THE BEAST

ZONDER WEHRKAMP, featuring drummer Mark Zonder (FATES WARNING, WARLORD) and guitarist/keyboardist Gary Wehrkamp (SHADOW GALLERY, AMARAN’S PLIGHT), released their debut album “If It’s Real” on May 24, 2019! Today the band has unveiled Marks's new video for "The Making of ...I'd Do Anything". Watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/mark.zonder/videos/10157606597669920/
Mark comments:
"I did with the always wonderful Alex Solca, and everyone who has worked with him knows what I mean. This video takes an indepth look how I approach writing and recording the drums for the song "I'd Do Anything" off the debut Zonder/Wehrkamp album."
In case you missed Mark's first two "The Making of" -videos, watch them below.
"Too Late": https://www.facebook.com/mark.zonder/videos/10157566653939920/
"Next Big Thing": https://www.facebook.com/mark.zonder/posts/10157594622819920
Also watch Gary's "The Making of a Real Record", discussing the song "If It's Real".
#1st part - https://www.facebook.com/gary.wehrkamp/videos/pcb.10157382515298788/10157382500063788/
#2nd part - https://www.facebook.com/gary.wehrkamp/videos/pcb.10157390655733788/10157390644368788/
#3rd part - https://www.facebook.com/gary.wehrkamp/videos/10157447590028788/
#4th part - https://www.facebook.com/ZWBAND/posts/762083987562443
“If It’s Real” album is available on all digital download and streaming platforms worldwide. Get an autographed copy at https://www.zwband.com/shop. Also available at https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/zonderwehrkamp.
Mark Zonder comments on “If It’s Real” album:
"Please listen to the Zonder/Wehrkamp album as new music, a new experience. Yes, it is Gary Wehrkamp and myself doing the entire record ourselves and artists trademark sounds usually come through the music, but this is not a Warlord, Shadow Gallery or Fates record. This is just Gary and I being creative in a dark, moody and atmospheric way. Enjoy the journey."
While ZONDER WEHRKAMP takes the two musicians on a different path, their musical pasts are very much influences on their current project. "If It’s Real” resonates with a tenebrous emotional intensity wrapped in a more melodic, ethereal sound and philosophical take on progressive hard rock.
“If It’s Real” tracklisting:
I Can't Believe
If It's Real
I'd Do Anything
Last Place
Two Years
Where Are The Children Going?
Too Late
The Next Big Thing
It's Not The End
Goodnight
Produced by Gary Wehrkamp.
All songs written by Gary Wehrkamp and Mark Zonder except "Last Place" and "Goodnight" written by Gary Wehrkamp.
Mixed by Gary Wehrkamp.
Mastered by Rich Mouser at Mousehouse Studios, Altadena - California.
Front/Back cover and band photos by Alex Solca Photography.
