Sylvain Rodrigue
: Drums / Lead Vocals / Lyrics / Bass Synth / Graphic Design
Gary X Floyd
: Keyboards / Back Vocals
Influences
Progressive rock
Soundtracks
Classical
Metal / Alternative / Jazz
Dario Argento / Mario Bava
Fritz Lang / John Waters
Alexandro Jodorowski
Charles Bukowski
Charles Baudelaire
Arthur Rimbaud
..
Neural Mass was formed in Montreal in 1995.
The music of Neural Mass can best be described as dark progressive rock.
Gary X Floyd (keyboards) and Sylvain Rodrigue (drums) met at school when they were 7 years old and have always shared a common interest for music.
In 1990, they formed the band Bonehead which enjoyed a certain degree of success locally.
When they were informed that there were two other Canadian bands using the name Bonehead, they decided to switch to 'Neural Mass' in 1995.
The recording of their first album was a difficult process and tension grew within the band.
After their first album ''Descent into the lower world" , Marcel Babin (guitar) and Pépé Doré (bass) left the band for personal reasons.
Listen to : DESCENT INTO THE LOWER WORLD (1997)
Neural Mass – ParasitesNeural Mass – SilenceNeural Mass – AnthropophagusNeural Mass – More Suffering To FollowNeural Mass – Scratched & YellowedNeural Mass – Descent into the lower world
Marcel Babin went on to play in the band Les Tetes Reduites (Sylvain's other band) for a while. It is to be noted that Sylvain was not playing with them at the time.
Gary X and Sylvain then decided to put Neural Mass on hold for a while.
Gary X attended University for the next 4 years and then moved to British Columbia to contemplate the future. He returned to Quebec in 2001.
That year, Sylvain asked Gary to play bass synth in his band 2X3 (with guitarist Eric Valley).
After one show, Eric Valley took off to Europe to work for the Circus.
Sadly, the album composed by Rodrigue/Valley was never released.
This is unfortunate as it contains some very fine material.
After the dissolution of the short lived 2X3, they reactivated Neural Mass and continued as a duo.
In 2002, they released their second album "The Unbreakable Aqua-Mask of Europa". The album features guitarist Francis Lafortune playing on a track entitled "The Lamp". The rest of the album was recorded as a duo.
Listen to : THE UNBREAKABLE AQUA-MASK OF EUROPA (2002)
Neural Mass – The Unbreakable Aqua Mask of EuropaNeural Mass – Out thereNeural Mass – Innocents From Earth (2002)Neural Mass – The JupiterNeural Mass – The LampNeural Mass – Aqua Mullet (2002)Neural Mass – 2:64 on EuropaNeural Mass – Evaporology
Soon after recording "The Unbreakable Aqua-Mask of Europa" , they began composing material for what was to become the band's third album "Sunshine Hill".
The album follows a very loose concept/plotline. It is the story of 2 simple-minded individuals who get into deep trouble with a criminal organization, the police, women and various merchants while on a ''business'' trip abroad. The ''story'' ends with one of them prostituting himself to old ladies.
After the basic tracks were recorded (drums / keyboards), the band sought out guest guitarists to help give the album a harder edge.
A few tracks were recorded by Serge Labreche with the vast majority of them being done by Mark Tremblay. The band released Sunshine Hill in 2003.
The seedy subject matter and the sometimes abrasive lyrics did not help the band to sign a record deal.
Then again, Neural Mass has never been about compromise.
The album received some airplay on prog-rock radio websites and was very well received by the critics who unanimously recognized the band's originality.
Radio stations in Portugal and Turkey also began playing it on air.
These first 3 albums were briefly available through the MP3.COM website and have since been discontinued.
Listen to : SUNSHINE HILL (2003)
Neural Mass – Checking In (2003)Neural Mass – Sunshine Hill (2003)Neural Mass – Wake Up With Her (2003)Neural Mass – 809-665-3105Neural Mass – Dressed Like You (2003)Neural Mass – You've Got the BestNeural Mass – This world is wonderfulNeural Mass – Short NightNeural Mass – Royal SuiteNeural Mass – Take My Credit Card (2003)Neural Mass – Kicked Out (2003)
The band then decided to re record some of the stronger songs from the first three albums with a more aggressive prog-metal approach.
Bass player Fred Thompson joined Neural Mass in late 2004 while they were working on an album with a working title of "The Atmosphere Buster".
Because of problems encountered during post-production, the album was finally shelved.
The band started gigging fairly regularly to favorable notice.
The band then undertook recording sessions for their current release "Opposite Control".
"Opposite Control" features new versions of tracks originaly appearing on the first three releases , along with two newer numbers.
A live album called Playing for Fans was also made available online and will be released on CD/DVD sometime in the future.
In November 2005, feeling the need for some rest and some time to think, Gary X Floyd left the band.
The band continued as a trio for awhile and continued gigging. They even started work on some new material.
But after awhile, feeling the need to move on, Marc Tremblay and Fred Thompson decided to leave the band.
The prognosis for Neural Mass was pretty grim. Sylvain called Gary to let him know the guys had left.
Plans where then made to start working together again but with a new approach this time. This would involve composing music to accompany films produced and directed by Neural Mass.
Rodrigue & Floyd are putting the finishing touches on a new album called "Final Warning". Filming will then resume for the accompanying videos.
Neural Mass are :
Sylvain Rodrigue (drums/vocals/lyrics/bass synth/graphic design)
Gary X Floyd (keyboards/back vocals)
Guest appearances by : Marc Tremblay (guitars), Steve Otis (guitars) & Hugues Jomphe (sax, flute, clarinet).
Keep watching this site for updates.
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Pleased to virtually meet you! Thank you for joining my circle of cyber friends, for excepting the add and for sharing your Awesome Music with me. Good Vibes! K E E P * O N * P R O G I N'!! Have yourselves an inspiring week ahead. Take care, God bless you and yours. Warmest Regards from a fellow Canadian.
Gary thanks for feedback, death metal ain't my thing, but your musicianship is, lol, it'd be an experience to see you guys live, hopefully you make it back over here, assuming you're in the EU at this point, cheers
ALONE, directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom, is the winner of the Audience Award at the 2007 Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Read more at torontoafterdark.com
