Alchemy Records will mark the end of days, December 21st, with the release of Burnt Belief, a progressive instrumental collaboration between bass player COLIN EDWIN (PORCUPINE TREE, METALLIC TASTE OF BLOOD, ex-WISE HEADS) and guitarist/composer JON DURANT. The album will be released through Alchemy Records in North America and will be available on iTunes, CDBaby, Burning Shed and Amazon.

Burnt Belief marks the second time that the two musicians have worked together since Edwin contributed bass to Durant's 2011 release, Dance Of The Shadow Planets. It was recorded at three studios, two in the US and one in the UK, with Edwin and Durant exchanging digital files over the Internet. Additional musicians were later brought in, with Jerry Leake on percussion and Geoff Leigh on flute.

Perhaps best described as a post-rock concept album, Burnt Belief draws from ethnic, ambient and electronic elements to create a cohesive and emotional album, inspired by a fundamental, universal question.

Timed to coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar (and the end of the world, as many have since prophesied), the album considers the polarization between religion and science, while highlighting the dissonance between belief and reality. Burnt Belief deals with issues of intellect, fundamentalism and fanaticism, set to an ambient and progressive aural landscape.

Blending electronic rhythms and acoustic elements, the musicians wove soundscapes from unique sources - synth, 12-string and cloud guitar textures, melodic fretless bass, prepared piano and Middle Eastern hand percussion - along with searing lead guitars, to tell a series of instrumental stories. Burnt Belief takes the listener on an immersive journey, with repeated listens revealing new layers and tones to the depth of the subject. While the album is intended to be a complete experience, the centerpiece comes with the dual attack of 'Balthazar's Key' and 'Uncoiled', just over 20 minutes of compelling sounds that, according to Durant, "kick enough booty to make anyone sit up and take notice."

The title of the album was inspired by Edwin's reading of social psychologist Leon Festinger's When Prophecy Fails, an account of a doomsday UFO cult in the 1950s. According to Edwin, "It got me thinking, what are all beliefs really about and where do they come from?" - a question that Durant had also been interested in for some time.

Check out an album trailer below:

More audio samples below: