Pink Floyd has long been a powerful artistic voice against fascism. One of their most unforgettable studies of how fascism lurks within the human heart is their unforgettable rock opera The Wall. A cinematic recap of the essentials:
Now Pink Floyd stands in solidarity with Ukraine against today’s incarnation of fascist genocide:
Don’t look away. Add your voice to Gilmour’s guitar solo. Otherwise this is the way the world ends. Tear down the wall.
The big, big news just keeps on coming this week. From progressive rock-friendly publishers Rocket 88, via The Prog Report:
KEITH EMERSON is a new lavish and fully illustrated book in which family, friends, colleagues, and fans talk to author Chris Welch about the life, work, and legacy of Keith Emerson from before The Nice and ELP through 3 to The Keith Emerson Band. Illustrated throughout with previously unseen photos from family, friends, and professional photographers, this official celebration will tell the remarkable tale of Keith’s musical evolution, his personal relationships, and the creation of his astounding musical legacy. Includes new interviews with Keith’s children, ex-wife, close personal friends, Mari Kawaguchi, Carl Palmer, Rick Wakeman, Lee Jackson, Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter, Alan White, Dave Kilminster, Marc Bonilla, Rachel Flowers, Darius Brubeck, Geoff Downes, and others.
The book draws on the private Emerson family archives for photographs of Keith at home, at work and play. Close family and friends share memories and stories from throughout his life, revealing the true man, while fellow musicians from the worlds of prog, rock and classical attest to Keith’s talent and dedication, while others who worked with him tell of his spirit, generosity and sense of humour.
Keith Emerson celebrates the life and legacy of the man who first played the Hammond organ like a lead guitarist, introduced the European classical music tradition to rock fans with The Nice and helped create the template for prog rock with the very first Moog synthesizers with ELP. He also wrote movie soundtracks, performed with world-renowned jazz musicians, and toured the world as a solo artist. All of that and more is explored in this deluxe book.
As a happy owner of last year’s “in their own words” ELP book from Rocket 88, I’m excited about this project. Keith Emerson is one of my two great progressive rock heroes (Robert Fripp is the other), who influenced not just my listening, but also my ultimate vocation as a musician. So I’ve already registered at www.keithemersonbook.com (which gets you a special discount when pre-orders begins, allows you to have a name printed in the book, and puts you first in line for receiving your copy).
— Rick Krueger
Melodic prog rock outfit The Bardic Depths have unveiled a new-look line-up as they announce they will release their second album, Promises Of Hope, through Gravity Dream Music in June 24. You can watch a video teaser for the new album below.
The band, led by multi-instrumentalist Dave Bandana also originally featured noted US historian Brad Birzer, who many here will know from the respected Progarchy website. Birzer once again has devised the concept for the new album, which centres around the horrors of suicide and the possibilities of redemption.
The new line-up sees Tiger Moth Tales/Camel man Pete Jones join the band, who were the very first signing to Gravity Dream Music last year, alongside Gareth Cole (Paul Menel/ Fractal Mirror) and Tim Gehrt (The Streets/ Steve Walsh). As previously the core band are ably supported by a number of guest performances including Robin Armstrong (Cosmograf) who also co-produces the album.
“Our two Bards this time are Virgil and C.S Lewis who both wrote about the complexities of suicide,” says Bandana. “However, our story is simple in that a young queen tries to kill herself but Heaven will not allow it and instead offers redemption. The listener can decide the outcome.”
“Working with everyone again was a joy. Gareth, Peter and Tim contributed to every track and it was a logical conclusion to ask them to become The Bardic Depths band. I didn’t want this album to sound the same as the first. Essentially it is a prog album but with a few surprises. I let the music flow where it wanted as the guys contributions were added to the palette and I think we have created a diverse and absorbing album.”
Preorder Promises of Hope from Gravity Dream Music. The CD will also be available through The Band Wagon USA.
