Dark Spectacle: the Thoughts on life CD

If the old adage of “Fifteen minutes of fame is true,” then it’s obvious God keeps resetting the clock for the members of Dark Spectacle. Now located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the band has been blessed with success many times over, including their recent offering; a 12 song CD called Thoughts on life. This CD represents the ever-growing and maturing hard rock music style of the band, which is definitely going to shatter some misconceptions about indie recordings.

Thoughts on life features combinations of metal, hard, mainstream, alternative, modern and pop tunes, but what CD doesn’t nowadays? The difference: how many hard/modern rock bands have a screaming female vocalist under wailing guitars and thunderous riff-oriented rhythms? How do you describe a band that compares to everything from 3 Doors Down, Staind, Disciple, Creed, Petra, Metallica…and Melissa Etheridge?! Then, add the fact that all band members are devout Christians.

The members of Dark Spectacle have traveled throughout the Midwest performing at everything from small venues, youth gatherings, coffeehouses and clubs, to festivals, fairs and concerts. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist and opera trained vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist/percussionist/bassist Barbe Paris, guitar virtuoso and backup/lead vocalist Dave Paris, and drummer/percussionist Jason Feight, who joined the band after the recording of the CD. The combination of these musicians’ careers include success stories like: performance slots with major-label artists like Bride, Joe Club, Bruce Carroll, Greg Long, and most recently an opening slot for Rugged Records recording artists Disciple. Not to mention local, national and international radio and video play, as well as holding the #1 spot on a couple of charts on MP3.com.

The tunes on Thoughts on life consist of guitar-oriented hard/metal rock tunes like “this sea i live…” and “righteous one,” to the straight-ahead songs of “what does it mean (joey)” and “tired of being afraid.” The CD even features a couple of pop radio-friendly songs like the CHR/Alternative “it seems,” and their almost praise and worship single “sunrise of my life.” Resurrection Band founder Glenn Kaiser, a man considered by many to be one of the “Founding fathers of Christian Rock,” even makes a guest spot with the band. Kaiser jams with the band on harmonica opening the song “the Philippians 1:21 paradox.”

Tracks for the Thoughts on life CD were recorded at several professional grade studios. The mixdown and most of the sessions were carried out at Mind’s Ear Music, a studio owned and operated by former Curb Record’s recording artist Jon Douglas Dixson. Located in a small farming community just outside of Dave and Barbe’s hometown of Ottumwa, Iowa, this studio has been home to thousands of projects. A few of the tracks were recorded at Leukos Studios in Des Moines, Iowa, and one session was recorded at JPUSA Wilson studios in Chicago, Illinois.

But Dark Spectacle not only sought out the best studios to record their project, they also built one! Former drummer, Robert L. Yoder, with the help of the band’s longtime sound engineer Jeremy Gugel created Amishland Audio, a 32-track digital and analog facility. Top of the line processors, effects, microphones, software and other equipment were brought in to outfit this home for the band’s creativity. With the help of these studios, and the band’s meticulous attention to detail and dedication to their music, a very intimate and real representation of Dark Spectacle emerges.

The band has tried to cover every detail to give the best representation of their music. Graphic designer Christian Lange, the artist responsible for the layout of Disciple’s “What was I thinking?” CD as well as previous work with Aerosmith, was recruited to finish up design of the project. Thoughts on Life also features full-color printing and retail-ready bar coding and shrink-wrapping. The CD also sports major-label style digital mastering to produce an overall tonal consistency.

With the release of Thoughts on life, Dark Spectacle hits the road, bringing their energetic live show to any venue they can get into. A good time is always had, as the band performs, shares testimonies, and stays after the show to meet and greet audience members. The band receives several emails and correspondence from longtime fans, and the members always answer the emails personally.