SXSW 2012

Since 2005, Maine’s Last Chance to Reason has been an ever-evolving musical force with one goal: to make challenging progressive music that moves people. After 2 releases and countless DIY tours, Last Chance to Reason has completed their most ambitious work to date, their Prosthetic Records debut “Level 2.” Teaming up with producer Jamie King (Between the Buried and Me, The Human Abstract), the band set out to create a modern take on the classic progressive concept album. Drawing influence from the 70’s prog of King Crimson and Yes, composers Steve Reich and Schoenberg as well as prog-metal masters Opeth, Dream Theater and Cynic, LCTR’s “Level 2” takes the band in awe-inspiring new directions. Set in a Tron-like virtual world, the album’s concept revolves around the relationship between man and technology, our move from physical reality to virtual spaces and what these changes mean to our lives and our art. The lyrics are expressed from the point of view of an artificial intelligence facing the violent reality of a videogame world. Not content to simply release the piece as a musical endeavor, LCTR has teamed up with acclaimed indie developer Tom Vine and pixel artist Francis Coulombe to create a fully interactive version of the album in which the story unfolds through LCTR’s thematic riffs, stirring vocal hooks and progressive virtuosity while the player blasts his way through viscous gameplay inspired by classics such as R-Type, Contra, and Super Metroid. Since their formation, LAST CHANCE TO REASON has shared the stage with Born of Osiris, Genghis Tron, Periphery, The Red Chord, Daath, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, Unearth and many more. The band toured Canada in February, joined up with Atheist in March and played the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in April. They continue to showcase their brand of progressive metal to fans nationwide through almost non-stop touring during the rest of 2011.