McStine & Minnemann Preview New Album With 'Survive' Video

02-05-2025

(The Syndicate) Progressive rock power duo McStine & Minnemann drop their new single, "Survive" with an accompanying music video and announce their third album, III due April 4..

Comprised of acclaimed multi-instrumentalists, Randy McStine and Marco Minnemann, "Survive" builds from a classic hard rock guitar riff and trio arrangement to a layered, shimmery hook driven by an urgent Stewart Copeland-esque groove, before a space jazz interlude and pastoral acoustic passage set up a huge final chorus and epic outro guitar solo.

McStine said, "The song musically condenses many of the elements I gravitate toward in a succinct way. It's about an individual's journey in choosing to close out negativity of the past and present or to move towards a better future. The chorus touches on that human feeling of being more present or awake in moments where survival seems uncertain."

Since forming in 2020, McStine & Minnemann have built a reputation for pushing musical boundaries, blending the duo's virtuosic musicianship with compelling melodies and lyrical depth. The pair's perennial influences of Queen, Frank Zappa, and The Police meet a mutual love for XTC, PiL, and Gary Numan on III, as well as more contemplative, overtly melodic singer-songwriter stimuli like Brian Wilson and Tim Buckley. These ostensibly incongruous elements are bound by McStine's emotive vocals and Minnemann's rhythmic sense of adventure, their virtuosic musicality connecting through impassioned performances that infuse the duo's breathtaking technical prowess with resonant humanity.

Recorded with both artists handling all instruments, III explores dynamic shifts between high-energy prog rock and melodic introspection, offering an intense, cohesive listening experience. Minnemann said, "There's an intensity and energy exchange not found on the first two albums. It throws you overboard a few times and holds your attention, you want to keep listening."