BLACK SABBATH, OPETH, BIGELF Members Appear in 'Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie'

December 30, 2009

Tony Iommi of BLACK SABBATH, Mikael Åkerfeldt and Per Wiberg of OPETH, and Damon Fox and Steve Frothingham of BIGELF represent hard rock and heavy metal in the new feature-length music documentary "Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie", available now on DVD from Bazillion Points. They join members of pioneering musical greats THE MOODY BLUES, KING CRIMSON, GENESIS, CHEAP TRICK, THE BEACH BOYS, GOBLIN, and many others in exploring the gripping and often obsessive tale of the Chamberlin and its better-known successor the Mellotron — the first musical keyboards to play the pre-recorded sounds of other instruments.

While the Mellotron is most closely linked with THE BEATLES' "Strawberry Fields Forever" and progressive rock, BLACK SABBATH used Mellotrons on at least four mid-1970s albums, notably to simulate a string section on their 1972 hit "Changes". More recently, the strange magnetic-tape keyboards have been utilized by adventurous Scandinavian bands, including ENSLAVED, SHINING, and OPETH.

As OPETH's Per Wiberg explains his band's use of the "spooky" Mellotron sounds: "Any instrument can be a metal instrument, it depends on the attitude you have when you're playing."

For more information on "Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie", to view the official trailer, or to order DVDs, visit www.mellodramadvd.com.

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