This holiday season, get Tony Carey's Planet P Project:

" THE G.O.D.B.O.X. " 4CD-Edition, for FREE!!!

Don't miss this special offer!!!

http://www.tonycarey.com/#!godbox-download/cydb

Postcards From Arkham

Let's dive into the world of H.P.Lovecraft...

Postcards From Arkham, post-rock atmospheric songs inspirated by Howard Phillips Lovecraft's stories takes you to the melancholic and gloomy world.

The "ÆØN5" album shall be the successor to the acclaimed album "Oceanize", which revolved around the Cthulhu mythos.
The new piece on the other hand shall offer original tales, inspired not only by Lovecraft, but also by E. A. Poe or H. Murakami, complemented with original artwork or fantasy music video.

Postcards From Arkham

Spock's Beard

Legendary Californian progressive-rockers Spock's Beard have released "The First Twenty Years" collection on the 20th November 2015.

Arriving as a special 2CD & DVD package, it includes a selection of the best tracks from their entire career, as well as a brand new 19-minute long track titled 'Falling For Forever' that features every member of Spock's Beard past and present performing, including Neal Morse (who also wrote the track), Nick D'Virgilio & current vocalist Ted Leonard.
All the tracks have also been re-mastered by long-term collaborator Rich Mouser, and the DVD portion of the release will include rare footage of the band in the 90's, featuring vintage live performances from Progfest '97 as well as the band rehearsing and recording "The Kindness of Strangers" album.

This compilation album showcases just how important Spock's Beard have been to progressive rock since their formation in 1992, and how consistently brilliant they remain to this day.

The full track-listing is as follows:

'The First Twenty Years' showcases just how important Spock's Beard have been to progressive rock since their formation in 1992, and how consistently brilliant they remain to this day.

The full track-listing is as follows:

Disc 1
1. The Light
2. Thoughts
3. The Doorway
4. June
5. Day For Night
6. At The End Of The Day
7. Solitary Soul
8. Wind At My Back

Disc 2
1. The Bottom Line
2. She Is Everything
3. On A Perfect Day
4. Jaws Of Heaven
5. Waiting For Me
6. Tides Of Time
7. Falling For Forever - See more at: http://www.insideoutmusic.com/newsdetailed.aspx?IdNews=16371&IdCompany=8#sthash.IRWPgJHI.dpuf

Spock's Beard

Legendary Californian progressive-rockers Spock's Beard are set to release 'The First Twenty Years' collection on the 20th November 2015. Arriving as a special 2CD & DVD package, it includes a selection of the best tracks from their entire career, as well as a brand new 19-minute long track titled 'Falling For Forever' that features every member of Spock's Beard past and present performing, including Neal Morse (who also wrote the track), Nick D'Virgilio & current vocalist Ted Leonard. All the tracks have also been re-mastered by long-term collaborator Rich Mouser, and the DVD portion of the release will include rare footage of the band in the 90's, featuring vintage live performances from Progfest '97 as well as the band rehearsing and recording "The Kindness of Strangers" album. - See more at: http://www.insideoutmusic.com/newsdetailed.aspx?IdNews=16371&IdCompany=8#sthash.IRWPgJHI.dpuf

Legendary Californian progressive-rockers Spock's Beard are set to release 'The First Twenty Years' collection on the 20th November 2015. Arriving as a special 2CD & DVD package, it includes a selection of the best tracks from their entire career, as well as a brand new 19-minute long track titled 'Falling For Forever' that features every member of Spock's Beard past and present performing, including Neal Morse (who also wrote the track), Nick D'Virgilio & current vocalist Ted Leonard. All the tracks have also been re-mastered by long-term collaborator Rich Mouser, and the DVD portion of the release will include rare footage of the band in the 90's, featuring vintage live performances from Progfest '97 as well as the band rehearsing and recording "The Kindness of Strangers" album. - See more at: http://www.insideoutmusic.com/newsdetailed.aspx?IdNews=16371&IdCompany=8#sthash.IRWPgJHI.dpuf

Horizontal Ascension

Nach der sehr erfolgreichen Zusammenarbeit bei mehreren transatlantischen Projekten reifte der Beschluß ein Bandalbum aufzunehmen. "Horizontal Ascension", daß sind Mike Hartman, Markus Roth und Achim Wierschem.

 "Horizontal Ascension" ist nicht weniger als ein Meilenstein des zeitgenössischen Progressive Rock geworden. Das Debutalbum zeigt eindrucksvoll wie man Progmetal, Retroprog , Jazzelemente und New Artrock so fusionieren kann, dass ein wirklich einheitlicher unverwechselbarer Stil daraus entsteht - und wie Progressive Rock im 21ten Jahrhundert auf intelligent und abwechslungsreich klingen muss.
6 Titel, darunter 3 Longtracks und eine Spielzeit von über 74 Minuten bieten bombastische Keyboards, epische Gitarrenarbeit von"Flaming Bess" und "Mindmovie" Mastermind Achim Wierschem und beeindruckenden Gesang.
Die Kompositionen beweisen internationales Niveau und das sich progressive Rock Made in Germany nicht hinter britischen oder skandinavischen Bands zu verstecken braucht. Das Debüt der deutsch-amerikanischen Band verbindet Progressive Metal mit Progressive Rock. Horizontal Ascension ziehen ihre Einflüsse sowohl aus Bands wie Dream Theater, Steven Wilson, Opeth und Haken als auch den alten Helden der Szene wie Genesis, Pink Floyd, Yes , Return To Forever und Gentle Giant.

Anspieltipp - der 24 minütige Longtrack "Until The Morning Comes".

Wait Until The Morning Comes 

Detlev Schmidtchen

Der Name Detlev Schmidtchen ist in der Deutschrock- bzw. Krautrockszene kein Unbekannter.
Von 1976 bis 1979 gehörte Schmidtchen zur erfolgreichen deutschen Rockband »Eloy«.
Die konsequente und abwechslungsreiche Weiterführung seines musikalischen Weges unternahm der umtriebige Musiker u.a. mit »Ego on the Rocks«, »Piefke & Pafke und die Jungs aus der Dunkelkammer«. Spätere Projekte mit Instrumentalmusik liefen unter den Namen »The Trick«, »Animator« und »Choco«. Aber auch Solo ist er bereits mehrfach in Erscheinung getreten.

Schlägt Detlev mit seinem neuen Album „Another World“ ein letztes Kapitel auf ?

Einzelne Stücke, die seit Eloy- und Ego on the Rocks- Zeiten schon in der Schublade lagen, werden auf dem Album »Another World« zum Einsatz kommen. Neu umgesetzt und eingespielt ist Detlev oft selbst von den Ergebnissen überrascht, hat er uns verraten.
Sein  jüngstes Album »Another World« ist Mitte 2015 erschienen. Wo »Dawn« im Jahre 1976 den Anfang machte und »The Last Planet« Jahre später anschloss, besiegelt »Another World« nun das finale Ende mit Songs, die sich in gewohnter Detlev Schmidtchen Manier in den Ohren festbeißen werden.
„Another world“ pendelt zwischen Traum und Realität, schwingt sich auf zu höheren Sphären und hat seine tiefen Wurzeln in der Freude an ehrlicher Musik.
Detlev Schmidtchen entführt uns in seine Gedankenwelt, einer Welt voller Klänge und Inspirationen, die nicht von dieser Welt zu sein scheinen und doch angekommen  sind im Hier und Jetzt.
Gleichzeitig gewährt er mit diesem Werk einen exklusiven Einblick in ein ganzes Universum seiner Schaffenskraft, Geschichte und Gegenwart seiner Musik:
Einzelne Songs, die seit Eloy- und Ego on the Rocks - Zeiten im Geheimfach verschlossen blieben, werden nun im neuen Soundgewand veröffentlicht. Dazu gesellen sich einige imposante Kompositionen aus seiner aktuellen Arbeit.
Schmidtchen bleibt seinen musikalischen Gepflogenheiten treu, doch immer wieder kommen innovative, neue Ideen ans Licht und wachsen gen Himmel.
Daraus ergibt sich eine hörenswerte Synthese, die sich mit einprägsamen Melodien vom Ohr zum Herzen bewegt, um uns die Klaviatur einer besseren Welt entdecken zu lassen.

