RICK WAKEMAN – «The Red Planet» (2020)
Rick Wakeman’s return to classic prog was long overdue, but this year finally saw the release of his first prog album since Out There (2003). […]
Progressive
Pink Beatles (or: how close was Paul McCartney to joining Pink Floyd in the 1970s?)
First of all, let’s answer the question posed in the headline: not very close at all. The paths of Paul McCartney and Dave Gilmour have […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «Pink Beatles In A Purple Zeppelin» by Arjen Anthony Lucassen
Arjen Anthony Lucassen is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his many conceptual progressive metal/rock operas. His main project […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «Ride To Hell» by Horslips
Horslips are an Irish rock band with Celtic and folk influences. They were initially active as a touring and recording band from 1970-1980. After decades […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «Afterimage» by Rush
When Rush drummer Neil Peart passed on 7 January 2020, the outpouring of love and respect was quite extraordinary. Peart was known as a private […]
MARKO HIETALA – «Mustan Sydämen Rovio»(a.k.a. «Pyre of the Black Heart») (2019)
My favourite album of 2019 is a dark odyssey through loss, separation, self-doubt, depression, and ultimately survival and strong statements of intent. This is heavy […]
THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM – «South of Reality» (2019)
The Claypool Lennon Delirium is an American psychedelic rock band featuring bassist/vocalist Les Claypool (known from Primus) and Sean Lennon (still primarily known as his […]
MAGIC PIE – «Fragments of the 5th Element» (2019)
The fifth studio album from Norwegian progressive hard rockers Magic Pie seems to have reached far beyond the Norseland region. The band has released several […]
CELLAR DARLING – «The Spell» (2019)
Sometimes band drama can lead to good things. When Swiss folk-metallers Eluveitie went through personnel issues between members in 2016 (too much to get into […]
BIG BIG TRAIN – «Grand Tour» (2019)
It is amazing to reflect on how long this English progressive rock band has been around. They were formed in 1990, but I almost consider […]
The Best Music Boxed Sets of 2019
2019 is in the books, and it’s time to take a look back and do a little summarising. From a music perspective, I will primarily […]
Artist spotlight: Hällas
Hällas is a Swedish retro-progressive band with dashes of hard rock and psychedelia – albeit the 1970s version of these genres. Their sound and inspirations […]
The late Chris Squire
Chris Squire was the legendary bass player/vocalist for the equally legendary progressive rock band Yes. There have been many incarnations of Yes over the years, […]
Artist spotlight: Coven
As Halloween is approaching, it is only fitting that we take a closer look at a band of a certain notoriety to match the spirit […]
Artist spotlight: Morningstar
As far as major label obscurities go, Morningstar must surely rank as one of the most underground overground band of them all. Formed in Kansas […]