Notes
At War with Self is the project conceived by multi-instrumentalist Glenn Snelwar, best known as one of the guitarists on the Gordian Knot debut which featured members of King Crimson, Cynic, Watchtower and Dream Theater. The debut At War with Self disc, Torn Between Dimensions, featured progressive metal instrumental compositions and Grammy-nominated bassist Michael Manring and Mark Zonder on drums (Fates Warning, Warlord, Slavior). The disc was critically acclaimed and was followed up with the 2007 release, Acts of God. Rather than replicate the debut, Acts of God was a complete re-invention of the project while remaining true to the concept of being progressive. Acts of God saw an entirely new line-up for the project, which was a collaborative effort between bassist Damon Trotta and Snelwar that incorporated new styles and the addition of vocals, and was also received with critical acclaim. A Familiar Path is the third chapter of At War with Self, which is a return to Snelwar's roots as a musician that maintains the concept of the project changing for each release. The original concept in which Snelwar combined classical guitars into progressive and thrash metal has been re-visited and fully realized with A Familiar Path. The new incarnation of At War with Self features Manfred Dikkers, who joins Snelwar again from the Acts of God sessions on drums and percussion. The tracks on A Familiar Path are "the heaviest, most aggressive and accurate version of what I've had in mind for combining metal and progressive influences with classical guitars" says Snelwar. Instrumental tracks such as a hybrid half-classical, half-metal rendition of a Heitor Villa-Lobos guitar study, the Slayer-meets-King Crimson aggression of Concrete and Poison and Diseased State, a new rendering of Reflections originally featured on the debut Gordian Knot disc and the guitar shred of The Ether Trail, are balanced with the vocally-centered title track and Ourselves. A Familiar Path is accompanied with artwork that completes the emotion and intensity inspired by the 42 minutes on the disc. A Familiar Path will be released world-wide November 2009.