Niemand weiss, was der Erschaffer der „anderen Welt“ gerade ausbrütet und ob es eine Fortsetzung geben wird...

Detlev Schmidtchen

Elleven

Sicher erinnern sich einige von uns, denen schon seit Jahren - oder besser Jahrzehnten - die progressive Rockmusik am Herzen liegt, an den ehemaligen deutschen Lichtblick aus der NeoProg-Szene, der den Namen Chandelier trug. In den frühen bis späten 90ern beglückten sie die Freunde von Marillion und Genesis mit ihrer progressiven Alternative zu dieser Musik. Ihr Album „Pure“ (1990) wurde sogar als eine Art Geburtsstunde des deutschen NeoProgs abgefeiert.

Im Jahr 2001 verhalfen die zwei Ex-Chandelier-Mitglieder Tom Jarzina (Drums) und Stephan Scholz (Bass & Gitarre) zusammen mit Julia Graff (Vocals) Elleven zu den ersten Schritten. Etwas später stieß Armin Riemer (Keys) dazu und die Band war komplett.

Leider musste Stephan Scholz aus beruflichen Gründen dem Projekt schon früh den Rücken kehren. Mit Carsten Hütter an der Gitarre fand man einen hervorragenden Ersatz und komponierte erste Songideen zunächst ohne festen Bassisten. Für die ersten Aufnahmen 2004 konnte man Roger Weitz (Flying Circus, Thin Crow) nicht nur als Mann an den Reglern, sondern auch als Bassist gewinnen. 2007 erschien dann das Erstlingswerk "Insight", das es auf Anhieb auf den Sampler der Zeitschrift eclipsed schaffte.

Der stimmungsvolle, rockige Progressive-Pop bekam in Deutschland als auch im europäischen Ausland gute Kritiken. Das gut eingespielte Team wurde 2009 aus beruflichen Gründen auseinandergerissen, denn nicht nur Tom Jarzina zog es nach Süddeutschland, auch Julia Graff kehrte dem Rheinland den Rücken und ging zurück in ihre alte Heimat. Zu dieser Zeit arbeitete die Band bereits an neuem Material für eine zweite CD. Klanglich hatte man schon einige Ideen und Vorstellungen, aber nicht nur Ideen, auch die Band selbst musste ihren Sound nach diesen Veränderungen finden. Trotz des Umzugs von Julia Graff wurde Elleven mit ihr als Frontfrau und einem weiteren Chandelier-Gewächs an den Drums weitergeführt: Herry Rubarth ist seit 2010 Teil der Band.
Den Metamorphosen, die Elleven in den letzten Jahren durchlief, wird auch das Konzept des Albums gerecht.

Auch in "Transfiction" stecken wieder einige Jahre Arbeit, einige tausend Fahr-Kilometer und Aufnahmen im umfunktionierten Proberaum auf dem Lohhof sowie im neu eingerichteten Mini-Studio im Süden der Republik. All das passierte in Eigenregie: Aufnahmen, Mischung, Mastering oder selbstgelötete Gitarren-Effekte, wieder in Betrieb genommene Synthschätzchen oder das neue Artwork.

Elleven 

Bad Dreams

Bad Dreams is a progressive rock band from Argentina.
They have been the opening act of Steve Hackett concerts. Selected by Steve Rothery of Marillion as his line up band in South America. They started their career as performers of Genesis music. This is their debut album "Apocalypse Of The Mercy", so if you're in both Genesis and Phil Collins, which still reflects in their own songs, this is a great album worth buying.

Subsignal

‚The Beacons of Somewhere Sometime‘ is in stores October 30th, 2015 via Golden Core/Zyx Records in different formats. The special edition contains a bonus song, as well as audio comments by Arno and Markus to each song.

Originally intended as a side-project, Subsignal were founded back in 2007 by former Sieges Even members Arno Menses (Vocals) and Markus Steffen (Guitars).

The first result of this collaboration was a song called ‘A Wallflower On The Day Of Saint Juliana’ which eventually appeared under the title ‘Eyes Wide Open’ on the 2007-Sieges Even-output ‘Paramount’. After Arno and Markus had left the band in the summer of 2008, they immediately started to look for adequate musicians to turn the project into a functional ‘real’ band. The first to join was Ralf Schwager (Bass), who was known for his work with German progmetal outfit Dreamscape. The line-up was completed by the Dutch drummer Roel van Helden (Sun Caged) and keyboarder David Bertok (also Dreamscape). Subsignal define their style as progressive, with an openness to different genres such as AOR, Metal, Pop etc. Arno and Markus describe the music with words like ’melancholic’, ‘emotional’, ‘innovative’ and ‘melodic’. They are aiming to catch up were Sieges Even stopped, but with a stronger focus on the live performances and a greater openness to other musical directions. Subsignal recorded their highly acclaimed debut album ‘Beautiful & Monstrous’ in Spring 2008. The CD was co-produced by Kristian Kohlmannslehner who was also responsible for Sieges Even’s 2007 output ‘Paramount’. The album ‘Beautiful & Monstrous’ has been released worldwide on September 25, 2009 through Golden Core/Zyx Records. (UK Release on 22 February 2010 via Cargo / US Release on 22 February 2010 via Koch Records). Subsignal played their first official show at the 2009 edition of the famous ‘Night Of The Prog Festival’ at the Loreley in Germany followed by several headliner shows and some concerts in support of the German Krautrock-Legend ‘Jane’ in Autumn 2009. In Spring 2010 Subsignal embarked on the second leg of their ‘Beautiful & Monstrous’-tour, supporting the Canadian progrock stars ‘-SAGA’ and doing several solo concerts in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy as well. The successful tour ended in Fall 2010 with a show at the German H.E.A.T.-Festival. In Spring 2011 the band started with the recordings for their second album entitled ‘Touchstones’. This time the band followed a different recording concept: Drums were done – once again – by Kristian Kohlmannslehner, while guitars and bass were recorded by Kalle Wallner (known for his work with RPWL and Blind Ego). Vocal recordings were done by Charly Czajkowski , who is the front-of-house-engineer of Subsignal. ‘Touchstones’ was mixed and mastered by Kristian Kohlmannslehner. In the week of its release ‚Touchstones‘ entered the official German Charts at position 53. After the release of ‚Touchstones‘ the band embarked on an European tour with celebrates shows such as at the 2011-edition of the Progpower Europe Festival. In May 2012 Subsignal filmed a show of the tour and released their first DVD called ‚Out There Must Be Something – Live in Mannheim 2012‘ via ZYX Records in Fall 2012. In February 2013 Subsignal entered the studio to record the third album entitled ‚Paraíso‘. This time the CD was produced by guitarist Markus Steffen, Arno Menses and Subsignal‘s FoH, Charly Czajkowski. ‚Paraíso‘ contains 10 songs with a full playing time of approx. 60 minutes. The song ‚The Blueprint of a Winter‘ features the Mexican vocal diva Marcela Bovio. She is well-known for her work with Stream of Passion and Arjen Lucassen’s Ayreon. Three tracks of the album featured string quartets which were recorded in Los Angeles, USA. The special edition of ‘Paraíso’ will contained a live recording of the band’s 2012 performance in Mannheim, Germany. `Paraíso`entered the German charts just like its predecessor ‘Touchstones’. After the release of ‘Paraíso` Subsignal played yet another successful European tour (with an appearance at the famous Rock of Ages-Festival in Germany). And in May 2014 the band played their first USA-show at the Rites-of-Spring-Festival in Gettysburg (PA). After returning from the ‚Paraíso‘-tour, Subsignal parted company with drummer Danilo Batdorf and keyboard player David Bertok. Arno Menses and Markus Steffen immediately began writing new material for the fourth album ‚The Beacons of Somewhere Sometime‘. After one year of intensive song writing, the album was produced by Markus Steffen, Arno Menses and Charly Czajkowski in Spring 2015. Keyboards were recorded by Luca Di Gennaro (Soul Secret), drums by Dirk Brand (Axxis, Geoff Downes & John Wetton). The album has a full length of about 70 minutes (with its title track clocking in at over 20 minutes), exploring an emotional depth that is new to Subsignal. Even if ‚The Beacons of Somewhere Sometime‘ is not a typical concept work, there are certain musical themes that reappear throughout the album. The lyrics deal with subjects such as loss, parting or unexpected incidents that cannot be controlled. Commented guitarist Markus Steffen:„‚The Beacons of Somewhere Sometime‘ is certainly our most emotional and intense album. I went through some not so enjoyable things the last two years, and I guess some of that stuff went directly into our song writing. But on the other hand, ‚Beacons‘ was pretty easy to write, and it is probably a Subsignal album that is very close to what Arno and I did in Sieges Even some years ago.“

Discography:

Beautiful & Monstrous (2009)
Touchstones (2011)
Out There Must Be Something – Live In Mannheim 2012 (CD/DVD, 2012)
Paraíso (2013)
The Blueprint Of A Winter (CD-Single, 2013)
The Beacons Of Somewhere Sometime (2015)

Subsignal 

Mindspeak

Die Wiener Prog-Rocker Mindspeak melden sich mit dem hervorragenden Live album "Pictures Live" zurück.

Echoes

Pink Floyd – Giganten des Progressive- und Art-Rock, Architekten gewaltiger magischer Klanggebäude mit einzigartiger musikalischer Ästhetik, Zeremonienmeister bombastischer Live-Shows - ein Monolith im Strom der Rockgeschichte. Pink Floyd sind eine der größten Bands aller Zeiten und haben längst ihren Platz im Rock-Olymp. Seit dem viel zu frühen Tod des Pink Floyd-Keyboarders Richard Wright im Jahr 2008 steht allerdings auch endgültig fest, dass Pink Floyd leider nie mehr in der Originalbesetzung zu sehen sein werden.

Mit der Pink Floyd-Tributeband Echoes wird das Erbe dieser legendären Band jedoch weitergetragen.

 Echoes haben das in den letzten Jahren bei über 300 Konzerten (darunter Festivals mit Jethro Tull, Joe Cocker, Manfred Mann, Asia, Hooters, Ten Years After, The Sweet u.v.a.) europaweit eindrucksvoll bewiesen und dabei hunderttausende Menschen begeistert. Sie nehmen ihr Publikum mit auf eine höchst emotionale Reise zur dunklen Seite des Mondes, von "Ummagumma" über "Meddle", "Dark Side Of The Moon", "Wish You Were Here", "Animals" und "The Wall", bis hin zur Post-Waters-Ära. Neben einem umfassenden "Best Of Pink Floyd" kommen dabei auch so manche fast schon in Vergessenheit geratene Werke wieder zu Gehör.

Und dennoch ist ein Echoes-Konzert kein Nostalgie-Trip. Vielmehr zeigt die Band mit immenser Spielfreude, Liebe zum Detail, druckvollem Sound und viel Respekt vor dem Original, dass die komplexen Pink Floyd-Epen heute noch genauso faszinierend und aktuell sind wie zur Zeit ihrer Entstehung – zeitlos eben.

Mit "echoesXL" bietet die Band eine eigens für sie entworfene dreistündige Mammut-Show, die auch dem visuellen Aspekt der gigantischen Konzertproduktionen von Pink Floyd gerecht wird. Die riesige Bühnenkonstruktion, bestückt mit über 50 (!) intelligenten Moving-Head-Scheinwerfern, computergesteuerten Videoprojektionen auf einem zwölf Quadratmeter großen "Mr. Screen" und zahlreichen weiteren Elementen der Original-Shows von Pink Floyd, garantiert in Verbindung mit der ebenso aufwändigen Soundanlage ein absolut außergewöhnliches und einzigartiges Live-Erlebnis im XL-Format.

2014 beschlossen »Pink Floyds Meisterschüler« (Vogtland-Anzeiger), zusätzlich zu ihren »normalen« Pink Floyd Tributeshows einen komplett anderen Weg zu gehen und ein spannendes Experiment zu wagen: Pink Floyd akustisch – ohne Verstärker, Netz und doppelten Boden. Kann man eine Musik, die von ausladenden Sound-Landschaften, verschachtelten elektronischen Klangkaskaden und ungeheurer atmosphärischer Dichte lebt, in eine derart reduzierte Form bringen, ohne dass der Spirit von Pink Floyd verloren geht? Oder anders formuliert: Kann man barfuß zur dunklen Seite des Mondes gehen? Mit ihrer Acoustic-Show »Barefoot To The Moon« treten Echoes den Beweis an. Die Band um den Ausnahme-Gitarristen und -Sänger Oliver Hartmann (Rock Meets Classic, Avantasia) entkleidet sorgsam die komplexen Songs der britischen Rock-Giganten und reduziert sie mit spartanischem, teils ungewöhnlichem Instrumentarium auf die wesentlichen Strukturen.

Echoes

Moonbound

Moonbound is a project headed by multi-instrumentalist Fabio Trentini that was established in 2006.
The debut album "Confession And Release" was released in 2008, followed by "Peak Of Eternal Light" in 2011. Now, the third album “Uncomfortable News From The Moon” is out to blow you away!

The key however is Trentini whose vocals sound somewhere between Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and even Phil’s son Simon Collins.
The songwriting on this album is absolutely stellar. From the intro-like, massively melodic opener “As Long as the Dream is Real,” to the Crimson meets Genesis first single “Cheetah Conquers the Moon (Part 1)” which features excellent touch guitar from Markus Reuter, this album really sounds like a greatest hits album. Every single song is so memorable, catchy and yeah very prog at the same time.

One of the most interesting tracks is the cover of the Devo song “Beautiful World” which sounds more like it’s a Peter Gabriel song! And that’s the other interesting thing. Trentini uses interesting percussion and programming that harkens back to the 80s. Listen to tracks like “Guidance” or “Get Along” and you will understand what I mean. Fans of 80s era Crimson and Duke era Genesis will find plenty to enjoy here.
Hopefully, people will find this album and give it a good listen. Trentini has a great voice and “Uncomfortable News from the Moon” is packed with great music, start to finish. This is modern prog with a beautiful sheen on it that will have you listening to it again and again.

Fabio Trentini: music/lyrics, production, lead and backing vocals, bass, guitars, keys, programmings.
With:
Pat Mastelotto (Mr.Mister/King Crimson/ Stick Men): drums and percussion, co-production
Markus Reuter (Centrozoon/Tuner/Toyah/Stick Men/Crimson ProjeKCt): touch guitar, co-production

Guest-Musicians on "Unconfortable News From The Moon":

Steve Farris (guitar), Steve George (piano, soprano saxophone), Tim Pierce (guitar), Tony Levin (Bass), Lisa Fletcher (Vocals), Tim Motzer (guitar), Milan Polak (guitar), Simon Michael Schmitt (drums), Luca Casagranda (drums), William Dotto (guitar)

Moonbound 

Dara

Dara is a world rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dara is a driving confluence of eclectic sounds that carry a message of peace and love through their distinctive style of rock. Their shared purpose has created a unique sound that consists of Benjamin Dara’s guitar and vocals, Kevin Hutson’s bass guitar, and Chris Stilling on drums. Add to this their rich vocal harmonies, they are a force that reaches beyond the music physically into the world. Together Dara explores the inner and outer most edges of what it is to exist in this universe.
Over the past few years Dara has really honed in on a sound they can really call their own. A natural evolution of Benjamin Dara’s debut album “Single Flame” the music pulls from a vast medley of influences from around the world.

Dara’s new album "The Red Tiger Nebula" expands upon the singer songwriter feel into a more psychedelic vision of rock and roll, while remaining true to Ben’s storytelling spirit.


At the age of 11, Benjamin Dara picked up a guitar and fell in love with music. As he grew up, countless musicians, poets, and philosophers influenced his passion. He even incorporates storytelling and wisdom into his songs, and his deep-rooted Persian culture has shaped the sounds of the various bands he performed in. After 15 years of playing guitar, singing, and writing poetry, Ben has perfected his vision with the band Dara.

With more than a three-and-a-half octave singing range and extensive experience with multiple genres, Ben’s songs have been featured on college radio and various west coast radio stations. He was featured in the Salt Lake Tribune, St. George Independent, and Ogden Standard Examiner. He was also an award-winning songwriter on his freshman album as a solo artist, “Single Flame”. Ben’s unique style and years of experience have shaped the sound of Dara, and he is pumped to share this vision with the world.

Dara

Starquake

Starquake is a rock project around singer Mikey Wenzel, who has released one album under the moniker of Mikey and two albums under the moniker Spiritus Mundi.

  
"Times that Matter" is the first release under the Starquake moniker, but it features many of the same musicians as the other releases do.
 

When I first heard the intro of the first tune 'Scenes from a Revolution', I must admit that I groaned. It sounded so cheesy with 80s synthesizer effects. After this, my hopes were not particularly high, but when the rest of the instrumentation kicked in, I was taken completely by surprise. The song turned out to be an epic hard rock track with references to Iron Maiden and 70s progressive rock. Another epic track with 70s prog rock elements is the closer 'Fairytale'. Going straight from a song about failed revolutions to a hard rocking song about UFO sightings, the album has the quirkiness of 70s hard rock. 'I'm Going Mad' seems more inspired by Queen and Gentle Giant with its multi-layered vocals. 'Here I Go Again' is a metallic hard rocker with an awesome sing-along chorus, and a verse line that sounds a lot like the verse line of Iron Maiden's 'Wildest Dreams'. Well, let's give Starquake the benefit of the doubt and classify this as inspiration and not plagiarism, shall we? In any case, it's a nice straightforward track to have following the 21 opus 'Rise and Fall' (which incidentally is my least favorite track). Another Maiden-inspired track is 'No More Hate' which pays homage to 'Wasted Years' and tracks like 'The Clairvoyant'. 

The production is not polished, but a tad fuzzy which gives the album a nice organic character. The combination of heavy metal guitars, hammond organs, and spacey 70s prog rock synths works very well, and "Times that Matter" is a fine tribute to 80s metal and 70s prog and hard rock. Some tracks have a slight Deep Purple feel to them while others are ore inspired by Iron Maiden. Mikey Wenzel deploys a singing stye similar to Bruce Dickinson after Dickinson returned to Maiden, but his voice has a slightly rawer quality to it to the point of being a it volatile at times (in particular in the opening track). But it is this rawness which gives the album an extra injection of energy, I think.
The album, while not all tracks appeal to my taste, is an enjoyable listen, and I actually look forward to more output my Mikey & co. Fans of Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, and 70s prog rock should definitely check this album out!

Starquake 

Karfagen

Karfagen (means Karthago), a symbol of glory and wisdom and also it is a never-ending journey into the world of the forgotten past and un-predictable future.
The name Karfagen was first heard in 1997 when Antony Kalugin formed the band at school. While he was studying at the architectural university (1998) he began to record the first Karfagen album.

The Seventh Karfagen chapter is a journey into the myths and legends, a search for the truth within the figments of the imagination, everything and everywhere. It concerns the mighty luck and inexplicable power of “7”.
Things that impress folk so much that it can even become an obsession taking over there whole lives.
“7” Centred around the epic track “Seven Gates” which was created during spring 2015.

Antony Kalugin is a prolific musician and composer from Ukraina. His bands Karfagen, Sunchild, Hoggwash, AKKO (Antony Kalugin Kinematics Orchestra) and AKP (Antony Kalugin Projects) plus his solo albums has gained him many fans in the progressive rock scene.

Antony Kalugin

Hollywood Vampires

The Hollywood Vampires was a group of famous male rock stars in the 70's.
In 2015, the "Hollywood Vampires" is a supergroup hard rock band formed by Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp (the actor!) and Joe Perry feat. a heavy load of well know names as session musicians.

Their s/t debut album was released on September 11, 2015 and will be composed mainly of covers from the 70's with the exception of two new tracks written by Cooper titled "My Dead Drunk Friends" and "Raise the Dead".
Also included is a voice-over titled "The Last Vampire" voiced by Christopher Lee. Being recorded shortly before his death, this marks Lee's final appearance on a musical record.

Members

Touring Band:

    Alice Cooper – vocals
    Joe Perry – guitar
    Johnny Depp – guitar
    Tommy Henriksen-guitar,vocals
    Duff McKagan – bass
    Matt Sorum – drums

Session Musicians:

    Alice Cooper – vocals, harmonica, backing vocals
    Johnny Depp – guitar, backing vocals, keyboard
    Dennis Dunaway – bass
    Bob Ezrin – piano, keyboard, backing vocals
    Perry Farrell – vocals, backing vocals
    Dave Grohl – drums
    Tommy Henriksen – guitar, backing vocals, programming
    Brian Johnson– vocals
    Charlie Judge – keyboard
    Robby Krieger – guitar
    Abe Laboriel Jr. – drums, backing vocals
    Paul McCartney – vocals, piano, bass
    Orianthi – guitar
    Joe Perry – guitar
    Slash – guitar
    Neil Smith – drums
    Glen Sobel – drums
    Zak Starkey – drums
    Joe Walsh – guitar
    Kip Winger – bass guitar
    Duff McKagan – bass guitar
    Bruce Witkin – guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, piano

Hollywood Vampires 

The Black Codex

The Black Codex is a musical series in 52 episodes conceived by multi-instrumentalist, composer & producer Christiaan Bruin (Sky Architect, Adeia, Nine Stones Close, Mayra Orchestra, Chris).

