CHANGELING, the visionary music project spearheaded by the eminent Tom Fountainhead, is thrilled to reveal the extraordinary ensemble of core musicians contributing to their highly-anticipated self-titled debut album. This electrifying venture under the auspices of the Season of Mist label propels Fountainhead’s signature guitar playing into the stratosphere of genre-defying mastery.
Tom Fountainhead has had an incredible career as one of metal’s most prolific guitar players. He has worked with globally recognized artists and projects such as Obscura, Belphegor, Defeated Sanity, Nader Sadek and countless others. With a constant creative flame burning in Fountainhead’s spirit, the Changeling project is a new venture for Tom. “When I first starting writing the material that eventually became “Changeling”, it was initially conceived as a new band together with my old pal Christian Münzner (Alkaloid, Obscura, Necrophagist, Spawn of Possession).” Tom notes. “At the time, we were both unhappy with being prevented from performing the material that each of us had written and performed for Obscura and it felt only natural to join forces in a new project and to continue where both of us had left off with that specific style of technical death metal.” Changeling essentially became an endeavor for Tom & Christian to realize their creative freedom with.
“Together, we compiled a list of potential musicians to work with and Mike’s name was on top of the list for both of us, not only as one of the very top drummers in the scene, equally at home playing extreme metal as well as fusion or prog, but also because we had already spent time together on tour.” Says Tom. Mike Heller (Fear Factory, Malignancy, Raven) was an obvious choice to make. With his unyielding precision and dynamic drumming, he sets an unshakable foundation for Changeling’s complex soundscapes.
“I met Tom many years ago when he was playing with my buddies in Defeated Sanity. We knew back then that it was only a matter of time before we would work together on something. Needless to say, I was excited when he gave me a call to see if I’d be interested in helping him get “Changeling” off the ground. I didn’t hesitate even for a second, and definitely enjoyed the challenge of helping to bring his vision to life. What a bastard of an undertaking, but I can’t wait to see what the world thinks of it!” – Mike Heller
Christian joined back up with Obscura – which left Tom to push his own material into different and exciting territories. With Tom & Mike now joining forces, the search for a vocalist began. “Continuing on my own also made it possible to finally work with Morean, who was still bandmates with Chris in Alkaloid at that point. Him and I had first met through Nader Sadek, with whom we both played shows around 2016.” says Tom. “Morian is somebody whom I greatly respect and admire and having the opportunity to do an album together was a dream come true. I consider him a friend, an inspiration and my favorite composer & lyricist in the genre, so he really was my one and only choice to be the voice of “Changeling”.” The enigmatic Morean (Alkaloid, Dark Fortress), known for his poetic lyricism and mesmerizing vocal prowess, injects a profound and introspective element into Changeling’s vast sonic pallet.
“In the early days of the pandemic, Tom Fountainhead approached me to see if I was interested to supply vocals and lyrics for his new album, which at the time was in its early stages of songwriting. My only possible answer was “yes, of course”! […] We share a wide horizon of influences and interests, so this collaboration was an open door to push each other further and further in ambition and lust for innovation. On “Changeling”, Tom managed to apply the same uncompromising commitment to originality and virtuosity in his songwriting as he does in his guitar playing […]” – Morean
The project Changeling was also conceived for Tom to pick up where he left off with the Obscura album ‘Akróasis’ (2016). In Tom’s words, “[…] it meant that we needed an extremely capable bass player in order to expand on the combination of fretless guitar and bass parts that we originated on that album.” This is how Arran McSporran (Virvum, Vipassi) got involved. “Initially a bit of a wildcard decision, he was the one person that I didn’t know personally before we started recording, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Tom notes. Thus, on fretless bass, Arran joined the existing trio – finalizing the core of what would become Changeling.
“When Tom asked me to be involved in the project I jumped at the chance because I’m a big fan of his playing. Then when he mentioned Mike, Morean and some of the guests that would also be taking part I was really excited to hear what the culmination of these disparate inflences would sound like – particularly after I first started talking to Tom regarding his concept for the project and we found out that we have many of the same favourite bands, artists and influences, which made me feel right at home! This album has some of the most outrageous bass parts I’ve ever recorded, underneath some of the most outrageous guitar solos I’ve ever heard with some incredible playing by all the people involved. Tom’s a wizard and what an honour it was to play fretless together on this album!”
– Arran McSporran
CHANGELING will be releasing their debut self-titled album in 2025 on Season of Mist. With these four core members and over thirty guest features ranging from Metal’s most prolific guitarists to grandiose orchestras and choirs, the debut Changeling is set to shake the core of the metal realm.
