Christian John Rainer – DREAM TOUR

In this Dream Tour segment, the progressive metal artist, Christian John Rainer, reveals who he would want on his ultimate tour lineup. You can check out their picks, after the break.

Epic. Space. Energy. These are the things I associate with my personal dream tour lineup of bands that introduced sonic vibrance into my life. From painting miniatures in Games Workshop to just relishing the aural collision of a huge SciFi franchise with my favourite genre of music, there’s a lot to be said about the inspiration and possibility these bands have unleashed.

First and foremost, one might wonder what on earth painting miniatures has to do with anything, and that’s quite logical. It was the atmosphere within which I painted that birthed a newfound intrigue in progressive and heavy metal music. Dream Theater was amongst the booming playlist within the store, and into the rabbit hole of their discography, I went over the years, only now to find myself composing tracks in line with their concepts of progressive music. I was taken aback by their energetic, monstrous riffs structurally paired with weird, cartoon-esque trapping sequences and sounds, and am still consistently drawn back in awe of their technical prowess.

Aside from the music, I hear they’re good blokes and John Petrucci cooks a mean burger.

The next band to take the stage is the other monumental keystone in my musical progression. Muse. Their most over-the-top, bombastic tracks blew my mind with their insane soundscape of synths, huge guitar leads, and rich vocal harmonies paired with “unconventional” chord progressions that deviate from mainstream rock. I grew up an obsessed teen, hosting a space-themed Muse Tumblr account, I’m ashamed to admit, absorbing every little detail about them. Additionally, their live shows have only ever struck awe into me with impressive set designs and laser light shows, and I know for a fact that I’d be locked in conversation with Matt Bellamy about politics and science for a good minute.

Last but far from least, Galactic Empire stands as the last perfect candidate for this tour of dreams, bringing together the wondrous scores of John Williams’ Star Wars soundtracks with the brutal production of metal music. I saw them perform shortly after recording my debut track ‘Strange Matter’, and if it isn’t audibly evident, they played a large part in the inspiration for the production and composition of ‘Monolith’.
This is one band that reveals the possibilities of orchestra meets metal in novel arrangements, and I also believe that we’d be able to geek out a little backstage over a bit of Star Wars.

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