Gretchen Menn released his second solo album, Abandon all hope, in December 2016 and she has a sequel in the works. This concept album is based on Dante Hell. The original libretto of the music is by Michael Molenda and the haunting imagery is by Max Kreis.
Abandon all hope it’s like film music or opera. It’s very dynamic and blew me away. It painted a picture in my head and filled my heart.
Ah, thank you very much! It means the world to me. Thank you for your open ears and open mind!
Tell me about the concept of the album, which is based on that of Dante Hell. The audio experience is the ideal vehicle for interpreting and promoting a personal, emotional experience…
The concept was presented to me by Michael Molenda, who was the editor-in-chief of Guitar Player Magazine at this time. Although he and my father had never met, Michael and I met through Jude Gold, a dear friend who also worked at Guitarist and is an absolutely brilliant musician.
Michael heard my first album, Hale Soules, and I felt that I had a deep compositional interest. He introduced the idea of a concept album based on hell, and I was immediately on board. I come from a family full of writers – not just my father, but grandparents on both sides – so my love of literature was practically inherited and certainly nurtured. Tackling such an iconic and important piece of epic poetry was challenging but very exciting. I learned sFr much in the process.
The writing and artwork are stunning. How long did you work on this project?
It was about a year of studying, reading, researching and working to acquire some of the compositional traits I felt the project required. Then another year or so of composing, under the guidance of a wonderful teacher, Elizabeth Erickson. She plays piano, violin, viola, and cello, so she was a very helpful resource as I worked to create parts that were both playable and idiomatically correct for the instruments. The production also took a while as the parts were complex and it was a balancing act of making enough money in my other gigs to fund the project while still having enough time to transfer to it. The entries were split between Italy and the US. The string quartet and piano were recorded in Italy and the guitar, bass and drums were in the US
The cover art is entirely by Max Kreis and the story is by Michael Molenda. Part of the reason I don’t have the album on Spotify is because the album is really meant to be experienced as the three tracks. The Bandcamp download on my website includes a PDF of the album artwork for those who don’t prefer a physical copy.
How do tempo, tempo and time scales play a role in the creation of the various songs?
I had a document where I sketched out the entire album, song by song, before writing a single note of music. Each section includes basic tempo, instrumentation, tone, meter, dynamics, and various adjectives to describe how each piece should sound, which instrument(s) will be featured or soloed, and which aspect of Dante’s Canto will be the emotional focus. I wanted the album to feel like a journey that progresses with diversity while maintaining an organic unity. So, all the aspects that you mentioned were chosen carefully, in terms of not only the individual song, but also how each song fits into the album as a whole.
A look at some notable songs
“Tombs” has a great bass intro, violin and is very moving.
“Tombs” is one of the most difficult guitar tracks. The combination of swiping and patting, a relentless, alternately picked section and a development section with fragments constantly jumping around make it challenging both technically and memorably.
“The Beast” is very metal.
This one had to be as eerie and horrifying as possible. It’s daunting trying to come up with Lucifer sonically, so I spent some time analyzing reference tracks that evoked the darkness I hoped to convey.
“Hound of Hades”… I love it. Tell us a bit about the evolution of this song and are there any influences on it?
Thank you! This is the circle of gluttons, guarded by Cerberus, a three-headed dog-beast who devours everything in sight – the mud, the filth. The piece had to sound nasty, frenetic, overwrought. I went with a very “guitaristic” riff in E minor and intertwined lines to evoke chaos, aggression, even a little nausea. The effects on this are just some reverb and delay. The gain is from the amp and I use a slider in different parts.
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