It tells the story of a young man (Ezio) who sets out to draw a map of the world, from a wooden flying machine. However, from the moment he meets Lev, his plans go completely awry.
Lev has a mysterious insight in the patterns in which people behave and is a master of secret plans and schemes. Lev involves Ezio in his quest for an ancient book called The Black Codex.

 

The whole series of The Black Codex will be released on 4 double CD’s, packaged in a mini-album sleeve.

A must for all fans of melodic progressive concept albums.

The Black Codex

Riverside

"Love, Fear and the Time Machine" by Riverside out now!!!

Arguably the band's most mature work, the album sees the band return to the melodic and atmospheric Progressive Rock stylings of its debut "Out Of Myself".

The Polish progressive quartet’s sixth album sees a slight shift in attitude and direction as they delve deep to challenge their modus operandi.

Seems there’s something about prog rock and time travel at the minute. On their new album, you’ll find fellow Inside Out label mates Spock’s Beard singing about Bennett Lamb building a time machine and travelling back to the dawn of civilization…or 1983 as we know it. Now we find Riverside adding the time machine/travel notion into their new album.

Lyrically, there’s a loose thread running through the songs, carrying a message about the impact of making life changing decisions; transformations which on the one hand are exciting and liberating yet on the other, carry the fear of the journey into the unknown. A far cry from Dr Who and Back To The Future, more philosophical and thought provoking and if you’re going to have some sort of theme, why not go for it big style. ‘Love, Fear And The Time Machine’ also continues the playful little idea with this, the sixth album, having six words in the title (the first three had three word titles, while the fourth and fifth followed suit with, you’ve guessed it, four and five word titles).

Having cleared up all the necessary details, how’s the music? By contrast to earlier Riverside it’s arguably verging on mellow and many will feel all the better for it. Also by reining in the length and essentially softening the vocals to a level it makes you wonder why you’d want to hear anything which involves dark screaming . There’s also what sounds like quite a contemporary mix and production – not as metallic as the nu-prog of Leprous and not as old school as Spocks, but more, well relaxed and comfortable in its own skin. Everything seems expansive, open and light – the brightness and space and the calm vibe – maybe in their dabblings into a fresh approach they’ve stumbled upon their niche.

For those who consider album sequencing an art form, this one’s a perfect example of the one that starts with an absolute belter, a real bobby dazzling peach of a track. ‘Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened By A Hat?)’ – a brilliant enough title if ever there were one – has all the hallmarks of a classic album/gig opening song. Building deliberately and atmospherically before the drums kick in combo with a killer guitar phrase and for an added thrill to see how it translates into live performance, check out the uplifting set opening version at the end of the review. Michal Lapaj’s organ, simple yet effective and not for the last time on the album – see ‘Caterpillar And The Barbed Wire’ and the lower key ‘Afloat’ where it’s most effective in setting up the anticipation and mood. Even where the music takes a journey along a slightly more heavy path like it does at times during ‘Under The Pillow’ and ‘Discard Your Fear’ it appears much more subtly rather than a jarring invasion.

Mariusz Duda’s vocals on the album are a revelation. He’s talked about “an optimism and willingness to change for the better” in their attempt to leave behind the expected template set in the seventies and eighties and both musically and vocally Riverside have carried that optimism off to a tee. Some fans may bemoan the fact that nothing on the album which hits double figures in terms of track length yet they show that seven and eight minutes are long enough to make the point. Not so much a case of less is more or clockwatching, but when they go longer on ‘Saturate Me’ and ‘Toward The Blue Horizon’, the latter reminiscent of the direction taken by the more prog orientated Opeth, they show that they can effectively combine the light and the shade without it being too contrasting or grating – more a gentle blurring of the two extremes. It’s also the pick of the two longer pieces although both impress with some nice instrumental sections.

Bringing things to a end is ‘Found (The Unexpected Flaw Of Searching)’ closing off an hours journey through the lost and found circle, delivering ‘Love, Fear And The Time Machine’ as the album that the fans have asked for. But be careful what you wish for. There’s no display of pretentious instrumental virtuosity but a real band energy all combining to show that listening to the fans while at the same time sticking to your own vision is a lethal combo. An unmitigated success and an album which must see Riverside becoming one of Inside Out’s flagship bands.

Discography

albums

2003: Out of Myself
2005: Second Life Syndrome
2007: Rapid Eye Movement
2008: Reality Dream (live)
2009: Anno Domini High Definition
2011: Reality Dream Trilogy (6CD-Boxset)
2013: Shrine of New Generation Slaves
2015: Love, Fear and the Time Machine

EP's & singles

2003: Riverside (Promo)
2003: Loose Heart
2005: Voices in My Head
2005: Conceiving You
2007: 02 Panic Room
2008: Schizophrenic Prayer
2008: Reality Dream Tour 2008
2009: Egoist Hedonist
2011: Forgotten Land
2011: Memories in My Head
2012: Celebrity Touch

Riverside

Aeneas

Aeneas are a five-piece band from Augsburg/Germany which combines rock music, electronica, and epic orchestral sounds – a unique style mix which has attracted many followers outside of Bavaria.

The band members are mainly influenced by modern rock groups such as Muse and Coldplay, but also by classic 70s prog acts such as Genesis and Yes. Moreover, they are huge fans of classical music and soundtracks and therefore they decided early on to integrate many orchestral elements. The results are absolutely stunning, not only because Aeneas are real masters in terms of arranging, but also because they are equally capable of writing radio-friendly songs as well as highly emotional longtracks.

Their outstanding debut album "New-Renaissance" is available now!

Apart from that, Aeneas have proved numerous times that they can recreate their complex arrangements live on stage.
Last but not least, Aeneas have an outstanding frontman: Stefan Krause (winner of the “German Rock & Pop Award 2009” in the category “Best singer”) has a distinctive voice which perfectly suits the different characters that he portrays.

Aeneas – this is Epic Rock for the new millennium.

 Aeneas

Abigail's Ghost

Hailing from Louisiana, Abigail's Ghost are a progressive rock band that have just released their new album "Black Plastik Sun".

Founded as a five-piece founded by two high school friends, Joshua Theriot (lead vocals, guitars) and Kenneth Wilson (bass guitar, backing vocals), who had already played together in local bands.

Theriot and Wilson both left Louisiana in 2003 to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston; however, soon afterwards Wilson moved back to his home state to study biology. The two friends, however, kept in touch via e-mail, and continued writing music together. This is when they decided they needed some additional members to play the parts they had written for drums and keyboards; so they contacted another long-time friend of theirs, keyboardist Brett Guillory. The band lineup was completed when they enlisted the services of Theriot's Berklee roommate, drummer John Patrick, who brought along his friend and musical partner, Randy LeBoeuf (rhythm guitar).
Abigail's Ghost debut album, "Selling Insincerity", mainly based on the material written by Theriot and Wilson during their long-distance correspondence, was recorded in a week in New Orleans, and released in 2007 on the band's own label, Aesperus Music. Their sound has been often compared to that of Krautrock bands, as well as modern prog giants Porcupine Tree.

Discography
2007 Selling Insincerity
2007 Cerulean Blue (EP)
2007 Seeping (EP)
2009 D_Letion
2009 Live Rosfest 2009 (DVD)
2014 Unmastered (EP)
2015 Black Plastic Sun

Abigail's Ghost 

Big Big Train

Big Big Train returns with its first release since the universally acclaimed English Electric albums.

