(RockAndMetal.com) (02/07/06)

Edited By Michael Bennett

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA - A seventh album from LIVE, "Songs From Black Mountain," will be released April 11th via their new recording label, Epic Records. And from the sound of it, the quartet make their return to the charts sounding solid as ever.

After making music together for more than half of their lives, touring their way around the world and selling more than 20 million records, the four members of Live -- vocalist Ed Kowalczyk, guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey -- say "Songs From Black Mountain" marks a new beginning for the band.

Before recording the new album, the members of Live -- all of whom are still only in their early 30s -- put together a music and video retrospective spanning the quartet's six studio albums.

Since forming in middle school in York, Pennsylvania in 1988, the band has become an international success, with two albums reaching #1 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart ("Throwing Copper" and "Secret Samadhi"), five #1 singles, nine Top 10 singles and number #1 albums in Australia, Holland, South Africa, Canada, Belgium and New Zealand.

"It was such a cathartic experience putting together our greatest hits because it reminded us of where we came from and gave us a clear idea of what we've grown into as a band," says the band's singer and chief songwriter, Ed Kowalczyk.

"Now that we've recorded for our new label, Epic, it really feels like we've closed a chapter and with this new record are starting over."

Two years ago, when Kowalczyk began the songwriting process for "Songs From Black Mountain," he was intrigued by how much of the world's art has been inspired by the female spirit.

"Historically, the muse has always been a woman -- from the muses of Greek mythology to Saraswati in India. And my experience as a songwriter has only reinforced that idea. I'm surrounded by women -- my wife and two daughters especially -- who spark my creativity," he explains.

"With that in mind, I started exploring the idea of personifying my creative energy as female in the songs I was writing; basically writing songs to my muse. When people listen to these songs they'll probably hear a love story between a man and a woman, but for me it's deeper than that."

The first single from "Songs From Black Mountain," 'The River,' weaves the album's heady lyrical theme into a contagious Pop melody: "Bring your burning skin to my river once again, I'll give you life."

"This song probably has the most memorable melody we've ever recorded," Kowalczyk says. "I really like how we're using something so catchy to convey these abstract lyrical ideas I have about songwriting. When I sit down to write a song, I always feel like I'm wading into a river where a nurturing female presence guides me and pushes me along when I need it."

The band came together to record "Songs From Black Mountain" with producer Jim Wirt (Incubus, Hoobastank) at a studio in Santa Barbara, California in May of 2005 for what became a whirlwind session.

In just three weeks, Kowalczyk says, the multi-platinum band recorded all 12 of the album's songs in a frenetic burst of creativity that surprised everyone. "We haven't recorded that quickly since 'Throwing Copper,'" he says. "We were like the Chicago Bulls when they won six championships."

"When we got in the studio, we all slipped into the zone. We were working hard, but we were completely at ease, open to each other and in the flow. Everyone was awestruck by not only how fast we were recording, but also by how good it sounded."

The first song the band recorded, 'Love Shines (A Song For My Daughters About God),' is a song about spirituality Kowalczyk wrote for his young daughters. "I have to teach them about God one day and I don't want to take them to some boring church. This is their catechism," he explains.

"It's a simple lyric about awareness and how it's shining all the time. It's something you can take refuge in. No matter what happens in life, it's always there. No matter what faith, there's a presence -- whatever name you give it -- that's always there as an internal refuge. I thought that was a beautiful message for kids to learn."

The album's title, "Songs From Black Mountain," is connected, Kowalczyk says, to the song 'Mystery,' which speaks: "Mine eyes have seen the glory of a love that does transcend/Mine eyes have seen the worst inside of man."

"Black Mountain is a place near my house in California where the oak trees are so thick that it's dark there all the time. It has this mystical aura that reminds me of what it feels like to write a song."

"You're traveling down a path without knowing where you're going, but guided by something unknowable the pushes you along. There's no linear meaning to this song. It's about using melody to bring people to a place that is beautiful and open to individual interpretation."

Kowalczyk says some of his favorite songs possess a mysterious quality that take the listener to a point allowing them to personalize the song by filling in the blanks. "U2's 'Where The Streets Have No Name' is the perfect example," he says.

"You know the band had a spiritual background, but they approach it so artfully on this song. They didn't beat you over the head with a point of view, because it would have limited the song."

'Home,' the album's only topical song, is an anti-war song written from a soldier's perspective: "When they coming home?/When they leaving that place?/To see their lover's face again/Kids'll see their daddy's face again."

"I had to be careful writing that song, because I wasn't interested in writing a political protest song that's locked into a specific point in time. I wanted to transcend the topical and write a song about the human experience of war," Kowalczyk says. "This song is not just about stopping this war, but all wars."

'All I Need,' the last song Live recorded for "Songs From Black Mountain," stands out sonically from the rest of the album as well.

"It's a weird song," Kowalczyk says. "We saved it until the end because we weren't sure how to approach it. Because it wasn't a major priority, we felt like we could take chances with the song. It wound up being one of my favorite songs on the album."

"That's why making records is fun - sometimes your priorities can be subverted by synchronicities."

"You expect a song to go one way, but the complete opposite happens. And then when you look back, you realize the song turned out exactly the way it should have."

"The songs know the way. All you have to do is listen."

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