Octane (album)

Octane is the eighth studio album by American progressive rock band Spock's Beard, released on 25 January 2005. The first seven tracks form a complete piece of work, "A Flash Before My Eyes", that tells the story of a man involved in a car accident who relives his memories in the moments following the crash.^[1]

Octane
Studio album by Spock's Beard
Released	January 25, 2005 (2005-01-25)
Recorded	2004
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	55:49
Label	InsideOut
Producer	Spock's Beard
Spock's Beard chronology
Feel Euphoria (2003) Octane (2005) Gluttons for Punishment (2005)

A special edition release contained a second disc which contained five new tracks, outtakes from "A Flash Before My Eyes" and a video documenting the making of the album.^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Classic Rock	[4]
Rock Hard	[5]

With Octane, the band continued on a similar path as Feel Euphoria with a shift from progressive rock to a more straight-ahead rock sound.^[6][7] As a result, Octane has received generally average reviews since its release.^[3][4][5]

Track listing

Octane

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Ballet of the Impact" I. "Prelude to the Past" II. "The Ultimate Quiet" III. "A Blizzard of My Memories"	Dave Meros, John Boegehold	5:34
2.	"I Wouldn't Let It Go"	Alan Morse, Boegehold	4:53
3.	"Surfing Down the Avalanche"	Nick D'Virgilio, Meros, Boegehold	3:43
4.	"She Is Everything" I. "Strange What You Remember" II. "Words of Forever"	Meros, Boegehold	6:46
5.	"Climbing Up That Hill"	Meros, Boegehold	3:31
6.	"Letting Go"	Ryo Okumoto	1:52
7.	"Of the Beauty of It All I. "If I Could Paint a Picture" II. "Into the Great Unknowable"	Meros, Boegehold	4:53
8.	"NWC"	D'Virgilio	4:16
9.	"There Was a Time"	Morse, Boegehold	4:58
10.	"The Planet's Hum"	D'Virgilio, Morse, Stan Ausmus	4:42
11.	"Watching the Tide"	D'Virgilio	5:07
12.	"As Long as We Ride"	D'Virgilio, Morse, Boegehold	5:34
Total length:			55:49

Special Edition Bonus Disc

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"When She's Gone"	D'Virgilio, Meros, Boegehold	5:41
2.	"Follow Me to Sleep"	D'Virgilio, Boegehold	5:39
3.	"Game Face"	D'Virgilio, Okumoto	4:10
4.	"Broken Promise Land"	Morse, Boegehold	4:45
5.	"Listening to the Sky"	Okumoto	3:08
6.	"Someday I'll Be Found" (String quartet, Flash #2)		1:04
7.	"I Was Never Lost" (Background vocals, Flash #2)		1:09
8.	"Paint Me a Picture" (Pipe organ outtake from Flash)		1:29
9.	"The Formulation of Octane" (Video)

Sources:^[8]

Personnel

Spock's Beard

• Nick D'Virgilio – lead vocals, drums, percussion, loops, electric guitar and acoustic guitar
• Alan Morse – guitar, theremin, saw, backing vocals
• Ryo Okumoto – keyboards
• Dave Meros – bass

Additional musicians

• Eric Gorfain – violin
• Daphne Chen – violin
• Leah Katz – viola
• Richard Dodd – cello
• Gina Ballina – French horn
• Johnnie Corno – French horn
• Ramón Flores – trumpet

Additional credits

• Stan Ausmus – songwriting
• John Boegehold – songwriting, string and horn arrangement
• Rich Mouser – mixing
• Jay Frigoletto – mastering
• Thomas Ewerhard – artwork

References

1. "Octane". Spock's Beard. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
2. "SPOCK'S BEARD - High Octane Update". Bravewords. 29 November 2004. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
3. Jurek, Thom. "Octane - Spock's Beard". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
4. Ling, Dave (February 2005). "Spock's Beard 'Octane'". Classic Rock. Vol. 76. London, UK: Future Publishing Ltd. p. 91.
5. Rensen, Michael. "Rock Hard". Retrieved 20 May 2013.
6. "Sea of Tranquility Review". Retrieved 20 April 2022.
7. "Metalreviews Review". Retrieved 20 April 2022.
8. Octane (booklet). Spock's Beard. InsideOut Music. 2005. IOMCD 198.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)