The "Wassail" EP contains three new songs (two of which are exclusive to the EP) and a live bonus track, and demonstrates the band confidently expanding its musical palette. The title track is a memorably melodic and anthemic fusion of Folk, Progressive and Rock music, while Lost Rivers Of London and Mudlarks are evocative evolutions of BBT's trademark 'English pastoral' sound. The EP is completed by a powerful performance of Master James of St George (live at Real World studios).


Big Big Train is an English progressive rock band, founded in 1990. Based in Bournemouth, England.
Having released eight studio albums and five EP's, they were an independent band for most of their career (although they were signed to the Giant Electric Pea record label from 1993 to 1998, distributing releases through their own website. Up to 2009, Big Big Train worked mostly as a studio project band headed by Spawton and Poole with changing line-ups and guest musicians. Since their sixth album The Underfall Yard, which received critical acclaim from the progressive rock community, a more stable lineup has been established, and the band's first live concerts in over ten years have been announced for August 2015. Big Big Train were the winners of the Breakthrough Award at the Progressive Music Awards held at Kew Gardens, London on 3 September 2013; their album English Electric Part Two was nominated in the best album category.

Discography:

Albums:

    Goodbye to the Age of Steam (1994)
    English Boy Wonders (1997)
    Bard (2002)
    Gathering Speed (2004)
    The Difference Machine (2007)
    The Underfall Yard (2009)
    English Electric Part One (2012)
    English Electric Part Two (2013)

Demos and EP's:

    From the River to the Sea (1992)
    The Infant Hercules (1993)
    Far Skies Deep Time (2010)
    Make Some Noise (2013)
    Wassail  (2015)

Big Big Train

Deep Limbic System

Single "A Ceiling Of Stars" including two new songs.
This will precede the Full Length album to be released in 2016.
Recorded in May 2015 at AudioLab Studios in Ciudad Juárez, México; released 28 July 2015.


 

Mystic Zealight

Mystic Zealight is actually an odd being named Girish Rao who lives in several spaces and times, depending on the day in the lunar calendar. His mind looks like a local candy store. He spent many happy days in his youth listening to music from Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and other classic rock bands.

After losing most of the hair on his head to a corporate life, he quietly slipped out of the rat-race to pursue his dream of making music his life. By sheer persistence and a few happy accidents, he has created a music album "Caveman In A Suit" featuring 10 songs. He now wishes to share it with the world because it may contain notes that resonate with the cosmos.

For purposes of music production and to give a home to his trusted Ibanez guitar, he currently inhabits a space in Bangalore, India.

Mystic Zealight is a band/production house based in Bangalore.The producer Girish Rao started the project in 2010 with his vocals and guitar. Influences of rock bands like Pink Floyd and Dire Straits are quite evident in the music and so is the love to experiment with a variety of sounds.

"Caveman In A Suit" is the debut album of Mystic Zealight,released 23 January 2015.
It contains a rich array of musical textures, grooves and smooth sounds ranging from psychedelic/progressive rock to ambient guitar leads."Caveman in a suit" contains many moments in the journey to becoming a musician. The album's key message is to urge humanity to take a critical look at cost of progress.

Mystic Zealight 

Gandalf's Fist

Prog/Folk/Rock from the Murky depths of Cumbria.
Aided by a merry band of misfits, Gandalf's Fist are your new favourite Cult band waiting to be discovered! Maybe with this brand new compilation...



Formed at a nightclub in 2005 when a mutual friend invented a silly band name to try and impress a geeky girl, Gandalf’s Fist was formed as the creative collaboration between multi-instrumentalist Dean Marsh and lyricist/vocalist Luke Severn.

Meeting at University and becoming good friends, drinking partners and pub-quiz teammates, the duo spent the subsequent two years releasing experimental instrumental tracks, however, the origins of their music go back much further. They start, depending on your point of view, with the golden era of Prog in the 1970s, the birth of English folk centuries before or, even in the time before time inhabited by Tolkien’s fantastical characters

... And what would Tolkien say about all this? With a pint of Mead in hand, one might suggest he would say; “Hell Yes!” And proceed to rock his socks off!

Gandalf's Fist draw on their mutual love for classic rock bands such as Pink Floyd, The Who, and even the likes of Iron Maiden. Early on, the band became increasingly captivated by bands in the resurgent neo-prog scene such as Porcupine Tree, they were inspired to try and forge their own musical identity, creating music that, whilst not appealing to the masses, (and certainly not their neighbours) was the kind of music that they, themselves, wanted to hear.

After successful releases of the LPs "Road to Darkness" and "From a Point of Existence", winning widespread acclaim for their mix of Neo-Prog, Folk and Hard Rock, Gandalf's Fist released their space-rock opus:‘ A Day in the Life of a Universal Wanderer’.

The record, seemingly transmitted from a derelict space station in the far reaches of the galaxy using instruments salvaged, is a cosmic jam across space and time exploring a mythical figure from the 26th Century – ‘The Universal Wanderer’ - who’s legend tells of a figure who has wandered the cosmos from the birth of existence to the end of time.

Even when caught out of time and stranded beyond the borders of a decaying Black Hole, you can still expect Gandalf’s Fist to deliver the goods with their unique brand of Medieval Folk Rock! Tracks such as the epic doom-laden jazz of “The Nine Billion Names of God” fit perfectly alongside the anthemic choruses of “Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet” and the renaissance-whimsy of “The Battle for Tannhäuser Gate”, creating one of the most engaging albums to be recorded from the far side of the solar system.

Following the widespread recognition the record received from national publcations such as Classic Rock, Prog, Fireworks and Powerplay magazines, as well as Planet Rock and Team Rock Radio, Gandalf's Fist appeared on the bill at Planet Rockstock '13 alongside the likes of Fish, Hawkwind and Uriah Heep. Following the performance, touring musicans Stefan Hepe and Chris Ewen were promoted to full-time band members as the medieval-space-rock-pioneers recorded and released their fifth, full-length studio release "A Forest of Fey" - an album which also featured guest contributions from high profile musicians such as Troy Donockley, Clive Nolan, John Mitchell, Dave Oberle' and Matt Stevens.

As Gandalf’s Fist’s reputation continues to grow within the Prog-Rock scene it is difficult to imagine what the future holds for this merry collection of musical adventurers, but what is certain is that it will be well worth sticking around to find out!

Discography:

Album:
    2010: The Master And The Monkey
    2011: Road To Darkness
    2012: From A Point Of Existence
    2013: A Day In The Life Of A Universal Wanderer
    2014: A Forest Of Fey
    2015: Uprooted

EP's and Singles:
    2011: Emerald Eyes
    2011: Stakes At Low Tide
    2011: Songs From The Solway
    2011: The Wizard's Study
    2012: There And Back Again
    2012: Winter Is Coming
    2013: The Wizard's Study II: Balrog Boogaloo
    2013: Songs From A Winter Forest
    2014: The Snows They Melt the Soonest

Gandalf's Fist

Witchwood

Witchwood just hailed with "Litanies From The Woods", their debut album released 25th May, featuring a mix of hard rock, progressive, psych and southern with an obscure and 70's vintage attitude!

