A Familiar Path is the third chapter of At War With Self, the music project led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Glenn Snelwar. It is a return to Snelwar’s roots as a musician that maintains the concept of the project changing for each release. The original concept in which Snelwar combined classical guitars into progressive and thrash metal has been re-visited and fully realized with A Familiar Path. The new incarnation of At War With Self features Manfred Dikkers, who joins Snelwar again from the Acts of God sessions on drums and percussion. The tracks on A Familiar Path are “the heaviest, most aggressive and accurate version of what I’ve had in mind for combining metal and progressive influences with classical guitars” says Snelwar. Instrumental tracks such as a hybrid half-classical, half-metal rendition of a Heitor Villa-Lobos guitar study, the Slayer-meets-King Crimson aggression of Concrete and Poison and Diseased State, a new rendering of Reflections originally featured on the debut Gordian Knot disc and the guitar shred of The Ether Trail, are balanced with the vocally-centered title track and Ourselves. A Familiar Path is accompanied with artwork that completes the emotion and intensity inspired by the 42 minutes on the disc.

A Familiar Path
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 2009
RecordedIndiana, U.S.
Netherlands
GenreProgressive metal
LabelSluggo's Goon Music
ProducerGlenn Snelwar
At War With Self chronology
Acts of God
(2007)
A Familiar Path
(2009)
Circadian Rhythm Disorder
(2015)

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Reflections"Snelwar5:56
2."Diseased State"Snelwar3:12
3."A Familiar Path"Music: Snelwar, Dikkers
Lyrics: Snelwar
9:35
4."The Ether Trail"Snelwar, Dikkers2:28
5."Ourselves"Music and Lyrics: Snelwar6:29
6."Etude No.10"Heitor Villa-Lobos
Arrangement: Snelwar
4:03
7."Concrete and Poison"Snelwar, Trotta, Zodda8:01
8."Hope"Snelwar2:44

Personnel

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Band members

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  • Glenn Snelwar - electric and acoustic guitars, bass, mandolins, keyboards, e-bow, string arrangements, programming, vocals

Guest musicians

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References

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