metal, death metal, jazz-fusion, world music and complex orchestration into an hour-long submersion into the subconscious. Players from around the world can follow Tom Fountainhead’s lead with a new series of Changeling transcription books. Tom wrote the approx. 500 page guitar transcription book himself, while core bandmate Arran McSporran transcribed the 75 page edition for bass.
Both the guitar and bass transcription books will come out alongside the album on April 25th. The massive complete transcription book – which includes guitar, bass, drums (transcribed by Fenix Gayed), orchestral arrangements, vocals, lyrics and detailed liner notes from Tom – will come out on May 23rd, the same day as the Dolby Atmos mix of Changeling.
Each transcription book will be available both as a physical book and digitally through Guitar Pro or as a PDF. All physical copies will be personally signed and include a free download of the digital version.
Pre-order: https://changelingmerch.bigcartel.com/
Country: Germany
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
FFO: Obscura, Steve Vai, Devin Townsend, Morbid Angel
Fountainhead, the musical alter-ego of Berlin-based musician Tom Geldschläger, is a celebrated figure across diverse music landscapes. Known for his expansive involvement in the music industry, Tom has contributed to over a hundred releases in capacities ranging from guitarist to orchestrator, producer to mixing/mastering engineer, and occasionally even as an oud-player. He has worked with globally recognized artists such as Obscura, Belphegor, Marco Minnemann, Defeated Sanity, Amogh Symphony, Hannes Grossmann, Voodoogods, Christian Münzner, Nader Sadek and more. Featured in numerous international music magazines, authored several books of non-fiction and musical notation, Tom has also been instrumental in integrating the fretless guitar into extreme metal genres.
Acclaimed as a “modern-day guitar legend,” Tom’s signature playing style and adventurous genre-defying compositions highlight his fearless approach to music. His endorsements include prestigious brands like Aristides Guitars, Elixir Strings, and Bare Knuckle Pickups. Additionally, Tom is a sought-after clinician and speaker, focusing on creativity, music production, and musician’s mental health, as well as being at the forefront of spatial audio and 360-degree audio production.
In a significant development in early 2024, Fountainhead, now branded under the name CHANGELING for his new project and album, signed with the label Season of Mist. This venture marks a new chapter in Tom’s career, amplifying his visionary approach to music. Accompanied by an all-star band featuring members from Fear Factory, Alkaloid, and Virvum, the project CHANGELING showcases a 60-minute concept album that takes all aspects of Tom’s artistry to new heights.
The album, sharing its name with the project, blends progressive metal, death metal, jazz/fusion, and world music, enriched with complex orchestrations by a 50-piece ensemble of guest musicians. It includes the eagerly anticipated “Part 2” to his renowned composition “Weltseele,” an orchestral metal epic from Obscura’s billboard-chart-entering “Akroasis” album, which broadly introduced Fountainhead to the metal community in 2016.Core Lineup:
Tom Fountainhead (ex-Obscura, Amogh Symphony, Belphegor, Defeated Sanity) – Fretted & fretless electric & acoustic guitars, oud, keyboards, composition and arrangements.
Mike Heller (ex-Fear Factory, Malignancy, Raven) – Drums.
Arran McSporran (Vipassi, Virvum) – Fretless bass.
Morean (Alkaloid, Dark Fortress) – Lead vocals & lyrics.
Guest Musicians:
Bill Hudson (Trans-siberian Orchestra, Doro, I am Morbid) – Guest guitar solo
Jason Gobel (ex-Cynic, ex-Monstrosity)- Guest guitar solo
Andy Laroque (ex-Death, King Diamond) – Guest guitar solo
Yatziv Caspi (ex-Orphaned Land) – Tabla, hangdrum, dabouka, riq & shakers
Ally Storch (Subway To Sally)- Violins, viola & cello
James Dorton (The Faceless, NeObliviscaris, Black Crown Initate) – Spoken words
Alexander Kerski (Vianova)- Backing & harmony vocals
Matthias Alexander Preisinger – Piano and glockenspiel, violins & viola
Martin Matiasovic – Horns & Wagnerian Tube
Jan Ferdinand – Vibraphone & marimba
Chris Rützel – Flutes
Ivar Ludvig Nitzler – Cello
Shiho Murano – Tuba
Juliane Erding – Wagnerian tube & horn
Eduard Cortez – Wagnerian tube & horn
Tillmann Schulz – Wagnerian tube & horn
Ava Bonam – Female vocals
Moran Magal – Piano
Cydney McQuillan-Grace, Lauren Gill, Shannon Bedford, Sara Robalo; Tenor and Bari – Ben Francis, John Schaffer, Alice Williams, Cyd McQuillan-Grace; Alto – Lauren Gill, Sara Robalo; Tenor and Bass – James Schouten & John Schaffer – Choir vocals
Krassimir Jossifov – Trumpet
Brandt Attema – Trombones & bass trombones
Kristian Petkov – Bassoon
Stefan Prost – Church organ
Seonghyeon Park – Clarinet
Arnfried Falk – Oboe
Rouven Haliti – Upright bass
Dalai Cellai – Cello
Recording Studio:
FountainheadHQ, Hellersounds, Saforill, Klanghafen, Landesmusikakademie Berlin, Musikhochschule Carl-Maria-Von-Weber, Muziek Studio Beeld, Sonictrain.
Production Credits:
Produced & Engineered by Tom Fountainhead.
Mixed by Tom Fountainhead at FountainheadHQ.
Mastered by Leon Schmidt at his home studio & FountainheadHQ.
Cover Art:
Aaron Pinto (Gutslit) / KidSquidy
Photography:
Alexander Kerski / Comicsans_ultra
➤ Pre-save & Pre-order: https://orcd.co/changelingchangeling
Follow Fountainhead & Changeling:
Website: http://www.thefountainhead.de
Facebook: http://facebook.com/tomfountainheadgeldschlaeger
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changeling.official
Bandcamp: https://changelingofficial.bandcamp.com/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/fountainheadtv
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/changeling/294821510
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4MbRUvwQcEBzryOhWMHkvV
Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
2×12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Crystal Clear w/ Red Splatters
2×12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – White w/ Red Splatters
