Cosmic Cathedral a group formed by Neal Morse (Transatlantic), Chester Thompson (Genesis), Phil Keaggy (Glass Harp) and Byron House (session player with Robert Plant, Dolly Parton etc) will issue their debut album Deep Water on the 25th April via InsideOutMusic.
With the album’s centrepiece being the 38-minute long ‘Deep Water Suite’, the band has launched a video for the first part of that epic track, ‘Launch Out’ and ‘Part One’ that you can check out here at RAMzine.
How do you make an album that is different to what is usually expected of you? One answer is to work with musicians who also have decades of experience and worldwide recognition, plant a few seeds, then stand back and see what happens. For the Cosmic Cathedral project and their debut album Deep Water, this is exactly what Neal Morse did, joining up with Chester Thompson, Phil Keaggy and Byron House. As Keaggy comments: “It was an honor to be invited and included in the making of the Deep Water project with Neal, Chester and Byron.”
Much of the album was created from jam sessions where Morse’s long-time audio partner Jerry Guidroz put the best parts together, then Morse and the band developed them into songs and epics. “Much of the album, and certainly ‘Time To Fly’, came directly from the jam sessions, where we were spontaneously creating in the room. Even a lot of the lyrics just came out of our mouths! It was amazing!”
What resulted from all this was a more groove-orientated feel, that Morse called a “prog meets yacht rock meets The Beatles” kind of album, with an unmistakable jazz fusion influence: “These guys are real groovers: even if they’re playing proggy stuff, it has more of a Steely Dan feel to it, but when Phil and I start singing it sounds like The Beatles! In Deep Water, the ‘New Revelation’ section is based on a jam that turned into something that could have been on a Sting album! So, there’s a lot of variety here.”
Keaggy added: “The album is a musical feast- full of creative imagination and heartfelt lyrics. In my opinion, this recording is one of the highlights of my musical career!“
While Chester Thompson commented, “I am super excited for people to hear this album. There was great communication between all the players. One of my favourite projects I’ve ever been a part of!” And coming from someone who’s played with Genesis and Frank Zappa, that’s quite a statement.
The full album’s full track listing is: ‘The Heart Of Life’, ‘Time To Fly’, ‘I Won’t Make It’, ‘Walking In Daylight’, ‘Deep Water Suite I: Introduction’, ‘Deep Water Suite II: Launch Out, Pt. One’, ‘Deep Water Suite III: Fires Of The Sunrise’, ‘Deep Water Suite IV: Storm Surface’, ‘Deep Water Suite V: Nightmare In Paradise’, ‘Deep Water Suite VI: Launch Out, Pt. Two’, ‘Deep Water Suite VII: New Revelation’, ‘Deep Water Suite VIII: Launch Out, Pt. Three’ and ‘Deep Water Suite IX: The Door To Heaven’.
Deep Water will be available as a limited CD digipak, gatefold 2LP & as digital album – It can be ordered here.
Cosmic Cathedral has also recently announced their first live show, playing live at the annual Morsefest US in October 2025.
