Ergot Project — A Family Secret (AMS Records, 2025)
A Family Secret is described in the press release as progressive rock, although the album plants its flag in heavy rock territory. Not what I would consider prog: tired heavy guitars riffs, thunderous drums, and shadowed vocals. The arrangements (the most interesting part of the album) feature thick, layered atmospheres that pull you into an emotional maze.
The concept springs from the Billy Milligan case, the 1970s American cause célèbre around multiple personality disorder. Rather than a docudrama, the album uses biographical storytelling as a clever device, turning Milligan’s story into a broader allegory for the voices inside us all, fear and desire, resolve and doubt.
Ergot Project formed in 2014 under multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Christian Marras. The group first surfaced on AMS Records in 2016 with the heavy/electro/prog reinterpretation Beat-Less (EXT1602CD).
The legendary drummer Pat Mastelotto provides the rhythmic support.
Track list
1 A Con Man
2 I Hope I Didn’t Hurt Anybody
3 Do Not R.I.P.
4 A Perfect Gentleman
5 Rage
6 Again
7 On the Spot
8 The One Who Stands in the Corner
9 The Sweetest Lullaby Ever
10 The Tenth