In 2014, from the ashes of the Buttered Bacon Biscuits (BBB), were born the Witchwood. BBB released in 2010 the album "From the solitary woods", distribuited by "Black Widow Records" and positively reviewed by many italian and foreign music magazines and websites (Metal Maniac, Rock Hard, Metal Hammer, Jam, Classix, Rumore, W.S., Rockerilla, Italian Metal, Heavy Impact, Perkele.it and many others). BBB have played in many gigs around Italy, also supporting important bands like Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull, Bud Spencer Blues Explosion, etc..they also released in 2013 “A National Acrobat” cover for the Black Sabbath tribute “Hands of Doom” for Mag Music Production. After the split, some members of the band, Ricky, Andy, Steve and Sam, have decided, with the entry of new member Luca Celotti on bass, to start a new project, the Witchwood. All musicians, active for decades, with past recording experience with band like Bad Ambition (Andy), Excrucior and Witche's Brew (Ricky) and collaborations with artists like Martin Grice (Delirium) and Nik Turner (Hawkwind). Debut album "Litanies from the woods" features ten tracks and is a well balanced mix of hard rock, progressive, psych and southern rock with an obscure and vintage 70's attitude.

Riccardo "Ricky" Dal Pane - Vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin & percussion
Andrea "Andy" Palli - Drums & percussion
Stefano "Steve" Olivi - Hammond, piano, synth & moog
Luca "Celo" Celotti - Bass
Samuele "Sam" Tesori - Flute & harmonica
Davide Mosca - Lead guitar

Witchwood 

IOEarth

Ladies & Gentlemen, the wait is finally over!
IOEarth's "New World" is here, released 20th May 2015.

Since 2009, Dave Cureton and Adam Gough's signature genre-blending sound has been the talk of the Progressive Rock community, with one review even hailing their debut self-titled release "the most important Progressive album of the decade".

Early last year, IO Earth announced that they were back in the studio, recording new material for their third release, once again causing a commotion in the Prog world.

During the making of "New World", recording was temporarily delayed as Dave and Adam made changes and additions to their line-up, introducing Jez King on Violin and Christian Jerromes on drums and percussion in July 2014. These changes have added a new edge to their sound, with some heavier influences coming from the new members, while it retains all of the original unique qualities that grabbed the fans attention to begin with. The new album also has long-time members Luke Shingler (Sax) and Christian Nokes (Bass) continuing to bring their own influences and style, plus vocalist Linda Odinsen who, while having been on the road with IO Earth now for almost three years, makes her long-awaited first appearance on disk.

IOEarth are a project from Birmingham/UK headed by Dave Cureton and Adam Gough who each master guitars, keys, bass and vocals. They have been good friends since they met in school at the age of 12. Their writing partnership strengthened and by the time they were 15, composing and performing their own music started at small local venues with a band made up of their friends and relatives.

They both enjoy music of all kinds. As for the inspirations Frank Zappa is just one of the earliest. You'll also find examples of contemporary rock, commercial pop, classical, jazz and everything in between and they have always enjoyed juxtaposing these supposedly completely different styles in their own compositions.

Much of their early work was guitar based rock in the same vein as the likes of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. While this element remains in their songs to this day, they have very much moved away from emulating their influences and have created a unique sound of their own. Many band members came and went through the years, each bringing their own styles and influence to the work, but the one constant has been Dave's brother Richard Cureton (drums).

It was in 2004 that Dave Cureton and Adam Gough decided to start working on their first studio album. Some time later they took their ideas to the recording studio where they met Miguel Seco, a very talented musical engineer and producer from Portugal. Finally it took nearly two years to work out their same-titled debut album, holding 20 songs with the help of several competent friends, featuring vocalist Steve Balsamo for example.

Released in 2009 the whole production is a melting pot of different styles and offers a cinematic vibe, like a soundtrack for lovers, full of relaxing, charming melodies - however contrasting with heavy rocking impressions here and there - provided to tell a complete story in (prog) music divided into three movements. IOEarth are recommended to fans of sophisticated rock music.

Discography:
2009 - IOEarth
2012 - Moments
2013 - Live In The USA
2015 - New World

IOEarth

Pilot

"A Pilot Project" has taken off at an airport near you!
I hope you climb aboard!

As we approach the 40th anniversary of Pilot's debut album, David Paton, Ian Bairnson, and Stuart Tosh have reunited as Pilot. As a first project out of the gate, it is only fitting that David and Ian would turn to The Alan Parsons Project. While Stuart played on the first two Project albums and Billy Lyall the first, it was David and Ian, along with drummer Stuart Elliott from Cockney Rebel, who would become the band behind the Project for years to come. David brought his distinctive bass playing and vocals and Ian his melodic guitar licks and imaginative, smooth solos to the Project. These contributions, when coupled with the rich harmonies of Chris Rainbow, lush arrangements of Andrew Powell, skillful songwriting of Eric Woolfson, and superb production of Alan Parsons created the unique Project sound that fans all over the world would come to love.
With A Pilot Project, David and Ian pay homage to Eric Woolfson's legacy. We hope Project and Pilot fans enjoy the opportunity to hear Eric's classic tunes interpreted and played in a new way by the band behind the Project. Some things should sound familiar with David singing such classic Paton sung tracks as What Goes Up, Children of the Moon, and Let's Talk about Me and Ian adding his insperational guitar sound throughout. But we hope you also enjoy a few twists from David's production and interpretation of classic tunes originally sung by Eric, Lenny Zakatek, Colin Blunstone, and others!

Pilot 

Preacher

Preacher are an eight piece progressive rock band from the United Kingdom who have been making quite a name for themselves thanks to their regular touring schedule and festival appearances.  Their flawless live shows are performed before stunning visual backdrops and light shows which create an almost hypnotic experience reminiscent of Pink Floyd at their height and never fails to leave their sell out crowds in raptures.

The band is made up of Martin Murphy (Lyrics, Vocals, Guitar); Arnie Burgoyne (Keyboards); Greg Murphy (Lead Guitar); Iain Duncan (Drums); Gordon Munro (Bass); Ron Rodgers (Acoustic Guitar) and finally the female backing duo of Angela Bell and Kerry McWhinnie.  Arnie Burgoyne recently returned to Preacher after taking some time out to go on a world tour with Echo & The Bunnymen.

Preacher’s distinctive yet familiar sound is a subtle blend of epic prog rock and classic rock.  Their stunning debut album "Signals" in many ways pays homage to the classic conceptual approach of crafting an album based around a single theme or ‘concept’ championed by bands such as Pink Floyd, Yes and King Crimson in their heyday and more recently with the likes of Radiohead opting for a similar aesthetic.

As well being a genuinely outstanding live band, Preacher love to work in the studio too.  Lead singer Martin Murphy and keyboard player Arnie Burgoyne are perfectionists when it comes to the band’s sound, with both of them spending countless hours alongside their producer Larry Primrose putting the finishing touches to their final mixes.

Preacher

Gentle Knife

Gentle Knife is a Norwegian progressive rock band counting 10 members. With both male and female vocals, guitars, synths, mellotron, woodwinds and everything else you would or would not expect, the band combines the mood of the ‘70s with a modern take on the genre. Gentle Knife’s self-titled conceptual debut album takes you from the clamor of the big city, into an alluring forest. The journey is supposed to renew your energy, but somewhere deep in the forest, you are drawn away from the path, and into the unknown…

Gentle Knife’s s/t eponymous conceptual debut album is an 8-part suite rooted in the classic rock concept album. This innovative release transcends the genre with originality and modern sentiment. The results are both lyrical and foreboding, symphonic and urban. The album recounts the tale of an adventurer’s unfortunate demise in an alluring forest.

