James LaBrie talks about Mike Mangini and MullMuzzler 2

James LaBrie’s powerplant of players has convened once more for an album that is a rainbow of expressions stridently apart from the man’s vocal and lyrical mastery emanating from the man’s work with Dream Theater. And “Mullmuzzler 2”, as the title would suggest, is the follow-up to a debut (‘99’s “Keep It To Yourself”) that quickly became one of the most highly regarded albums ever released through the Magna Carta label.

James LaBrie's MullMuzzler 2

James LaBrie’s “Mullmuzzler 2” takes some chances, chances that one would not imagine coming from a progressive rock icon such as James. LaBrie has tapped deep emotional wells within this record, expanding on the themes of communication and the lack thereof that he handled so well on “Keep It To Yourself”, while setting these sincere confrontations with the self to musical soundtracks that are lush, melodic, and wholly committed, in two cases, to the concept of ballad.

Swirling and smashing around these psychic anchors is a lively drum vibe that lives in the heart of drummer Mike Mangini. “I’m glad you noticed that,” begins LaBrie enthusiastically. “I remember when I sat down with Mike, who I think is a fantastic drummer, I said I really need you to sink into these songs and create an incredible rhythmic feel to every song, make them groove. And he was like, ‘no problem, I'll listen to the songs, I have a lot of ideas.’ So when we were recording the drum tracks he knew pretty well where he wanted to take it. And I kept that very much in mind when it came to mixing, that I wanted to keep the drums big, but not that nuclear '80s sound. I wanted them to sound grounded and natural, more like Bonham. And Mike totally freaked when he heard the mixes. He was saying 'Out of the 20 albums or whatever that I've recorded, this is the best drum sound I've ever heard!'”

As a result, the album has a panoramic, open architecture, slightly jazz fusion vibe, even though the album is ultimately comprised of remarkably torrid ballads, traditional grinding prog metal and buoyant post-prog.

            “I did say to the guys, I don't want this to sounds stale or studio-like. We almost have to get it to the point where we could nail this in a live situation. Everybody really locked into their parts. When they came to the studio it wasn't something that took 20 takes. It happened immediately. And Mike Mangini set a precedent for that because he came in and he was unbelievable, frickin' smokin' (laughs). He came into the studio and I had my jaw on the floor going 'what the hell?!' I mean, he could do this thing, I kid you not, he can do a solid drum roll with one hand. And the most unbelievable thing is he can start it off, build it right up to incredibly fast and then right down.  His control is ridiculous.  Matt Guillory from Dali’s Dilemma is an important part of this as well because he and I wrote most of this together.