''Exoplanet'' is the debut studio album by American

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

band

The Contortionist The Contortionist is an American progressive metal band from Indianapolis, Indiana. Formed in 2007, the band consists of guitarists Robby Baca and Cameron Maynard, drummer Joey Baca, vocalist Mike Lessard, bassist Jordan Eberhardt, and keyboard ...

, released through

Good Fight Entertainment Good Fight Entertainment is a business conglomerate that was founded in 2010. The company consists of a record label, band management, sports management, a clothing line and an art studio. Good Fight was founded by Paul Conroy and Carl Severson ...

on August 31, 2010. A remastered edition of the album was released on January 22, 2016. A live music video for the song "Primal Directive" was released on July 1, 2022. The video was filmed during the band's Reimagined Tour from 2018. The video was released to coincide with the band's 2022 tour where ''Exoplanet'' and ''

Language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

'' were performed in their entirety.

Concept

Guitarist Robby Baca explained: The lyrics on the album focus on space, interstellar travel, and the journey to reach and colonize another habitable planet, hence the title of the album. Four tracks on the album are re-worked and renamed versions of material from their 2009 EP ''Apparition''; the song "Eyes: Closed" was re-worked as "Flourish", "Infection" was re-worked as "Expire", "Realms" was re-worked as "Advent", and "Oscillator" was re-worked while keeping the original title. The lyrics of the re-worked songs were also re-written entirely in order to fit the overall concept of the album. The remaining 7 tracks, including the three title tracks, are all new material.

Track listing

Personnel

;The Contortionist * Jonathan Carpenter – vocals, keyboards, lyrics * Robby Baca – guitar, keyboards, programming * Cameron Maynard – guitar, keyboards * Joey Baca – drums * Christopher Tilley – bass ;Production *Produced, engineered & mixed by Ken Susi (

Unearth Unearth is an American metalcore band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1998. The group consists of lead guitarist Buz McGrath, vocalist Trevor Phipps, bassist Chris O'Toole, drummer Mike Justian and rhythm guitarist Peter Layman. They are cu ...

) *Mastered by Alan Douches, @ West West Side Music, New York *Additional production & keyboards by Jordan King *Additional keyboards by Alex Ruger *Management by Ben Lionetti & Jason Rudolph *Design & layout by Sons of Nero

References

{{Authority control 2010 debut albums The Contortionist albums Albums with cover art by Sons of Nero Good Fight Music albums