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Rik Emmett with Alex Lifeson, James LaBrie, Gil Moore, Dave Dunlop and Steve Skingley – Photo by Mark Weiss

Rik Emmett & RESolution9 to release their electrifying new album RES 9 worldwide on November 11th, via Mascot Label Group. RES 9 features contributions from Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie, and Rik Emmett’s onetime Triumph bandmates, bassist Mike Levine and drummer Gil Moore.

Listen to I Sing here:

“This album represents a journey through my life,” Emmett observes, “and the idea behind a lot of these songs is me trying to figure out who I am, and why I’m doing what I’m doing. There’s a common thread of positivity here that ties into the records I was making 30 years ago. What did I learn from making them? You’ll hear all of that echoed in the grooves of this album.”

One of RES 9’s honored guests, Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie, lent his own considerable talents to a pair of tracks, I Sing and End of the Line (the latter of which also features Lifeson taking the third guitar solo), and he jumped at the chance to record with his fellow Canadian. “I’ve been extremely blessed and fortunate to meet so many great musicians and beautiful people throughout my career, and to have the opportunity to collaborate and record with some of them is really icing on the cake,” LaBrie notes. “What a thrill it was to record with Rik, who is such an incredible musician and overall down-to-earth cool guy.” About the slow-build manifesto of I Sing, Skingley enthuses, “James sang his ass off on that song!” Adds Dunlop, “I enjoyed tracking the guitars on I Sing the most because I got to go crazy with several layers of guitars — and I also got to channel [Pink Floyd’s] David Gilmour on the outro.”

Rik Emmett on I Sing:

“Things really rounded into shape after James put his parts on there, and then Andrea & Katalin added their gorgeous background parts.  Then it went over the top after Dave Dunlop added his guitar solo on the tag, and the boys started mixing it.  It was a tricky mix – but it’s such a beautiful thing about recording, when the work finally takes on the ‘epic’ size and style that one had in one’s head, when the song was first being written.  To me, the lyric in the bridge of the song sums up the story:  why do people sing?  Why do I sing?   

Every lesson I have learned, every scar that I have earned / Taught me how to raise a joyful noise.
So now for each and every voice, denied their songs of choice / I must sing:   I’m bound to sing  

It’s as if music chose me, as much as I chose it.  It became my life because it was the best aspect of reality I could experience.  A natural passion:  like the way our dog can’t help it, when she greets us:  she sings.”

More information at:
http://www.rikemmett.com
facebook.com/rikemmettnetwork