Category: Progressive rock
Dream Theater @ The Fox, Oakland CA 05/07/16
Another great concert review by latindrummer – this time, Dream Theater.
I hadn’t been this close to the stage since the Touring Into Infinity Shows back in 1998. To say that I was geeking out would be an understatement. We had seats at stage right, between Petrucci’s and Labrie’s positions. We sat down in disbelief, we were in the 5th row and I seriously considered pinching myself. A fan made his way ahead of us and said a cheeky “man, these seats suck!” We cracked up, mock agreeing with the statement. We looked up, behind, and all around. We couldn’t help but marvel at the lovely, ornate facades inside the Fox. It was a majestic house and probably the nicest venue my friend and I had ever encountered. It shined. This venue was rich with history and culture. It stood out like a little jewel in the odd mix of buildings in downtown Oakland. It was a cool venue and very appropriate for the band’s ‘production.’ This album…
View original post 894 more words
Paul McCartney @ Save Mart Center, Fresno CA 04/13/16
A great review, by latindrummer, of a recent Paul McCartney show in California.
A Beatle. A Beatle came to Fresno (that’s the part where my head explodes). Like a local reporter had written, Fresno received the royal treatment from Sir Paul back on April 13th. Almost 3 hours of live music, 37 songs. 37 songs!! Not 17 like most groups, not 21 or 22 like some of the more generous acts, not 24 like U2 on their most recent tour, but 37!!! Back in the mid 60’s when the Beatles still did live shows, they could get off the stage after 20 minutes. Then the group broke up and George Harrison started hanging around with Led Zeppelin – Harrison saw them perform 3 hour shows and said “3 hours, fuck me!” Inspired by Zeppelin’s stamina or not, McCartney is generously performing a TON of music spanning his entire career, including piles of songs from the Beatles and Wings catalogue, and at 71 years of age with no…
View original post 737 more words
Glass Hammer: VALKYRIE!!!
Holy schnikees this looks amazing! So thrilled to see the trajectory of a band move more and more toward perfection. Incredible. Glass Hammer is simply nothing short of astounding. Thank you, Steve and Fred! So much brightness you offer in a world of immense darkness.
____
Glass Hammer is in full production on “Valkyrie”, a full-blown concept album that bassist Steve Babb compares to their previous works “Lex Rex” and “The Inconsolable Secret”.
“Still, we’ve managed to come at this album in a totally new way. We have been in the rehearsal room for months, rehearsing the album as if it were to be a live concert. Our shows are so much more edgy than our studio albums and we really wanted to capture that energy. When we felt the ‘show’ was ready, we hit record. That happened over the last weekend and the results are outstanding. There is still a lot of studio work to do, but the basic tracks have been captured and we are well on our way to making “Valkyrie” a very unique album.”
As for the concept Babb was willing to say that, “‘Valkyrie’ is about a soldier who marches away to battle only to find himself embroiled in a war that was far more than he bargained for. The story is intense, as is the music.”
No release date has been set yet but the band has promised “Valkyrie” for sometime in the fall of 2016.
THE QUEEN IS DEAD: 30 Years Later
Amazingly, THE QUEEN IS DEAD came out thirty years ago today. For me, it was that magical time between graduating from high school and heading off to the University of Notre Dame. I spent that summer of 1986 dreaming of college, working as an overnight DJ at a local radio station, and rather madly chasing around a young woman (who is now, thankfully, happily married and living in central Kansas).
Strangely, though, THE QUEEN IS DEAD did not inspire or trouble me once that summer. For whatever reason, I completely missed its release.
It wasn’t until I arrived at Notre Dame that a great friend (and now an extremely famous philosopher) introduced me to THE QUEEN IS DEAD. From the first listen, I was bowled over. Being rather partial to prog rock, I didn’t cotton easily to non-progressive music. Yet, there was something in THE QUEEN IS DEAD that captured my imagination. There was a wit, a whiny intelligence, a reference to some of my favorite writers, and a strange cynical romanticism that pervades the whole album that tugged at my soul.
With Morrissey, I wanted to walk the cemetery gates, and I knew that there was a “light that never goes out” when it came to that Kansas girl I chased for almost two years.
I felt sorry for the Queen and for Prince Charles, of course, but I chuckled about the vicar, and I thought I knew a Bigmouth, here or there.
Thirty years ago. Amazing. It could’ve been yesterday.
