12/17/07 Culture of Ascent Lyrics now available here on the lyrics page

3/22/07 Glass Hammer has been really quiet lately - so we decided to interview a few of the band members to see what they're up to. We learned a few interesting things from Bethany and Shreddy - and are now pleased to officially announce the title of the new album: Culture of Ascent! We can't say much about the theme, but we do know this: it's less of a solid story than Inconsolable Secret and more connected than Shadowlands. Read the full interview for more juicy details on the music.

10/22/06 Happy birthday to Steve today! And congrats to the band for an amazing concert this past week - updates of pictures and movie clips coming soon, but the fans are all stunned! Check out the forum to hear what they have to say or leave some input of your own.

9/2/06 Tickets to the upcoming Tivoli concert are on sale now! Shows are Tuesday, October 17th at 2:00 and 8:00, each for under $20. Remember this time we can expect at least two unheard tracks from the new album, as well as some killer choir parts. You won't want to miss it. So buy your tickets now!

8/18/06 This morning at 6:33, Amelie Ashe Oakes entered the world. At 7 lbs, 8 oz, 20", she's healthy and doing fine - congrats, Flo and family!

8/06/06 Thursday, August 17th at 2 PM Eastern Time, Delicious Agony will be featuring GH music and interview in an episode of a new weekly show called "the Classical Connection".

7/11/06 Now what you've all been waiting for: news on the next album. Yes, there is a new album in the making. Exact information is difficult to get a hold of, but rumor has it:

-The theme of the album is loosely based on the concept of Sehnsucht, a German word meaning a melancholy, distant yearning for an object far removed, particularly as used by C. S. Lewis to describe the human hunger for something beyond this world
-There will be many strings, but no full orchestra
-Thanks to Shreddy's talents, there will be lots of great new guitar, like nothing we've heard from GH yet
-The band is already starting to rehearse for the show at the Tivoli, which is taking away energy from the new album, but they will perform *two* new tracks!

As of yet, the band hasn't released any estimate for a release date. We'll probably hear more news about the album after the show is over. Sounds like it's going to be good. Of course, true to form, Steve promises us it will be the best album yet!

7/13/06 Black GH logo t-shirts are here! Get yours today.

7/11/06 New pictures in the gallery today, including some from live at Belmont and the coffee shop interview.

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7/09/06 Good job voting - GH announced winner of the Imperishable Flame Award. Here's the text of Steve's acceptance speech, as read by Dr. Amy Sturgiss:

On behalf of the members of Glass Hammer, I would to thank those who voted for us, and the award committee for nominating us.  I wish that I could have been here, but we’re in the middle of album production and rehearsals for a big concert this fall.  Regardless, this is a great honor, and I mean that sincerely.    
 
As when Legolas hears the sound of the sea for the first time, we read Tolkien’s works and experience the tug of something powerful.  With a feeling akin to heart-break, we hear the call of our true home.  Bilbo felt it when the Dwarves sang, as did Sam when the Elves lifted their voices.  We were right there with them as it happened, and we felt it too.  We’re left wishing that somehow, it could all be real.  The message of Glass Hammer’s music is simple, it IS real.  
 
Tolkien’s Imperishable Flame is (in his own words) the creative spark of God.  Tolkien’s story is (once more in his own words) a myth which mirrors the greatest myth of all – the one fairytale that matters so much more than the rest – the one which came true! Mankind fell from grace in a garden long ago, and one savior was sent into the world for its redemption.  J. R. R. Tolkien believed that, certainly C. S. Lewis believed it; and now you know that Glass Hammer believes it too.  Christ calls, and Heaven (our true home) waits at the end of the road.  To reject the truth of this tale, Tolkien tells us, “leads either to sadness or to wrath.”  
 
In closing, think on this.  If you hear something within our music that tugs at your heart, or that brings you joy – then I think you have caught a glimpse of the true Imperishable Flame.  For the common thread that binds Glass Hammer, Tolkien and Lewis is more than just a love of fantasy and fairy, it is that we all first came to love and to serve the great hero and savior of the Christian faith.  Therein lies our inspiration.    
 
Once more, on behalf of the band and our families - please accept our heart-felt thanks.  This award will serve as inspiration to continue the work, and to continue pointing the way.

5/29/06 Vote for GH as the winner of the Northeast Tolkien Society Imperishable Flame Award!

5/16/06 Live at Belmont, the latest DVD is available for your purchase now! See some reviews from various sites, order one, or write your own on amazon.com to show GH some support. The fans already love it - see for yourself.

4/13/06 GH concert date announced! GH will next be performing live with the Lee University Choir this October, 16th or 17th. Mark your calendars now!

4/1/06 Wondering how that Past Watchful Dragons DVD is coming? Wish you could just see a clip or two? Then this is your lucky day, and that's not an April Fool's joke! We have here not one, but two exclusive clips of the coming DVD for your viewing pleasure.

3/11/06 Happy Birthday, Fred!

1/12/06 Bethany Warren turns 21 today - Happy Birthday to her!

1/09/06 Lyrics posted for the Compilations album.

1/08/06 Steve has just announced that the next GH concert has been postponed until September - but this is not a bad thing, because now he has the 100+ elite choir from Lee University on board, and I'm sure we can expect amazing things if we're a little bit patient.

Also, GH has just released an exclusive iTunes compliation, so if you didn't ever get around to buying GH Adventure or taking advantage of other occasional song opportunities, you now have a convenient way to catch the best of what you missed. Also included is an amazing cover of Camel's Air Born and GH's new 20+ minute epic for the Odyssey prog compliation, in case you didn't want to buy the whole thing. Go buy it now!

12/23/05 Unfortunately, the show scheduled for late January has been postponed until further notice. The band was not satisfied from the response of the choir who agreed to sing with them. Disappointing as it seems, at least we can be sure that the band is waiting to perform until they know they can pull off twice as impressive a performance as Belmont. If that's not worth a little wait, we don't know what is.

11/20/05 New pictures added to the gallery, thanks to Lenna (aka Harmony in the GH Forum and chats). She has some great ones - be sure to check them out. (gallery)

Details on the January Chattanooga performance coming soon!

11/06/05 The Past Watchful Dragons was a tremendous success! Friday night GH forum members pktheater, DruidsGlass, Rumpska, Venividi, Sam Gamgee, Harmony, SuperTed met each other and the band for a lovely evening at a restaurant recommended by Matt. Saturday morning the band rehearsed and had a much less frantic soundcheck than at NEARfest, and later on in the afternoon the GH fans started to gather. If there is one thing to learn from this concert, it is that GH fans are undeniably hardcore. Flying across the country, flying across the ocean, or driving from as far as LA just to see their favorite band in action - because we know our travels will be well worth the trouble. And we were not let down.

The two new performers this time around were Carl Groves from Salem Hill, filling in for Walter, and David Walliman, whose electric guitar skills were incredible. The set list was ambitious: Long and Long ago from Inconsolable Secret, followed by One King from Lex Rex, an incredible half-improv drum solo from Matt that turned into Run Lisette and Farewell to Shadowlands. Susie took Steve's microphone for Through a Glass Darkly, and then the whole band took the stage again for Knight of the North. The choir joined in for When We Were Young and Having Caught a Glimpse, and as an encore, the band performed their latest verstion of Heroes and Dragons with Carl as lead. All together it was an incredible and inspiring performance.

If you'd like to see some pictures or short video clips, visit the new Past Watchful Dragons image gallery. We would be glad to post your pictures here as well; if you have some you'd like to share email them to hammerhead1@ghfan.net.

To the band: Thank you for a wonderful performance! We fans can't wait to see you again in Chattanooga this January!

10/16/05 November is just around the corner! Still not convinced you should be coming to the performance? How about this juicy tidbit: The band is being very closed about their set list, but Steve has admitted that they will be playing Run Lisette, Long Long Ago, and Knight of the North! Rumor also has it the band is thinking about covering "Narnia" by Hacket, though this hasn't been confirmed. In less fortunate news, although Walter is recovering, he may not be able to sing for the performance. We will keep you informed of any updates.

Just three weeks to go!

10/1/05 Past Watchful Dragons is speedily approaching. To allow Walter the freedom to focus on vocals, GH has found a new live guitarist, David Wallimann. You may have heard him on CPR Vol. 2, "Waiting for the Sun to Rise" - go to his site if you want to hear more. He also has his first solo album, Deep Inside the Mind, available for preorder at a new lower price, so be sure to check it out!

Goldmine Magazine's October 14th issue has an article on prog, and guess which band in particular it features? That's right, Glass Hammer, and look for a copy on your local newstand to read an interview with Steve and Fred.

Online Inconsolable Secret interviews and reviews of all sorts have also been pouring in, and I have finally added them to the "Press" page. I highly recommend the Prog-Nose interview, for one, but they're all good. For instance, if you're wondering about the meaning of the original Lewis quote on the "inconsolable secret", check out this article.

And, finally, don't forget to write a review on Amazon! GH always welcomes help from us fans.

9/3/05 Good news. Walter has had his stitches removed and seems to be healing well. Let's hope and pray he continues in a quick recovery.

8/27/05 The Glass Hammer forum, previously hosted by our wonderful administrator Lania at midi-center.com, has now been transferred to a subsite ghfan.net. If you're looking to join the fun, the link is now www.ghfan.net/gh_forum. A link from the main navbar will be posted soon.

8/22/05 Terrible news to report. Steve's words from the Glass Hammer forum:

"Walter Moore was stabbed last Monday night (his birthday) during an attempted robbery. He nearly bled to death before he was found and the paramedics called. He is at home recovering at this moment. Please keep him in your prayers. He will be fine, but would love to know you're praying for him I'm sure."

Updates on his health will be posted as they come.

8/24/05 And happy birthday Flo!

8/22/05 Happy birthday to Walter!

8/8/05 Tune in to Progressive Soundscapes tomorrow, Tuesday, August 9th, to hear an interview with Steve, Fred, and Bethany. The fun starts at 7 PM EST - two hours of interview and music from the Inconsolable Secret and older albums as well. Don't miss it!

