Gordian Knot was an American rock band directed by

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

ist

Sean Malone Sean Malone (April 12, 1970 – December 7, 2020) was an American musician who played primarily fretless bass guitar and Chapman Stick. He was most famous for his work with progressive metal band Cynic, in which he developed a strong partn ...

. At times its shifting lineup included

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

of Genesis,

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

and Yes,

Ron Jarzombek Ron Jarzombek is an American guitarist best known for his work with WatchTower, Spastic Ink, and Blotted Science, featuring Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse. His most recent project is Terrestrial Exiled. He released a brand new song, "Bey ...

from

Watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

and Spastic Ink, as well as Jim Matheos of Fates Warning, several of Malone's former bandmates from Cynic, and

John Myung John Ro Myung (; born January 24, 1967) is an American bassist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Dream Theater. Background and personal life Born in Chicago to South Korean parents, Myung grew up with John Petrucci on Lo ...

from Dream Theater. Sean Malone died on December 7, 2020.

Musical style

The music of Gordian Knot is a stylistic mixture of progressive rock and metal, instrumental music reminiscent of

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

's Guitar Craft and his solo work (e.g. compare Gordian Knot's song "Grace" with Robert Fripp's "Evening Star"). Notable is their use of counterpoint, often presenting several complex intertwining layers of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic structures. The music of Gordian Knot also relies heavily on diatonic guitar melodies although sometimes encompassing later resolved dissonances to add a jazz fusion-like flavor. The interaction between the various instruments, all played by accomplished instrumentalists, allows for communication of various melodic lines, harmonies and rhythms among guitar(s), bass, and (concerning rhythms) even drums. Also, Gordian Knot cannot be categorized without disregarding certain aspects of their music. For example, the piece "Komm, süsser Tod, komm sel'ge" is a transcription of a piece of the same name by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

, while some of their other pieces, most notably "Grace", have a distinct classical, even baroque Bach-like flavor, being constructed in an almost counterpoint-like fashion by interweaving several independent diatonic melodic lines from the Chapman Stick. Other songs, such as "Muttersprache" (German for "mother tongue") or "Code/Anticode" work with on-beat/off-beat, interplay between two guitars and/or the rhythm and melody section, incorporating jazz chords and dissonant intervals to create tension and form the basis for a mixture of jazz fusion and progressive rock/metal.

Band members

Malone recruited a different line-up each time when he was recording and playing live with Gordian Knot.

Past members

- bass, fretless bass, sticks, guitars, keyboards, e-bow, echoplex, loops, occasional vocals

Studio members

*Sonia Lynn - vocals * Paul Masvidal - guitar *Bob Brunin - guitars * Jason Göbel - guitars *Glenn Snelwar - guitars, mandolins *

- guitars *

Adam Levy Adam Levy is a jazz guitarist who was a member of Norah Jones's band. Career Levy was born in Encino, California. Two of his uncles and one cousin played guitar, and his mother briefly took lessons. His grandfather, George Wyle, worked for ' ...

- guitars * Jim Matheos - acoustic guitars *

Trey Gunn Trey Gunn (born December 13, 1960) is an American musician, known for his membership in the progressive rock band King Crimson from 1994 to 2003, playing Warr Guitar and Chapman Stick. Biography A native Texan who now resides in Seattle, Washi ...

- warr guitar *

- chapman stick *

- drums * Sean Reinert - drums

Discography

*'' Gordian Knot'' (1999) *'' Emergent'' (2003)

References

https://www.loudersound.com/news/cynic-bass-player-sean-malone-dead-at-50

External links

Interview with Bill Bruford
* {{Authority control 1998 establishments in the United States 2020 disestablishments in the United States American progressive metal musical groups American progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2020