Progressive rock band Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius have released the video for the new single “Outrage Olympics”. The band spent six years making their sixth album, Impostor!, scheduled for release on October 11, 2024, through 7d Media. “‘Outrage Olympics’ criticizes cancel culture. It shows both the world at large and his band being spied upon by drones and cameras in a present-day dystopia.”
The songs share stories of emotional battles Joe has observed in his life and the outside world. “Sometimes you write a bunch of songs and don’t see the thread that binds them together until they are all on one album.”
Impostor! includes Joe (electric 7-string violin, acoustic violin, viola, chin cello, lead and background vocals, and producer), Michelangelo Quirinale-(Guitars), Paul Ranieri (bass), Jason Gianni (drums), and Bill Hubauer (keyboards).
The new album features many outstanding guests and tackles a number of topics. For example, “Cognitive Dissonance” features guest vocals by Randy McStine (Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree). It explores how religious intolerance destroys childhood friendships. Meanwhile, “Storm Surge” explores anxiety and features some legends in the progressive rock world, including pianist/flutist Rachel Flowers and guitarist Fernando Perdomo (“Echo in the Canyon,” Jacob Dylan, Carmine Appice). Another guest is Saga vocalist Michael Sadler.
The title track addresses impostor syndrome and the epic “Chasing the Dragon” about “unrealized dreams and expectations, ‘Are we ever satisfied?’ The dragon represents that elusive goal, always just out of reach.” The song features guest vocalist Chloe Lowery (Trans-Siberian Orchestra).
The album also includes the Jean Luc Ponty/Jerry Goodman-inspired instrumentals “Voodoo Vortex Part I & II.”
The title of the song “Tripping the Merry-Go-Round” is taken from Bruce Springsteen’s lyric in “Blinded by the Light.” Joe performs most of the acoustic strings and describes the song; “If Gentle Giant wrote ‘Eleanor Rigby.’ It’s a snapshot of a long relationship where the ‘merry-go-round’ of life keeps people from making adequate time for each other.”
Stratospheerius also covers King Crimson’s “Frame by Frame” with backing vocals by Val Vigoda (Groovelilly).