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