— Rick Krueger
Marillion, An Hour Before It’s Dark, March 4, 2022
Tracks: Be Hard On Yourself (i. “The Tear in the Big Picture, ii. Lust for Luxury, iii. You Can Learn) (9:27), Reprogram the Gene (i. Invincible, ii. Trouble-Free Life, iii. A Cure for Us?) (7:00), Only a Kiss (0:39), Murder Machines (4:20), The Crow and the Nightingale (6:35), Sierra Leone (i. Chance in a Million, ii. The White Sand, iii. The Diamond, iv. The Blue Warm Air, v. More Than a Treasure) (10:51) Care (i. Maintenance Drugs, ii. An Hour Before It’s Dark, iii. Every Cell, iv. Angels on Earth) (15:18)
I may not be the most avid Marillion fan in the world, but of all the bands out there making music, they force me into deep reflection more than anyone else besides Devin Townsend. But where Devin Townsend forces me to be introspective, Marillion draws me outside myself. I disagree with their politics, yet generally I’ve found their perspective and the way they present it to be helpful in drawing me out of my own bubble. Their 2016 album, F.E.A.R., was a masterpiece in that regard, and it has been an album that has stuck with me since its release. I’m not ready to say that their latest record An Hour Before It’s Dark is on that level, but it is very good. I expect it will grow on me as time goes by. I’ve been slowly digesting it for a few weeks now, and I’ve been compelled to return to it more than any other album in that time.
Musically there are few bands that can match Marillion. Steve Rothery is one of the finest guitarists in the business. Pete Trewavas’s bass booms throughout, taking a primary role in various parts of the mix. Ian Mosley’s drums will no doubt win him awards, and Mark Kelly’s keyboards round out the Marillion sound. This is an album that sounds like a Marillion album. In many regards it sounds very similar to F.E.A.R. It’s a continuation, not a progression, but what did we expect? Marillion is doing what they do best, and who would fault them for that?
At first glance An Hour Before It’s Dark appears to be a rather dark album, although Steve Hogarth says despite the lyrical themes, the album is rather upbeat. I agree in part. There are dark and brooding elements of the music that are a lot like F.E.A.R, but there are also peppy tracks that defy their lyrical doom. “Murder Machines” is about the frustrations during Covid of not being able to be near loved ones for fear of killing them with love.
I put my arms around her
And I killed her with love
I killed her with love
Marillion – “Murder Machines” – YouTube
The opening track, “Be Hard on Yourself,” is a cutting critique of our culture of excess. The band extol the listener to “Be hard on yourself / You’ve been spoilt for years.” Like much of Marillion’s catalog, the melody and lyrics work their way into your ears. It’s catchy, yet the music is still unashamedly progressive. On the musical side of things, Kelly’s keyboards are particularly noticeable on this track. Hogarth’s signature style of speak-singing is in full force, bringing the lyrics into the forefront.
Cause of death: Lust for luxury
Cause of death: Consumption
The first two sections of the track examine the culture of consumption, but in the final section Hogarth offers a solution: get up and do something positive. He ends the song with such a call:
You can do better
You can do better
But do it nowWe haven’t got long
We haven’t got long
To the end of the songBe hard on yourself
Strap in
Get ready
Foot down
Push the button
Blow it all up
Blow it all upPaint a picture, sing a song, plant some flowers in the park
Get out and make it better
You’ve got an hour before it’s dark…
As the late David Longdon told Progarchy last summer, “That’s the beauty of being human, we don’t get forever.” Make a change before it’s too late. Say a kind word, or at the least don’t say that unkind word. Lend a helping hand. We all can make a difference before it gets dark. The hope in this message alone makes the album worth listening to.
Continue reading “We Still Have Time – Marillion’s Message of Hope: “An Hour Before It’s Dark””
Don’t let the afro and fringed pouch fool you: Fuzzy Duck packs quite a punch. Hailing from England, this rare bird of a band managed to release only one album before falling into obscurity. Like Steppenwolf and Atomic Rooster, Fuzzy Duck produced organ-driven music with an edge to it. Here are some of the highlights:
The opening number “Time Will Be Your Doctor” begins with a groovy bass line and drum beat courtesy of bassist Mick Hawksworth and drummer Paul Francis, who provide a solid foundation throughout the album. Guitarist Graham White and organist Roy Sharland also show off their chops on their respective instruments, and it is the latter two gentlemen who truly carry this album.
