Hailing all the way from Lafayette, Louisiana lies one of prog metal’s best-kept secrets: A Novelist! On the back of their second record Folie, which dropped this past February, the band’s main writer/guitarist/vocalist Ben Nugent is here with an exclusive playthrough of the track “Exteriors”, only right here, on Gear Gods!
If you’re a fan of the proggy goodness that bands like Between the Buried and Me, Leprous, and Haken bring, you are gonna be in for a real treat with “Exteriors”. From the soaring guitar work that Ben lays down all across the track to the overall complexity of the composition, there is a lot to unpack here in the best possible way. And for all you vocalists out there, this instrumental rendition of the track was used in anticipation of the band releasing a fully-instrumental version of their album Folie in the near future, so be sure to keep on the lookout for that when it drops. But in the meantime, you can hear the original version of this track with vocals here.
About the track, Ben had this to say:
“Earlier this year, we released our second album Folie. Folie is French for madness. The album is a fictionalized account of the last few years of a person’s life who is very close to us. The themes of the album discuss relationship dynamics, the valuation of suffering, trust, aging, and death in America today. ‘Exteriors’ is the second track on Folie. I chose ‘Exteriors’ as one of several songs that I wanted to do playthrough videos for because I feel that it is an accurate representation of the overall sound of Folie. It is dynamic, melodic and sullen but also progressive and shreddy at times.”
And as for the gear, here’s what he’s rocking:
- Guitar – Jackson Dinky
- Pickups- EMG-HZ
- Strings – D’Addario Chromes Light Gauge Flatwounds
- Amp – Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier
- Cables – Mogami
Be sure to follow A Novelist on Facebook and Instagram, as well as to grab a copy of Folie over on their Bandcamp.
