“Being a big horror movie fan, I’ve always wanted to do a short about vampirism but with my own vision of the subject," Forté says. "As for the music, the whole album is fully instrumental and something totally uncompromising, mixing influences going from Chopin to Meshuggah."
This is Forté’s first studio album in three years and the first to be released on his new label, Zeta Nemesis. The guitarist was able to swing for the fences in a way he hadn’t in the past. The result is a fresh neo-classical, metal masterpiece.
“I’ve been listening to a lot more modern kinds of stuff, whether it’s metal or classical, and I wanted to do an instrumental album, but not the kind of cliché Neo-Classical Eighties kind of thing,” Forté said. “Even though my first album is not really like that, it can have that kind of feeling. It’s still dark and metal and heavy, but I really wanted to move to something more modern.”
Forté incorporated an array of lower-end instruments to bring metal music into a contemporary mind frame.
“Even though I’m not a big fan of the word ‘djent’ because I think nowadays it means just about anything, I kind of like the thought of using lower range instruments,” he said. “The fact that we’ve been using seven or eight string basses makes everything sound a bit more modern.”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Recorded at X Fade Studios in Nanterre, France, Enigma Opera Black was co-produced by Forté’s Adagio bandmate and keyboard player Kevin Codfert. The duo spent a year writing, recording and mixing the material.
“I took my time,” Forté said. “I really wanted to take my time and to be happy with every note, and even though I’m not happy with every note now, at least I’m close and created something that I enjoy listening to.”
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
