ANNUIT CORRUPTIS

THE ANTIGRAVITY PROJECT is a Canadian progressive rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba that delivered a pair of albums in 2003 and then disappeared never to be heard from again. Even the band's website seems to be in disrepair and not edited since 2010 so it's fair to say that this band most likely ceased to exist a while ago and will not be heard from again in the foreseeable future. The band was formed in 1998 by writer, philosopher and main songwriter Brad Fenwick whose interests in science fiction, conspiracy analyses and pattern recognitions proved to be the perfect subject matter for an electric cauldron of progressively oriented rock music.

The band consisted Fenwick (bass, lead vocals), Basil Ganglia (guitar, keyboard, vocals) and Peter Baureiss (drums, vocals). ANNUIT CORRUPTIS was the band's debut which featured eleven original tracks and quickly followed by a second release, "Phlogiston 1" which consisted of live improv material and rare alternate versions of songs that showcased alternative styles that were of interest to the band so essentially this release was the only original studio recording and has pretty much gone unnoticed since its release in 2003. Although the band's aspirations of crafting slick over the top concept albums never materialized, it's fair to say that ANNUIT CORRUPTIS comes close as it achieves an interesting and intricate display of prog music fortified with thought provoking subject matter.

Musically speaking ANNUIT CORRUPTIS is a melodic prog affair with tight easily accessible melodies providing the haunting backdrop for the esoteric subject matter. Although the credits only indicate the presence of typical rock instrumentation which includes the guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, there are many folky elements such as flute and acoustic passages as well as jazzy horn touches. Whether these are real or synthesized additions remains a mystery but sound quite authentic to my ears. In many ways THE ANTIGRAVITY PROJECT could be compared to fellow Canadians Rush as the music features hard rock, less heavy symphonic prog touches as well as touches of jazz, folk and even reggae. Despite the lyrics that deal with corruption and the secret societies that plot death and destruction on the human race, the album is actually more of a musical excursion rather than solely a lyrically presented affair.

The true definition of electric prog, ANNUIT CORRUPTIS features lyrically fueled musical motifs that then erupt into instrumental solos and jams and include everything from rock and jazz to classical, funk, folk, blues and various ethnic musical styles. While the melodic touches are always the underpinning, the compositional fortitude is quite liberal with many off-kilter hairpin turns in direction and an ever-interesting display of instrumental interplay. Lyrically this is an esoteric potpourri that tackles everything from government corruption and secret societies to UFOs / alien cover-ups and the plight of environmental destruction as well as other censored themes at least by mainstream media sources. Worth mentioning that Fenwick is a great vocalist with a diverse style and competent enough to tackle this brand of varied prog.

This is one of those bands that i would've love to have seen taken things to the next stage. This more than competent debut is chock filled with clever twists and turns and unexpected musical genres (such as the German schlager on "Illuminazi.") The highlight of the album is probably the 16-minute plus "Orwellian Nightmare Revealed" The track starts out with some spoken narrative and then proceeds into a true prog workout with all the expected prog excesses. One way i think of this band is what Muse would've sounded like if it went full-blown progressive rock. Overall a very strong debut that may not reach the status of masterpiece but certainly holds up quite well after repeated listens with a consistent flow of interesting musical flow and intellectually stimulating lyrical content.