Biography
For most, Mark Kelson is best known as the front man for Melbourne based outfit The Eternal. Over their decade long career, The Eternal have to date released five full-length efforts, three DVD’s and a live album to worldwide critical acclaim, toured both nationally and internationally (Alongside renown acts such as Opeth, Anathema, Amorphis, Katatonia, Opeth, Tarja, The Tea Party’s Jeff Martin and H.I.M.) and touched the lives of countless fans with their unique and emotive brand of dark/melodic heavy rock.
But for those in the know, The Eternal only represents a small part of Mark Kelson as an artist. Looking beyond The Eternal, the list of acts associated with the Kelson name in one form or another is long as it is varied.
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Over the years, Kelson has collaborated and toured alongside ex-Anathema bassist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Duncan Patterson in Alternative 4 (Who released their debut effort ‘The Brink’ 2011); formed the ambient doom outfit InSomnius Dei and played a supporting role as a performer/collaborator/guest artist in countless outfits along the way (Which include outfits such as Virgin Black, The Bleeding Lights & Rainshadow).
But to single out Kelson’s achievements as a musician/song writer would only being tell half the story. Over the years, Kelson has also slowly been earning himself a reputation as an engineer, mixer and producer at his Kelsonic Studios in Melbourne, Australia. Through his work on albums from The Eternal and Alternative 4, Kelson has worked on a host of up and coming local & international acts (including Deadbeat Superheroes, The Bleeding Lights, Southbound Snake Charmers, Dan Brodie, Rainshadow, Okera and Painted Black), all of whom have benefited from Kelson’s expertise from a musician’s perspective, as well as from behind the mixing console.
With a career spanning more than twenty years, and the wealth of experience that comes from immersing oneself in every facet of the process of making music in that time, it begs the question what is the next step in Kelson’s long and storied career? The answer well and truly speaks for itself with the release of ‘Resurgence’.
Kelson has never been afraid to push things forward and try something new with every new release, and with his debut solo offering, nothing has changed.
Following hot on the heels of a successful solo tour of Japan in May, Kelson has put together an album that really is a solo effort in every way. Written, engineered, produced and performed entirely by Kelson, ‘Resurgence’ is an artistic statement that stands outside of anything he has ever produced before, and a bold artistic statement that has allowed him to not only challenge himself, but also his listeners, who believe they’ve heard every aspect of Kelson’s vast and widespread scope of sounds from over the years.
From the cinematic bookend’s of the two part instrumental pieces ‘Samaṇa’, to the heaving driving prog rock edged ‘My Degradation’, the latter era Pink Floyd-ish progressive overtones within ‘Ocean Blue’ and ‘The Only Way Out Is In’, to the melancholy melodic groove within ‘The Aftermath Of Apathy’, the album overall speaks volumes on Kelson’s perfected ability to write, perform and produce music as an independent solo artist.
‘Resurgence’ is every bit the album fans have come to expect of Kelson, and yet manages to be something completely new and different from past efforts.
Kelson is, if anything, one of the Australian hard rock music scene’s quiet achievers. His accomplishments may not have earned him a place as a household name, but the critical acclaim and success he’s achieved has been well earned over the years. But for those who are familiar with his work, you can be rest assured that this new release is another step forward in the artistic sense and every bit as worthy as his efforts offered up in the past.
- Justin Donnelly (Freelance Music Journalist) August 2014
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.