7/9/05 Just three more days before your little package will start shipping from Chattanooga! But while you're waiting, wouldn't you like to get acquainted with the Inconsolable Secret lyrics? That's right, GHfan.net's got them up already, along with an Inconsolable Secret update on the album and review pages.
But if you don't think you can wait for your copy of the album to ship across the country or world, how about hearing the world premeire a day early on Delicious Agony? While chatting with some band members and listening to an interview? Yeah, I thought so. Monday, July 11, 8 PM EST. See you there!

6/24/05 If you have not yet heard the Inconsolable Secret Sampler, go to there before you read another word! Prepare yourself to be astounded!
You can also order the album on glasshammer.com, or the Inconsolable Bundle, with both the CD and T-shirt with the lovely album cover art and autogrpahs of Roger Dean and the band.
But what's new? Today, it just so happens, we hae an exclusive interview with Steve on the new album. So you've heard the samples - want to know a little bit about the story behind them? Have a look here.

6/2/05 A nice new interview with Steve on Proggnosis - has a few more tidbits about the Inconsolable Secret.

5/29/05 GHfan.net hasn't updated in quite some time, but here's the scoop: the Inconsolable Secret is done! The masters have been approved and the album is currently waiting for duplication. The official release date is July 12th, but we should be able to preorder it very soon. Apparently, dedicated fans will also be able to order a limited edition bundle with a copy of the album and an Inconsolable Secret t-shirt featuring the artwork and autograph of Roger Dean, along with autographs from the rest of the band. The CD will contain not only music, but other enhanced features for your computer. We don't know all of the details yet, but among these will be a copy of the full lyrics (there are apparently too many to squeeze into the CD booklet - which, for this band, can only be a good thing!!) along with Steve's epic poem written for this album. Inspired by Dunsany, Tolkien, McDonald, and Lewis, these aren't just liner notes. This is a work definitely worth your most careful read for a full synthesis of high art: music and poetry both, to tell an epic tale in a way you've never experienced before!

We can't offer much to calm your reasonable impatience for the new album to come out, but we do have some exclusive pictures of the gh girls and recording sessions with susie, steve, and fred, as well as a picture of the lucky scores with lyrics in elvish and classical latin written by your ghfan.net webmaster. Enjoy!

On another note, Happy Birthday to Susie today!

5/12/05 Happy Birthday, Sarah!

3/27/05 Glasshammer.com brings out its new update - including a snazzy new look, new pictures, and a new logo and the cover of The Inconsolable Secret, both designed by Roger Dean and available for high-res download!

More on the album itself: It turns out that these two discs are both related to the same epic tale, the poem Steve has been working on. The first disc is the background story, which starts out in the tradition of Chronometree and Lex Rex and gradually adds more strings to get a full symphonic sound in a final track similar to Behind the Great Beyond. The second disc is where the story picks up, some of the most complexly interwoven music the band has ever attempted, Steve promises! Steve has always been optimistic about the new albums, but now he wonders if they can ever top this: an epic prog master piece based off of an epic poem in the tradition of Tolkien, MacDonald, Lewis, and Dunsany - it will be like nothing we've ever seen.

Walter's just recorded vocals - best he's ever done, Susie's recorded vocals - best she's ever done, Rebecca James has just recorded some of the strings, and on Saturday the band's going to start recording some backup vocals for choir parts. Things are happening fast!

3/11/05 Happy Birthday, Fred!

2/23/05 Some news from The Inconsolable Secret, both a sum up of various hints Steve has been dropping in the forum, and some hints even forum-goers may not have heard.

It's going to be a double album. The first half is going to focus on more masculine themes, like heroes and knights, and according to Steve, a much "rawer" approach, with lots of hammonds and "very agressive stuff.
The second side has more of a feminine theme, based on a epic poem Steve is writing called "The Lay of Lizarel" - inspired by one of Waterhouse's Lady of Shalott paintings. This has a more symphonic sound, with choirs, pipe organs, strings (oh my!) - the works. There is also a medieval song, in which your very humble ghfan.net webmaster gets to show off a little recorder skill. It's a very beautiful track, and I *could* post the track online, but that would just be cheating.

About the concert - Salem Hill will be opening for Glass Hammer. Later in the evening, the National Orchestra will be performing Howard Shore's score of Lord of the Rings quite close by!

And, for a very special secret, Steve is talking to a very famous prog *singer* (not guitar player, as forum members suspected) about performing on the album. It hasn't been decided yet, but he's listening to some tracks to see if he'll fit in.

Currently, Matt's in the middle of recording the drum parts, and Susie's preparing to record the vocals, and Steve is undergoing "agressive therapy" several times a week so that he will regain full rotation of his wrist and the ability to play bass again.

All Glass Hammer albums are now available on iTunes! - once again proving their supremacy by colonizing a new market for modern prog.

Finally, we have another exclusive studio shot of the band.

That sums up the updates for the day, but stay tuned, because Steve promises many more secrets await us!

1/12/05 Happy 20th Birthday to Bethany Warren!