Deluge Grander

It was after Cerebus Effect's third release, Acts Of Deception that Dan Britton (keyboards, vocals and some guitars) approached Patrick Gaffney (drums) and suggested they form a new group together. Dan had been working on material of his own and wanted this new group to record this music he had composed and even play it live. They were joined by guitarist Dave Berggren who added to the repertoire and later on by Brett d'Anon who plays bass.
Their first album August In The Urals was released in September 2006 through the new label EMKOG. In this album they are joined by several guest musicians: Jeff Suzdal plays saxophones on the first track; Adnarim Dadelos performs the vocal on the last track; a special appearance is Brett d'Anon's uncle Frank d' Anon which is a mutli instrumentalist and on the album he plays on xylophone, trumpet, flute & keyboards on the first and last tracks and also contributed to the writing process.
This first release presents a softer sound than that of Cerebus Effect. Cerebus was labeled Canterbury Metal due to its eclectic style which employed use of elements from various musical genres such as the two mentioned above and the obvious fusion/jazz-rock basis. That same basis is also found on Deluge Grander, only this band has stripped itself from the metallic sounds and instead now incorporates a more symphonic rock based approach. Yes; you can even hear mellotron sounding keyboards on several tracks. The Canterburian sound has not been neglected as well and it is too revisited on certain occasions throughout the album. With all this said, the fusion basis of this band appears to be the strongest and most dominant sound here.
This release is a stroke of fresh air in the progressive rock "camp".
The flawless mixture that Deluge Grander presents is not only enjoyable to listen to, but also carries you away with its enthusiasm. Their music, while influenced by older bands of the aforementioned genres, is nevertheless a pleasure to hear and does not feel in any way like a rehash of the same thing; but rather creating an original sound that is the culmination of what is best from each style. Deluge Grander is from the Baltimore/DC area in the USA.
Their second album "The Form of the Good" was released to great acclaim in 2009. In February 2014 the band is set to release "Heliotians" with a revamped 6-piece line-up featuring Dan Britton, Christopher West, Megan Wheatley, Natalie Spehar, Cliff Phelps, and Patrick Gaffney (the latter two formerly of the prog band Chaos Code.)
http://www.delugegrander.com/