ALL TOO HUMAN is a diverse band from the United States. They have been classified as a combination of progressive metal, power metal, heavy metal, hard rock, progressive rock, and other styles of music. Their influences range from Dream Theater, Rush, Queensryche, Black Sabbath, Planet X, Steve Vai, and numerous other artists. They have released two self-produced and self-financed CD's: "Forever and a Day" (1998) and "Entropy" (2002). A third CD, "Entropy" - European version (2004) has been released on Steelheart Records from Italy.
The vision of ALL TOO HUMAN began in 1995. After a long separation from the music world, bass player Maurice Taylor was encouraged by his friends to return to the music scene. The idea was to record a solo album and release it through the internet. The first person he called was drummer Chris Lucci. Maurice and Chris were in several bands together over the years playing jazz and other styles of music. But it was their years together in Muzix which helped them to develop their rhythmic chemistry. Chris was an avid Neil Peart enthusiast whose skills had developed to include the styles of drummers such as Bill Bruford, Terry Bozzio, and Mike Portnoy. After numerous jam sessions, it was decided to revive some of the songs from the Muzix days and start a new band. In 1996, Chris McIuan was added on guitars and recording sessions began for the CD at R/R Studios in Lake Jackson, Texas. In 1997, Paul Vander was brought in to do vocals. His uncanny vocal talents were a key element to such songs as "What Do You Call Me Now?" (Geoff Tate style) and "Life Begins Anew" (Geddy Lee - Rush).
In May 1998, the band finalized their first CD. In August 1998, "Forever and a Day" was released on R/R Records. The result of ALL TOO HUMAN's exhausting efforts shows the perseverance of these musicians and their desire to showcase their material to the world of music. However, after a few live shows in Dallas and Houston, Paul Vander decided he should devote himself to other things. In early 1999, ALL TOO HUMAN parted ways with Paul.
What was the next step? It was a confusing point for the band. But an unexpected turn of events would soon make it evident on which way to turn. Chris Lucci saw an ad in a newspaper of a guitarist looking for a band. They jammed together for hours. Chris called Maurice and told him "you've got to check this guy out". After a jam session between all three, it was obvious there was a chemistry and an element that had been missing from the music. There was more energy, more technicality, and more musical diversity. Due to differences in musical preferences, Chris McIuan was released and Clint Wilson took over on guitar.
The music was coming along nicely for the next CD ("Entropy") but there was still no singer. Maurice had moved back to Los Angeles and remembered a singer in a Queensryche tribute band. After first hearing him in 1997, and being blown away by his voice, Maurice told himself if anything ever happened where a new singer was needed for the band, he would try to look this guy up. As luck would have it, in early 2000, Maurice saw Operation Queensryche was going to perform at a local club in L.A. Fortunately, Don DuZan was still the singer for the tribute band. Maurice gave Don a copy of the first CD and said he would like to talk to him about a project. Shortly thereafter, Don was asked to join the band. It wasn't long before he was in the studio recording the vocal tracks for "Entropy".
At this point, the history of ALL TOO HUMAN took an interesting twist. The music, the guitars, the drums, and the vocals were all in place for a very different album compared to "Forever and a Day". The music had progressed from a more subdued Rush meets Queensryche sound to more of a progressive metal sound ala Dream Theater. Due to the increased complexity of the music, ATH decided the music needed keyboards. It was agreed to bring in a professional player who could add a special element. Considering the change of styles, the band decided to ask none other than Derek Sherinian (solo artist, Planet X, ex-Dream Theater, ex-Alice Cooper). After some discussion, Derek agreed to play keyboards on ATH's CD, "Entropy". His parts were recorded at his studio, The Leopard Room, in Los Angeles.
In February 2002, ALL TOO HUMAN's second CD, "Entropy", was released on R/R Records. This amazing sophomore release from this diverse metal band is a technical yet still melodic and powerful showcase of progressive/power metal. The distribution for "Entropy" is mainly handled by Nightmare Records. "Entropy" (the European release) is available through Steelheart Records in Italy from CDBaby. "Forever and a Day" is currently out of print and there are discussions to remix and remaster the CD at some point.
In the fall of 2004, ALL TOO HUMAN performed at ProgPower Europe in the Netherlands. This performance closed out their first tour of Europe. The tour included 6 shows, 4 with the Dutch prog rock band Sanity. The band hopes to return to Europe in 2009. ATH played 2 additional shows in Texas before the European tour. For the tour, the band was joined ..boards by Cristian G. van Schuerbeck from Chile. Clint and Cristian had jammed together on the internet and he was asked to join ATH on the tour. After a 20 hour flight from Chile to Amsterdam, the band picked Cristian up at the airport. 4 hours later, and with no previous rehearsal time, they were playing a live show at The Musicon in Den Haag. Cristian performed phenomenally. Though hindered by a shortened set (due to a massive traffic jam), the culmination of the tour in Baarlo, Netherlands for ProgPower Europe received good reviews.
After the tour, the band came back to the States and Cristian went back to Chile. The band kept in touch with him in one form or another. There were numerous discussions about asking him to play on solo projects and helping out with future ATH releases. In December 2005, it was decided to add Cristian as a permanent member of the band ..boards.
The band has finished pre-production for their 3rd studio CD, "Juggernaut". All drum, guitar, and bass tracks have been recorded. Cristian will soon add keyboards. Don Duzan left the band in 2006. After a trial with Steve Braun of Ashent on vocals, the band decided to once again search for a new singer. Hopefully, one will be found shortly. Production is underway to record vocals either in Los Angeles or Texas. Artwork has been completed by Mattias Noren. The CD will hopefully be released sometime in September 2008 on Astral Sun Records (a new label owned by Maurice Taylor and Gordon Tittsworth of Images of Eden). The band will be looking for distribution in various markets including the U.S., Europe, Japan, South America, Scandanavia, and Russia and online digital distribution.
Keep your eye on this band in the future.
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