Against The GRAIN

US veterans Glass Hammer have ripped up their own rulebook - yet again - on Rogue, an hour-long concept album that takes the listener on a journey of self-discovery via life's highs and lows. Bassist and co-founder Steve Babb takes Prog on a deep dive into its themes, its innovative recording process and the global mix of musicians involved in the project, and explains why, after more than 30 years in the saddle, his fire for creative reinvention still burns as brightly as ever.

- Chris Wheatley

Glass Hammer burst onto the scene out of left field back in 1993 with their debut, Journey Of The Dunadan — a concept album based on the story of Aragorn from The Lord Of The Rings, which was unexpectedly well-received. For bass player and co-founding member, Steve Babb, it marked the realisation of a long-held ambition.

“Oh, yeah, I was a prog fan!” he enthuses. “We could hear it on the radio when I was a kid. I bought Rush’s Fly By Night and was hooked.”

With the 80s dominated by new wave, synthpop and hair metal, Babb had to wait for his chance.

“It probably began as an act of defiance,” he explains, of Glass Hammer’s origins, “I'd been in a band two years previously that had lost a major record deal. We had it, and then it just kind of blew up. I was 32. I felt like time was running out. I just threw caution to the wind.”

Together with keyboardist Fred Schendel, Babb managed to pull together the finances to record Journey Of The Dunadan.

“Fred and I had met in the 80s,” says Babb. “For years we wanted to start a progressive rock band but we weren’t sure it was possible. Then I had this idea — let’s do a Tolkien-themed album. I thought that’d maybe find us a ready-made audience. We weren't really aware that the progressive rock scene was starting to percolate again, but they found us.”

Journey Of The Dunadan proved life-changing for the band. It was a record out of its time, harking back to prog’s 70s heyday with state-of-the-art production, full of intricacy and power. Grammy Award-winning engineer Bob Katz mastered it and roped in Ken Golden from New Jersey's The Laser's Edge label to help with marketing and distribution.

“Suddenly we were getting played in Japan,” says Babb, “and all over the place.” Thousands of units sold via the burgeoning internet, phone orders and, surprisingly, the home-shopping network, QVC.