Earlier this year were released Mark Zonder's 5 video segments, watch them here:
#1st - https://www.facebook.com/mark.zonder/videos/vb.629984919/10157182978389920
#2nd - https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2397927243827561
#3rd - https://www.facebook.com/mark.zonder/videos/10157191670919920/
#4th - https://www.facebook.com/mark.zonder/videos/vb.629984919/10157234345939920/
#5th - https://www.facebook.com/mark.zonder/videos/10157251333139920/
Also stream/watch:
"Where Are The Children Going?" (audio): https://soundcloud.com/mark-zonder/where-are-the-children-going
"The Next Big Thing" video:

"Do Anything" video:
“If It’s Real” album medley video here:
“If it’s Real” video:
"Two Years" visual slideshow video:
What Media says about ZONDER WEHRKAMP's album "If it's Real":
"Stands out far from the crowd. 9 out of 10." - Stefan Glas, Rock Hard Magazine
“They are just amazing , and this is an album you need to own in your collection as it will leave a trace for generations to come! A masterpiece 100/100.” - The Metalmag.com
"This kind of music requires all your attention, but the elegance of this Prog Rock record provides a huge pay-off." - Fabiana Spinelli, Fireworks
"Seriously, I would declare: Welcome to a new and powerful songwriting team”. - Geoff Penn, Prog Planet
"This is an album that deserves all the attention (and sales) it can get. "If It's Real" is one of the top releases of 2019--a musical masterpiece which requires foreground listening and thought. The rewards are immense." - Mark Boardman, Sonic Perspectives
"If It's Real is a different album, full of emotions, that should get a lot of attention, not only among prog rock fans but among everyone interested in good music. I'm sure it is going to be a personal favourite this year for many of you." - http://www.dprp.net
"If It’s Real’ is not an easy album, as it is an album about introspection and discovery; it is a musical trip which you will and can enjoy over and over again and every time you listen to this album you discover something new and different." - by Martien Koolen/Headbangers Lifestyle
More information at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZWBAND | www.zwband.com
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4iVTxFkMYB6P4bLQJfGXw
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More information about ZONDER/WEHRKAMP Aka ZW Band:
Long known for their work in the progressive and underground metal scenes in bands like WARLORD, SHADOW GALLERY, AMARAN’S PLIGHT and FATES WARNING, guitarist GARY WEHRKAMP and drummer MARK ZONDER are exploring darkness in a brand new light with their new band, ZONDER/WEHRKAMP (aka ZW Band).
The collaboration results in the album “If It’s Real” which resonates with a tenebrous emotional intensity wrapped in a more melodic, ethereal sound and philosophical take on progressive hard rock.
In the last two decades Zonder and Wehrkamp have co-written nearly 100 songs together for various projects and toured together for a reunion of Zonder’s seminal cult band Warlord. When the two were approached by a metal label to record a moodier, less traditional prog-metal album, they ran with the idea.
“We have spent a lot of time over the years doing traditional over the top prog and have some really great stuff, but when we were asked to do something different by the label, we dug in and really started to push the envelope on the production side of things,” said Zonder.
While the label situation wasn’t right, the organic result of their studio sessions was music that--while not as heavy or as fast as their previous bands--still contained a thematic and sonic link to their progressive roots with a brooding depth and complex instrumental performances.
From songs like the title track that delves into mental anxiety and suicide to cuts like “It’s Not the End” with a message that brings the listener back from the brink, “If It’s Real,” delves into how we cope with simply being alive and, many times, alone in our own minds.
“This album traces the journey of the human condition through an array of emotions ranging from painstaking pitfalls to glimmers of hope,” said Wehrkamp.
While Zonder/Wehrkamp takes the two musicians on a different path, their musical pasts are very much influences on their current project.
One of the most influential drummers in metal history, Zonder burst onto the scene with Warlord in 1982 and went on to play drums with prog-metal heavyweights Fates Warning for eight albums starting in 1989. With periodic Warlord shows on the European festival circuit, involvement in the bands Slavior and Spirits of Fire and stints with artists like Graham Bonnet and Arch/Matheos, Zonder maintains a steady presence in the metal world. Since 1993, Wehrkamp has been one of the guitarist/keyboardists in the innovative progressive metal band Shadow Gallery, which released six studio albums between 1992 and 2009 on labels like Magna Carta and Inside Out.
Having made critically acclaimed records and toured the world playing to hundreds of thousands of hardcore metal fans, Zonder and Wehrkamp are betting the departure from their musical roots will still generate enthusiasm from long-time followers because the soul and authentic creativity they’ve always delivered is the driving force behind this music, too.
“This album isn’t about doing something different for the hell of it,” said Wehrkamp. “It’s about challenging ourselves to step outside our own self-imposed boundaries and expectations and dare anyone who pushes play on these songs to do the same. This record is all about introspection and discovery. And we want our fans to take the trip with us.”
More information at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZWBAND | www.zwband.com
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4iVTxFkMYB6P4bLQJfGXw