The Oblivion Particle

The Oblivion Particle is the twelfth studio album by American progressive rock band Spock's Beard. It was released on August 21, 2015.^[4][5] It was the last album with drummer Jimmy Keegan, who left the band in October 2016 for personal reasons. This album also features Nick D'Virgilio on one track as a guest musician. Only 3 songs on the album feature writing credits to the band members themselves, with the rest being credited to longtime collaborators Stan Ausmus and John Boegehold.

The Oblivion Particle
Studio album by Spock's Beard
Released	August 21, 2015
Recorded	2015
Studio	The Mouse House, Los Angeles, California, US; Jimmy Branly's Studio, Burbank, California, US
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	65:50 (Standard edition) 72:04 (Special edition)
Label	InsideOut Music
Producer	Rich Mouser, Alan Morse and John Boegehold
Spock's Beard chronology
Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep (2013) The Oblivion Particle (2015) The First Twenty Years (2015)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Classic Rock	[1]
The Prog Report	Positive[2]
Metal Temple	[3]

Track listing

Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tides of Time"	Stan Ausmus	7:45
2.	"Minion"	Ted Leonard	6:53
3.	"Hell's Not Enough"	Leonard	6:23
4.	"Bennett Built a Time Machine"	John Boegehold	6:52
5.	"Get Out While You Can"	Boegehold	4:55
6.	"A Better Way to Fly"	Boegehold	8:57
7.	"The Center Line"	Alan Morse, Ryo Okumoto	7:05
8.	"To Be Free Again"	Boegehold	10:24
9.	"Disappear"	Boegehold	6:36
Total length:			65:50

Special edition bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Iron Man" (Black Sabbath cover)	Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward	6:14

Personnel

Spock's Beard

• Ted Leonard - lead vocals, guitars, additional tracks and overdubs recording
• Alan Morse - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, lap steel guitar, mandolin, autoharp, backing vocals, producing, additional tracks and overdubs recording
• Ryo Okumoto - organ, mellotron, piano, synths, clavinet, vocoder, additional tracks and overdubs recording
• Dave Meros - bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Iron Man",^[6] additional tracks and overdubs recording
• Jimmy Keegan - drums/percussion, timpani, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Bennett Built a Time Machine"^[6]

Additional musicians

• David Ragsdale - violin on "Disappear"
• Nick D'Virgilio - drums on "Iron Man"^[6]

Production

• John Boegehold - concept, producing, Candid Studio photos
• Rich Mouser - producing, engineering, mixing, mastering
• Jeff Fox - second engineering
• Jeff Silverman - Alan's studio engineering
• John Morse - Alan's studio engineering
• Jimmy Branly - Jimmy's percussion engineering

Additional personnel

• Thomas Ewerhard - cover artwork, graphic design
• Alex Solca - band photography
• Stan Ausmus - Candid Studio photos

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[7]	133
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[8]	78
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9]	16
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10]	23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11]	51

References

1. Lester, Paul (31 July 2015). "Spock's Beard: The Oblivion Particle". Classic Rock. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
2. "Spock's Beard - The Oblivion Particle CD Review". The Prog Report. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
3. Webb, Nick (27 August 2015). "Spock's Beard - The Oblivion Particle review". Metal Temple. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
4. "INSIDE OUT MUSIC - Spock's Beard: : announce new album 'The Oblivion Particle'; European tour scheduled". InsideOut Music. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
5. "INSIDE OUT MUSIC - Spock's Beard: : Spock's Beard reveal release date and album art for 'The Oblivion Particle'". InsideOut Music. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
6. "The Oblivion Particle". Spock's Beard. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
7. "Ultratop.be – Spock's Beard – The Oblivion Particle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
8. "Ultratop.be – Spock's Beard – The Oblivion Particle" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Spock's Beard – The Oblivion Particle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
10. "Offiziellecharts.de – Spock's Beard – The Oblivion Particle" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
11. "Swisscharts.com – Spock's Beard – The Oblivion Particle". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 2, 2015.