Prog-Gnosis: Making Odd Meters Feel Natural, and How to Play “Cylindrical Sea”

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A signature element in the songwriting techniques I use with my band Animals as Leaders is the incorporation of unusual time signatures, also known as odd meters. In the quest for fresh-sounding new music, we will often superimpose different meters and/or syncopations on top of one another, a technique explored to great extent by many of today’s progressive rock and metal bands, such as Periphery, Dillinger Escape Plan and, of course, Meshuggah.

A good example is the song, “Cylindrical Sea,” from our new album, Weightless. As many of you know, I’m a huge Allan Holdsworth fan, and the sound and approach I use on this song are influenced by him.