“Mrs. Proust,” the following piece, will probably remind many listeners of Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride”: Sharland shreds on the organ during a superb solo, but White is never far removed from the scene with his crunchy, distorted guitar providing an extra edge to this song.
White does his best work on “Country Boy,” a dynamic song that has a “rushing through the city” feel to it. Robin Trower’s influence can be heard on this – arguably their heaviest – track.
The album closes with the tongue-in-cheek “A Word from Big D,” an organ-led instrumental punctuated with (somewhat annoying) duck calls. It doesn’t hold up well compared to the other tracks on the album, but it’s not the worst attempt at levity I’ve ever heard.
Aficionados of organ-driven hard rock and prog – especially Vincent Crane’s work in Atomic Rooster and Goldy McJohn’s in Steppenwolf – will appreciate this solid effort. It may not blow anyone away, but as far as early proto-metal bands go, Fuzzy Duck is one of those under-appreciated worth a listen or two.
Stay tuned for number thirty-five!
Fairy Tale, That Is The Question, 2021
Tracks: Wasting The Sound 1 (1:36), That Is The Question (3:48), Time Heals Nothing (4:37), Wasting The Sound 2 (1:42), Wake Up (4:13), Girl Of The Opera (3:24), Wise Men Keep Silent (5:00), Wasting The Sound 3 (1:14), Sophie (11:19), Dot (0:24)
While Slovakia’s Fairy Tale may be a new band to Progarchy, the group has a long history making music dating back to the mid 1990s. The longtime project of Peter Kravec has seen a couple iterations, but the current version was created in 2003 when Kravec met singer Barbora Koláriková. They have since made five albums, including this one, released at the end of October 2021. Kravec plays guitars and produced the record, and Koláriková plays bass guitar in addition to handling all the vocals. They are joined by drummer L’ubomír Pavelka, and Marek Škvarenin and Adam Lukáč play keyboards on various tracks.
The album ranges in tone from ambient and electronic sounds to a harder progressive rock edge. The band describes themselves as art rock and prog with elements of ambient. At under forty minutes, it’s a short record, which means the disparate sounds of ambient music with heavier rock sometimes clash, although I don’t think the album is necessarily meant to be a concept album.
The heavier parts of this record, such as the title track, have a very upbeat tempo, which contrasts with the more ambient elements. With that said, even the title track has a deeper moment with heavy bass and an overlay of Fripp-Like guitar. This smoothly blends into “Time Heals Nothing,” which opens with quieter keyboards and clean electric guitar.
The strongest part of the record comes in the second half of “Time Heals Nothing,” which features a seriousness and an intensity in the music and the lyrical delivery that is more pronounced than on other songs. The song gradually builds towards the end into a wonderful “wall of sound” effect, which blends the ambient with the rock in a seamless way. I also think this song also has the best lyrics of the album. It deals with themes of joy and suffering, forgiveness and grace. There is an element of nihilism in the second half of the song, which can be gleaned from the title. For example:
Souls are burning
And we are boring
Time heals nothingSouls are burning
Knowledge is boring
Time heals nothing
The electric guitar opening to “Wise Men Keep Silent” has a soothing atmospheric quality that reflects the shorter instrumental tracks, although these more ambient qualities are not tied in throughout as well as they could be. “Wise Men Keep Silent” demonstrates what Fairy Tale does best: ambient and atmospheric music sprinkled with rock influences. The instrumental track includes Barbora using her voice as an instrument, which adds a calming sensation. As I’ve been listening to Devin Townsend’s late 2021 ambient record, Snuggles (which I really should review at some point) recently, I’ll add that I hear similar elements in this song, as well as in other parts of That Is The Question.
At just over eleven minutes in length, “Sophie” is the epic of the album. It has a more electronic influence to it, and it allows the varying musical influences to dance with each other more so than on many of the other songs. There are moments where it feels disjointed, particularly in the transitions, but overall it works well.
If the artwork looks familiar, that’s because it’s by the great Hugh Syme, who is perhaps most well known for his work with Rush. The artwork throughout the CD digipack is characteristic of his work, and it is quite good. It adds an extra layer of professionalism to the overall packaging.
