13th B'ak'tun EP, released on Dec 13, 2012, is a re-release of 4 apocalyptic metal and metal/ambient instrumentals (3 + 1 bonus track), heralding the momentous end of the Mayan 13th B'ak'tun on December 21st, 2012. The tracks have been shored up and are offered as a free, hi-res (256kbps) MP3 album.

My 2008 concept album, Temple of Unmanifest Dreams is an emotionally charged and meditative ambient/electronic guitar odyssey like you've never experienced. From incense-saturated Buddhist temples to treks though the natural world and out into the far reaches of the cosmos, this compilation takes you on a nostalgic, pensive search for the origin of dreams and returns you softly to the waking world. This haunting compilation is an astounding testament to what a guitar can convey!

In 2008 I teamed up with two very good friends, Cosman (Marauder, Permanent Reverse) and Jay Parmar (Jay Parmar, Eden's Curse) for this collaborative experiment. Three guitarists, each with our own signature sound, trading punches on this digital 'EP' of edgy, electronic-influenced hard rock instrumentals. And yet the style is quite open as we all took turns composing the instrumentation and producing the tracks.

Three inner-city punks squat a ratty apartment building in an attempt to record a barrage of electro-metal mayhem free of shitty landlords and neighbor complaints. Drunk bums, police detectives, and personal vices threaten and eventually disband the project, but not before the guys release a killer sonic sampler. While one serves 3-5, the question dangles... will they return to try again?

Micah Atwell is a composer of contemporary instrumental music, often in the ambient, electronic, and pop/hard-rock genres. His distinctive sound stems from his personal choice to use guitar where others use synthesizers, and his signature style resides in his abstract, thematic, and visionary approach to composition.

"I try to not funnel the music into a particular direction or thing. I just let it become what it wants to become. I may start out with a particular idea or hoped-for outcome in mind, but the music never comes out as that when it's done. I've learned to just accept the music as its own entity, to be the conduit and try to not get in the way."

Raised between bustling southern California and rural, spacious Kansas, Micah developed a dichotomous feel for time and rhythm. At age 16, he began teaching himself guitar and spent his formative years writing blues-based hard rock songs and instrumentals. Over the next several years, his sound and style gradually evolved towards the more experimental electronic and ambient genres. Having had a substantial classical and cultural music upbringing, these 'new' genres allowed him to tap into a much greater list of influences and find a whole new level of creative freedom. They would also provide him fertile ground to apply his electronics and software development experiences.

"I tried the 'band thing' when I was first starting out but I'm not really the performer sort. I've never considered myself or intentionally tried to bill myself as a virtuoso. As a musician I've always lacked the discipline to play consistently, often practicing a part just enough to get through the recording session, and then just as often forgetting how to play it the day after it's 'on tape'. It's not uncommon for me to flub a barre chord just playing in front of friends. I am a composer far more than a player."

Micah produced and self-released his 2008 official debut album, Temple of Unmanifest Dreams, an emotionally charged and meditative ambient/electronic guitar odyssey geared for audiences of such popular radio programs as the nationally syndicated Hearts of Space and similar regional broadcasts. This haunting, meditative compilation is an astounding testament to what a guitar can convey, and it continues to receive sweeping reviews at every turn.

Micah Atwell has received numerous positive critiques from legendary guitarist George Lynch and in 2008 secured a Top 40 ranking in the industry-sponsored international Guitar Idol competition. He has scored music to video and animation and actively works with artists in the US and the UK, co-writing and co-producing some very eclectic compositions.

"I've always loved listening to Micah's compositions because they're always so musically interesting. He has a lot of content and his soloing is never overkill. ... He shows a lot of room for growth and potential and has direction in his approach."
   -- George Lynch (Dokken/Lynch Mob/Souls of We)

(thanks, George!)

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   Future Primal Records

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Artists & Organizations I've worked with
AllaBreve.org - Design for the Arts
Future Primal Arts - My arts empire
T O B I A H - Angelic Acoustic Singer/Songwriter
Marauder Music
Jay Parmar

Errata
Project Orange - Building a Warmoth Strat-clone

Between July 7th and 14th, 2001, my father and I took what would be our last trip together to Laramie, Wyoming. As always, we made our rounds across Medicine Bow Nat'l Forest, fishing and hiking. This trip and the photos we took would later inspire a piece of music I wrote in 2008 titled "Vedauwoo" (pronounced vee-dah-voo, after the local landmark rocks), which appears on my album, "Temple of Unmanifest Dreams". I've compiled this slideshow along with that music on the 10th anniversary of the trip and it is dedicated to my father who passed away in 2008.

Studio capture of Micah Atwell recording a lead guitar track for an as-yet unreleased/untitled Call of Chaos composition.