Frontiers Music Srl has announced the release of progressive metal act Lalu's new album, Paint The Sky on January 21.

Lalu is a musical project originally founded in 2004 by the French composer and producer Vivien Lalu, son of Noelle and Michel Lalu (members of the ‘70s French progressive act Polène). Paint The Sky will be the first album, and third album overall from the band, released under the new partnership between Vivien and Frontiers.

Fans can get their first taste of music from the new album with the release of the single and video, "The Chosen Ones" featuring Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) and Simone Mularoni (DGM). Watch the video below, and pre-order/save Paint The Sky here.

Paint The Sky is easily the most accomplished and mature album put together by Vivien thus far in his career. Being the son of two progressive musicians from the '70s and growing up surrounded by progressive music, Vivien always wanted to craft a true-to-its-roots progressive rock album. He spent a lot of time laying down the basics for the new effort and along with this new album comes a change in vocalist specifically designed for this more progressive version of Lalu. In May 2020, Vivien announced Damian Wilson (Arena, Headspace, Threshold) as the lead vocalist for Paint The Sky. Lalu's lineup on the album is rounded out by Jelly Cardarelli (on drums) and Joop Wolters (guitars and bass).

Guests on Paint The Sky include Alessandro Del Vecchio, Alex Argento, Gary Wehrkamp, Jens Johansson, Jordan Rudess, Marco Sfogli, Simon Phillips, Simone Mularoni, Steve Walsh, Tony Franklin, and Vikram Shankar. See tracklisting below for details on which tracks they appear on.

Lalu's first full-length album, Oniric Metal (2005) garnered critical acclaim upon its release, and marked a new chapter for Vivien and his insatiable need to create mind-expanding, cinematic music. Lalu's second opus, Atomic Ark (2013) featured vocalist Martin LeMar, bassist Mike LePond (Symphony X), guitarist Simone Mularoni (DGM), and world class drummer Virgil Donati (Planet X, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth). Additional contributions came from Jens Johansson (Stratovarius), Joop Wolters, Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie), Mike Andersson (Cloudscape) and Peter Wildoer (James LaBrie).

Spring 2014 saw Vivien venturing out on a unique live tour, hosting only a few select shows featuring the all-star Atomic Ark line-up of Martin LeMar, Mike LePond, Simone Mularoni, and Virgil Donati, adding Joop Wolters as a second guitarist on stage. After a few weeks’ practice, the tour culminated in the live recording of their set during the final stop. Produced by Vivien and mixed and mastered by Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio, the digital-only Live At P60 was released in June 2015.

Paint The Sky now marks the latest installment in the ever evolving musical odyssey that is Lalu. Come join the journey!

Tracklisting:

"Reset To Preset
"Won’t Rest Until The Heat Of The Earth Burns The Soles Of Our Feet Down To The Bone" (ft. Jens Johansson)
"Emotionalised"
"Paint The Sky" (ft. Steve Walsh, Tony Franklin, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Jens Johansson, Gary Wehrkamp)
"Witness To The World" (ft. Marco Sfogli)
"Lost In Conversation" (ft. Jens Johansson)
"Standing At The Gates Of Hell"
"The Chosen Ones" (ft. Jordan Rudess, Simone Mularoni)
"Sweet Asylum"
"We Are Strong"
"All Of The Lights" (ft. Vikram Shankar)
"Paint The Sky" [Instrumental] (ft. Tony Franklin, Simon Phillips, Alex Argento)

"The Chosen Ones" video:

Lineup:

Damian Wilson - Vocals
Jelly Cardarelli - Drums
Joop Wolters - Guitars & bass
Vivien Lalu - Keyboards