While the individual musical elements on the album are all quite good, I think the album could use a bit more focus, or a longer running time with extended songs that tie the various musical elements together better. The shorter songs help serve that purpose, but I’m not entirely convinced that their style of upbeat rock works with more melancholic ambient tones, apart from the ending of “Time Heals Nothing,” which addresses this concern very well. My concerns may be a matter of taste, however, and you should be the judge of that for yourself. Overall I still say the music is very good and worth checking out.
https://fairytaleartrock.bandcamp.com/album/that-is-the-question
https://fairytale.peterkravec.com
https://www.instagram.com/fairytale_artrock/
https://twitter.com/FairyT_artrock
Glass Hammer seem to get better with age. Their most recent album, Skallagrim, is phenomenal. Now Steve Babb has released the first of four fantasy albums to go along with the fantasy story created in that album and in 2020 record Dreaming City.
From Babb’s website: “Stephen R. Babb’s novel, Skallagrim – In the Vale of Pagarna, is a deep dive into a world of epic fantasy. The book is a tale steeped in all of the classic elements of the Sword and Sorcery genre and will no-doubt delight fans of the work of Robert E. Howard, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis (with maybe even a hint of H.P. Lovecraft for good measure).”
And those monsters saw not a young man with a sword but a scarred and screaming horror with the rising red doom of the sun at his back and a hellishly shrieking, flashing, living sword in his hands.
Read more over at Prog magazine: https://www.loudersound.com/news/glass-hammers-steve-babb-releases-debut-skallagrim-novel. Or read more about it at Steve Babb’s website: https://stephenrbabb.com/books/
The Silent Wedding has covered this song called “Diamonds and Rust”, for almost everyone that means Joan Baez, but for ageing metalheads it simply channels mighty Judas Priest. We all have our own aesthetic preferences, and The Silent Wedding successfully appeals to those very classic metal predilections. That essentially means, Ego Path is rife with melody, neo-classical shredding, NWOBHM riffs, and all the other essential signatures reminding us of that classic lineage.
It’s that time-honored sonic tradition running from UFO and Judas Priest, to 80s British heavy metal, eventually mutating into that melodic power metal path via the great Ronnie James Dio. Obviously, all these influences are not complete without those omnipresent progressive tendencies. Add those clean vocals with adequate range, meandering melodic ballads, and passages tailored for arena rock — The Silent Wedding becomes that exquisite expedition every classic metal fan and prospective classic metal fan seek!
Lots of great music has crossed the metaphorical Progarchy transom this month! Purchasing links are embedded in each artist/title listing; album playlists or samples follow each review.
The Flower Kings, By Royal Decree: Fun fact: this is the third double album in a row from king of Kings Roine Stolt and his merry band. And like 2019’s Waiting for Miracles (which started the streak) it’s compulsively listenable from start to finish. Fresh out of lockdown, Stolt, singer Hasse Fröberg, keyboardist Zach Kamins, drummer Mirko deMaio and alternating bassists Jonas Reingold & Michael Stolt laid down 18 songs in the studio, negotiating the twists and turns of wildly varied material (some of which dates back to the early 1990s) with energy, precision and evident delight. Not a trace of metal here, and I hear much more psychedelia, fusion and Eurofunk in the mix than stereotypical “prog” — but to my ears, that’s what makes goodies like the unpredictable opener “The Great Pretender”, the ravishing ballads “A Million Stars” and “Silent Ways”, and the off-kilter eccentricity “Letter” so fresh and fun. There are plenty of serious lyrical moments too, as in “The Soldier” and “Revolution”; but, by and large, By Royal Decree is the sound of Stolt and company refreshed and revisiting their optimistic roots, soaring on the wings of one marvelous melody after another. It’s as much a joy to hear as it must have been to create.
Remembering the great Keith Emerson (2 November 1944 — 11 March 2016)…
“There’s no end to my life
No beginning to my death”
Why not celebrate with this splendid box set featuring liner notes by the sagacious Jerry Ewing:
Progarchy 