Herd Of Instinct: With a journey through the life span of the band…..

All About Jazz states about Herd Of Instinct, «This electrifying unit translucently morphs the days of prog-rock yore with an ultramodern scope».

Herd Of Instinct is a progressive rock band based in Texas. The band has released six albums on Djam Karet’s Firepool Records and Unravel is its last offering. Herd Of Instinct is a hybrid progressive rock band based in Texas that combines prog, post rock, minimalism, ethnic, and cinematic influences. The track Torso with a wild Moog solo performed by Gayle Ellett!

The new album is the most radical Herd of Instinct release so far, and is a journey through the life span of the band.  The album consists of unreleased tracks from previous albums, improvisations, and newly recorded material.

Herd Of Instinct line-up: Mark Cook – Warr guitar, beat construction, Rhodes, string arrangement, synth, and piano, Gayle Ellett – Moog and Mellotron and Jason Spradlin – percussion.

Furnace, recorded in 2011, is an intense improvisation featuring Markus Reuter on his newly developed U8 Touch Guitar. The experimental track, Alice Krige Pt. 1 & 2, is the complete 10-minute version as it was originally intended. The piece was cut in half for the Conjure album. Alice was based around an improvisation with trumpet player Joel Adair and drummer Jason Spradlin. Later additional players were asked to improvise over the foundation to keep the spirit of spontaneous composition.

Conjure and Unravel are high energy pieces that take the band in a new direction of progressive rock and electronica.

The Plot, Torso, and National Anthem are tracks completed in Mid-2020. Bill Bachman’s bombastic drumming is the driving force of The Plot. Gayle Ellett’s wild Moog solo is the highlight of Torso. The biggest surprise of the album might be the cover of Radiohead’s National Anthem. The band has rarely played material by other artists.

Unravel features the return of founding member Jason Spradlin on drums and percussion for the first time since 2013.

01 Conjure

Mark Cook – Warr guitar, guitar, beat construction, string arrangement, and programming

Gayle Ellett – Mellotron and Moog

Jason Spradlin – drums

02 Alice Krige Parts 1 & 2

Joel Adair – trumpet

Joe Blair – lapsteel guitar

Mark Cook – Warr guitar, fretless bass, guitar, electronics, percussion, piano, and samples

Mike Davison – 12 string acoustic guitar

Gayle Ellett – Mellotron and Rhodes

Bob Fisher – flute

Jason Spradlin – drums and programming

03 Torso

Mark Cook – Warr Guitar, beat construction, Rhodes, string arrangement, and synth

Gayle Ellett – Moog and Mellotron

Jason Spradlin – percussion

04 National Anthem

Mark Cook – Warr guitar, electronics, beat construction, programming, and samples

Gayle Ellett – Hammond organ

Mike McGary – synth and electric piano

Jason Spradlin – percussion

Eric Yacula – electronics and samples

05 Unravel

Mark Cook – Warr guitar, guitar, beat construction, and programming Gayle Ellett – Mellotron

Jason Spradlin – drums

06 Furnace

Mark Cook – Warr guitar and electronics

Markus Reuter – U8 touch guitar

Jason Spradlin – drums

Dave Streett – bass

07 The Plot

Bill Bachman – drums

Mark Cook – Warr guitar, synth, and string arrangement

Gayle Ellett – Mellotron and Rhodes

Stephen Page – violin

Rick Read – Chapman Stick

Produced by Herd of Instinct

Recorded between 2011-2020 in Arlington, TX and Topanga, CA

Mixed and Mastered by Mark Cook

Photo Collage and Layout by Mark Cook

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