Progressive Rock > Roswell Six

Last year bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson and ProgRock Records introduced Terra Incognita: An innovative crossover project of fantasy on a grand scale— an epic novel and companion progressive-rock CD. Acclaimed author Anderson developed the universe and story of “Terra Incognita,” a tale of sailing ships, sea monsters, and the crusades. The first novel in the series, THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, was released in June 2010 in tandem with a new CD by the supergroup Roswell Six, with lyrics written by Anderson and his wife, bestselling author Rebecca Moesta, and music/producing by Erik Norlander (Rocket Scientists, etc.) Several reviewers and music sites listed “Terra Incognita: Beyond the Horizon” among the best prog CDs of the year.

Following up the success of the first effort, Anderson and ProgRock Records announce the second Terra Incognita CD, “A Line in the Sand” to coincide with the publication of the second novel, THE MAP OF ALL THINGS. “This CD features a different, grittier part of the story, focusing on the devastating generations-long war between continents, and it has an entirely different sound,” said Anderson.

This time, the music is helmed by Henning Pauly (Frameshift, Chain, Shadows Mignon) and features some artists returning from the first CD as well as new performers. “Henning is absolutely perfect for this type of music, with hard-driving guitars, passion, and thought-provoking complexity,” said Shawn Gordon of PRR. “Kevin’s been a fan of Henning’s music for years, and this seemed to be a perfect match.”

“Terra Incognita: A Line in the Sand” Vocals are by rock legends Steve Walsh (Kansas), Michael Sadler (Saga), Sass Jordan (Album Rock's Female Vocalist of the Year), Alexander Froese (Frameshift) and Nick Storr (The Third Ending) and guest appearances by Charlie Dominici (solo, original Dream Theater vocalist), Juan Roos (Shadow’s Mignon) and Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon and many others). Anderson and Moesta penned the lyrics/story again and even cowrote two songs with multi-Grammy winner Janis Ian (“Society’s Child,” “At Seventeen,” etc.). Due to commitments to their own bands/projects, Erik Norlander and some of the original performers were unable to participate in the second CD.

“With two CDs and two novels, this takes Terra Incognita into unprecedented territory,” said Anderson. “Progressive rock has always focused on story and ideas. The union of music and prose has never before been done on this scale.” Both “A Line in the Sand” (ProgRock Records) and THE MAP OF ALL THINGS (Orbit Books) will be released in June 2010.

An overview of the first album/book

Internationally bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson has created an incredible fantasy universe with sailing ships, sea monsters, and the crusades. The first novel, TERRA INCOGNITA: THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, will be in stores in June 2009 from Orbit Books.

Anderson's works have always been heavily influenced by music, especially progressive rock -- but TERRA INCOGNITA truly takes this into new territory. In a groundbreaking crossover project, Anderson developed and expanded one of the novel's storylines to form the basis of an epic rock CD from ProgRock Records, under the band name "Roswell Six." Anderson and his wife, bestselling author Rebecca Moesta, wrote all the lyrics to the songs.

Accomplished keyboardist Erik Norlander, well known for his band ROCKET SCIENTISTS as well as his solo CDs, came aboard at the beginning of the project to write the music and to helm the production chores. His wife Lana Lane, the "Queen of Symphonic Rock," provides the female lead vocals. Bassist Kurt Barabas (UNDER THE SUN) and Executive Producer Shawn Gordon from ProgRock Records round out the members of "Roswell Six" for TERRA INCOGNITA: BEYOND THE HORIZON.

The CD's male vocals are by James LaBrie (DREAM THEATER), Michael Sadler (SAGA), and John Payne (ex-ASIA).
Among the accomplished musicians contributing their talents to the project are David Ragsdale (KANSAS), Gary Wehrkamp (SHADOW GALLERY), Chris Quirarte (PRYMARY) and Chris Brown (GHOST CIRCUS). Together, the creative team has sold over 40 million copies worldwide.

TERRA INCOGNITA is a synergistic project unlike anything ever seen in the publishing and music business -- an original novel and original CD from the same author.

All orders are pre-sales and discounted (except the autographed bundle). The CD will ship in late April and the book by June at the latest. The autographed bundled will include both the book and CD and both will be autographed. There are only 200 of these available on a first come first serve basis. Complete versions of 4 of the songs can be found on the MySpace page.

Artist website

www.myspace.com/roswellsix