Surviving and thriving for 20 years as an independent progressive act
By JOHN COLLINGE, Progression Editor

After the Fall is a working-class progressive rock quartet with roots from its Connecticut origins dating back to the late 1970s, when guitarist Mark Benson and keyboardist Ken Archer first met. The group’s love of vintage ‘70s prog — imbued with elements of jazz-fusion and the song-oriented melodic sensibilities of 1980s-era neo-progressive — receives epic treatment on its latest independently produced album, Knowledge.

Indeed, with 78 minutes of music spread over six tracks (three of which exceed 19 minutes apiece), Knowledge serves notice that long-form arrangements remain a timeless hallmark of the progressive idiom. “Motherland,” the disc’s longest cut at 21 minutes, summarizes After the Fall’s penchant for strong melodies, anthemic choruses, and sweeping symphonic instrumental passages propelled by virtuosic guitar and keys. Theirs is a style with which fans of Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Nektar, and other classic prog bands will readily identify.

Officially formed in 1986, the band released its first CD entitled In a Safe Place in 1997, following two cassette-only releases – The Last Hero (1988) and Light and Shadows (1991). These were reissued in 1998 as a single CD entitled … Before, followed three years later by 2001’s The Living Drum. Knowledge was released in December, 2005.

As a live entity, After the Fall has played primarily in the New York area and throughout the Eastern seaboard at clubs and the occasional progressive rock festival. The band performed at the annual ProgDay Festival in Chapel Hill, N.C. in 1997 and also participated in that event’s pre-show concert in ’99. Other high-profile gigs include a showcase concert at Orion Sound Studios in Baltimore, and a shared bill with the Flower Kings during the latter’s New Jersey tour stop in 2001.

The band comprises Benson on guitar and vocals, Archer on keyboards, Jeff Brewer on bass and vocals, and Rich Kornacki on drums and percussion. (Brewer and Archer are former members of New England progressive act Holding Pattern.)

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