Formed in 1989, Advent began as a collaboration between Alan Benjamin and Henry Ptak, with Henry’s brother Mark joining very shortly thereafter. Leveraging diverse-yet-harmonious backgrounds and a common desire to create music that would, first and foremost, satisfy the members’ own progressive and somewhat eclectic musical desires, the band released its critically acclaimed (self-titled) debut CD on Mellow Records in 1997 and also contributed several pieces to both Gentle Giant and Procol Harum tribute-album projects around the same time. The group released its long-awaited follow-up album, Cantus Firmus, in 2006— to numerous rave reviews—and has since been developing a growing reputation as one of today’s most impressive live progressive-rock acts. Work is also well underway on a third Advent album, with a targeted release in late 2014.
