what?

"An Unwelcome Guest" is a concept album put together by producer/bassist Big Cats! and vocalist Guante. We also play live with a band composed of Mike Ries (Drums) and Mike Coyne (Guitar) from Dragons Power Up and Eric Blomquist (Keys and Saxophone).

It's coming out in late 2009.

This blog will have updates, exclusive song leaks, making-of commentary and much more.

I don't want to put all the info out there at once, but for now, I'll tell you that the album is a true concept album, telling one story from the first track to the last, and that it doesn't sound anything like anything you've heard already. We've got all the songs written and all the beats made, and are currently waiting for some killer guest-spots to get cleared and will be recording this spring for a winter release. It has to come out in winter.

Another quick teaser: think Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" meets "28 Days Later" meets "V for Vendetta," but hip hop. The whole post-apocalypse has been done to death, but I like to think that this album puts a fresh spin on the concept by grounding the literal narrative in a lot of very real-world issues: displacement, resistance, much, much more. It's an explicitly political album, but its "message" is going to be very difficult to pin down.

On top of all that stuff though (I'm the emcee, so I tend to dwell on lyrics and content) it SOUNDS absolutely monstrous. Big Cats! is one of the best producers around, and these beats are just otherworldly good.

Here are some nice things the media have said about us.

But I've said too much already. Keep checking back for updates.

--guante