Members:
Astraea Antal - flute, winds and visuals
Pål Bjørseth - keyboards, vocals, trumpet
Odd Grønvold - basses
Thomas Hylland Eriksen - sax and woodwinds
Håkon Kavli - vocals, accoustic guitar
Eivind Lorentzen - guitars and synths
Melina Oz - vocals
Ove Christian Owe - guitars
Ole Martin Svendsen - drums, percussion
Brian M. Talgo - samples, words, and visions

Additions:
Ole Michael Bjørndal - additional guitars on Eventide, The Cords that Bind, Beneath the Waning Moon, The Gentle Knife and Coda Impetus
Astrid Lenvik - additional lyrics on Eventide and Remnants of Pride

Gentle Knife 

Forgotten Suns

After five long years of waiting Forgotten Suns are now back with their outstanding new album "When Worlds Collide".

Founded in mid 90′s by guitar player Ricardo Falcão, Forgotten Suns stands as one of the most prolific portuguese progressive rock/metal bands of our days.

Their music is often compared to movie soundtracks due to the fact that each and every song reflects a different concept, like a script where music plays a wide role by defining the landscapes and action.

In the early beginnings the band was seriously driven and influenced by the melodic power and song writing of bands like Pink Floyd, Genesis and Marillion (from whom they inspired themselves to create the band’s altered name) and also from the heavy/progressive influences of bands like Metallica, Fates Warning or Dream Theater – the band’s name is related also to a belief on how one can cross a lifetime by experiencing enlightenment of a spiritual nature – Music is the path.

The band’s icon “siamese phoenixes” symbolizes the daring spirit of Forgotten Suns to reborn each and every day, from song to song, from album to album, into the Future from the ashes of the Past.

Musically speaking, the main purpose of the band is to do evolutionary albums under their own progressive approach and fulfill a lifetime dream through music with focus on high quality live and studio performances.

The first years of their biography yielded two albums – Fiction Edge (2000) and Snooze (2004) who were early sons born out of the band’s musical growth in an adverse context. Even though yet with a blatantly lack of production, those albums were highly appreciated by the media and especially in the prog community by their strong melodic approach and song writing quality.

Those two albums were written without having a full time drummer in the same room, so some songs naturally became rhythmically lighter. The arrival of drummer J.C Samora in March 2003, who still participated in the final writings of ‘Snooze’, was a major breakthrough at the time.

After the promotion concerts of ‘Snooze’ the band decided to enter a new level of production both in studio, live and as performers, at the time bassist Nuno Correia joins the band in August 2005.

This new state of mind and musical direction led to the split with the previous singer and there were no definitive options available until the band came to find the exquisite and powerful voice of lead singer Nio Nunes already during the recordings of the new album. With a new singer on the ranks the band signed with ProgRock Records and the new album ‘Innergy’ (2009) stands as the most heavy & progressive material up to date done by the group.

On December 2010 the band released their first EP ‘Revelations’ on their own new label Pathfinder Records and in 2011 the band was included on the triple tribute CD to The Flower Kings ‘A Flower Full of Stars’ with the song ‘In the Eyes of the World’.

The new year 2012 starts with keyboard wizzard Ernesto Rodrigues joining the band after Miguel's departure.

Forgotten Suns spent the last two years writing, pre-producing, recording and mixing the 4th full lenght studio album baptized 'When Worlds Collide' that was released on March 21, 2015.

Forgotten Suns 

Graal

The Italian quintet Graal first came to prominence in 2005 when it released its full-length debut album "Realm of Fantasy". Since then the band has hooked up with its native label Bloodrock Records, and two more productions have seen the light: "Tales Untold" in 2007 and "Legends Never Die" in early 2011.

Now they're back with their new output "Chapter IV" which is far by the most mature and complete of their discography, underlining a constant and progressive growth. Musically Graal is placed well inside the retro-oriented hard rock universe: few touches of southern rock Molly Hatchet-style, some details heralding a plausible Deep Purple influence, others with similarities closer to Iron Maiden and early 80's UFO, with occasional additional flavorings folk-oriented.
My first impressions were a bit skewed, even thrown off, as the band starts off the album with Little Song, an acoustic song with slight folk nuances. But then follows with Pick Up All The Faults a hard rock number with a heavy metal feel. But then you notice something else. Graal has warped into the past. Their sound is this retro-fitted classic hard rock that sounds somewhere between 1978 and 1983, complete with touch of keyboards sounding like a Hammond. It's what some might characterize as proto-metal, but it's being played in the 21st century. I'm also sure there's more than a few people who will read this and only see "retro' and think old. But they would be wrong.
In the wrong hands, Chapter IV would probably sound old to some. But Graal has a keen sense of the roots of classic hard rock and metal. Whether it's the fundamental groove of the rhythm section, the swirl of keyboards, an abundance of clean but stinging guitar, or smooth melodies and vocal harmonies, the band works the elements like craftsman. This music may not captivate the idiot youngster trying to keep his pants up. But those who have a sense of history will get this music.
Heavier numbers come also with Lesser Man and Shadow Play, both of which move on the strength of guitar riffs. Sometimes songs start with the keyboards, and nearly throw you off. With Guardian Devil it's brief and leads to song driven by bass and drum in less heavy more subdued atmosphere. At the start of Last Hold you might think you bumped back another decade to the psychedelic Sixties. But this leads into another hard rock number. Yet the keyboards stay present turning later to piano about the midpoint, then back to synths. Some of Graal's best music is left for the end with A Poetry For A Silent Man and Northern Cliff, both instrumentals. The first is pure piano, simple, nearly melancholy. The latter finds a nice fusion of acoustic and electric guitar with underlying keys, notable piano, all held together by steady and presence rhythm. I think I liked these two songs more than any of the others. Fundamentally, for listeners unfamiliar with their style, Graal and Chapter IV will take some time understanding before they enjoy it. Jump right in, I say. Graal is quite adept and creative at their retro and proto melodic hard rock and metal.

Graal 

Gazpacho

"Night of the Demon" was filmed when the band embarked upon the "Demon" album tour in spring 2014.

 The band were aware that many countries were missing out on the tour and many fans across the world would be unable to attend so they brought in Dutch filmmaker Jon Vis to film their show in April at Boerderij in Zoetmeer in Holland.

"Night of the Demon" captures the band as they are on stage and showcases band’s raw and honest performance that will appeal to anyone with a taste for inventive and different music.
The show saw Gazpacho playing songs from across their catalogue including tracks from Tick Tock, Night, Missa Atropos, Firebird, March of Ghosts and the majority of the songs from their recent 2014 album Demon.
The audio CD features 9 tracks coming in at an impressive 80 minutes whilst the DVD features the full performance of 14 tracks and will be packaged as a 2 disc CD/DVD digipack.

Gazpacho are an art rock band from Oslo, Norway.

The original core band of Jan-Henrik Ohme (vocals), Jon-Arne Vilbo (guitars) and Thomas Andersen (keyboards, programming, producer) started making music together in 1996 and the band has since expanded with Mikael Krømer (violin, co-producer), Lars Erik Asp (drums) and Kristian Torp (bass).

Gazpacho's music has been described by one critic as being "classical post ambient nocturnal atmospheric neo-progressive folk world rock".
As their name suggests, Gazpacho are an eclectic mix of ingredients: a bit more accessible than Radiohead, more diversified than Marillion and more proggy than Coldplay.

Discography:

Studio albums:
Bravo (2003)
When Earth Lets Go (2004)
Firebird (2005)
Night (2007)
Tick Tock (2009)
Missa Atropos (2010)
March of Ghosts (2012)
Demon (2014)

EP's:
Get It While It's Cold (37°C) (2002)

Live albums:
A Night At Loreley (2010)
London (2011)
Night Of The Demon (2015)

http://gazpachoworld.com