Cranium

Sometime back in the 90's, Ryan Hall and Jason Thomas formed Cranium, which began as a project designed to combine the heavy metal and hardcore influences they grew up on with the jazz and experimental/progressive influences they grew up to love. Cranium performed as an experimental guitar/drums duo for a year before bassist Dave Adams joined. With the addition of Adams, Cranium became a band and gained an identity as a progressive metal power trio, balancing improvisation with composition. The band has also had additional musicians added from time to time for brief periods to give the sound a different flavor. Some of these musicians include saxophonists James Hoover and Ryan Parrish, and percussionist Dan Weiss.
To date, Cranium has released two full length studio records, Pragmatics (2001) and Phantasmagoria (2008). They are currently developing new material for a third release, scheduled for early 2011. A live concert recording is also planned for release in the near future.