Review: Zeolite – Zeolite
“Zeolite” is an EP release by Australian technical/progressive death metal act Zeolite. The EP was self released in February this year. It’s the successor to the band’s two singles: “Earthmover” (2014) and “Astringent” (2015).
The music on “Zeolite” EP pretty much continues th technical/progressive metal style that has been traced with the mentioned releases. Zeolite are still pretty unique sounding within the genre because of how they combine technical/progressive death metal parts with atmospheric (at times ambient) heavy parts. The technical level of playing is high, the sound production clear and powerful, and the songwriting is strong too.
The EP features 3 tracks and a full playing time of 30-odd minutes. “Seligman’s Curse” and “Brath of Kaiser”, which bookend the EP, are both in the style described above while “Seneca the Younger” and “The Dramaturgy Perspective of a Theorist” showcase that the band is no stranger to deathcore and brutal death metal. Growls of Fraser Mainwaring are convincing and intelligible. The higher pitched screams also work to great effect. Guitarist Patrick Haas and bassist Lucas Tolputt create huge wall of sound. The remaining part of the rhythm section – drums are programmed, and although they are done excellent I hope that the band will find a drummer for their next releases.
Overall “Zeolite” shows a lot of talent and potential with this EP. Let this release serves as a promise for an even better full-length release. Excellent job!
Listen to Zeolite on Bandcamp.
OPETH to Release New Album “Sorceress” via Nuclear Blast Later This Year — Prog Sphere
Nuclear Blast Entertainment is very pleased to announce the signing of Swedish progressive legends, Opeth. Always an unstoppable force for uniqueness amid a sea of generic swill, Opeth have been setting the rulebook ablaze, and ploughing a uniquely progressive and exploratory furrow for over 25 years now. Neither conforming nor exhibiting any desire to be restricted…
via OPETH to Release New Album “Sorceress” via Nuclear Blast Later This Year — Prog Sphere
Time to PROG the Vote
It’s that time of year again–the time to vote for the best in progressive rock music over at the majestic Jerry Ewing’s PROG.
Big Big Train’s Folklore (Hi-Res Audio Version) – Review
Big Big Train – Folklore – 2016 – High-Resolution Audio Version
Tracks: Folklore, Along the Ridgeway, Salisbury Giant, London Plane, Mudlarks, Lost Rivers of London, The Transit of Venus Across the Sun, Wassail, Winkie, Brooklands, Telling the Bees
I wasn’t going to review this album. In all honesty, the others at Progarchy who reviewed it have done a much better job than I will. That, and I really didn’t like this album at first. I chalked my initial misgivings as simply, “you can’t win them all.” I figured I would have to accept that nothing else from 2016 would come close to Haken’s Affinity, which I’m still convinced that not much else will.
Admittedly, my first impression upon hearing the CD setlist of the album was, meh. I didn’t like the opening track, as parts of it were too poppy, and I don’t think Big Big Train writes compelling poppy songs. When I saw that “Wassail” was on this album, I was slightly disappointed, since that song grew to grate on me from 2015’s EP. Too much repetition in the chorus. Both “Folklore” and “Wassail” reminded me of “Make Some Noise,” another song that I find tolerable, but wish hadn’t ever been produced by this band. It just doesn’t fit with the rest of their songs. Overall, the track listing didn’t really work. The album didn’t flow, which seemed strange for this band.
My journey as a passenger on the Folklore train did not end there, however. I discovered that the band had another track listing, a definitive one, released as a vinyl record. I saw that it included “Lost Rivers of London” (one of my favorite BBT songs) and “Mudlarks,” another fantastic track. The band also chose to release this track listing as a high-resolution audio download. After annoying Brad for the lossless FLAC files of said hi-res download, I gave the album another shot. I’m glad I did.
Continue reading “Big Big Train’s Folklore (Hi-Res Audio Version) – Review”
Neal Morse Band: aLIVE again
The amazing new Neal Morse Band “Alive Again” DVD/2CD Set and Blu-ray will now be released worldwide August 5th. Pre-orders will begin 9:00 a.m. CDT June 21st.
Radiant’s Special Offer! The first 100 pre-orders of either version will receive a tour setlist signed by the whole band. This rare exclusive collectors item is only available through RadiantRecords.com
Track Listing
CD 1
1 Alive Again Intro
2 The Call
3 Leviathan
4 The Grand Experiment
5 Harm’s Way
6 Bill’s Keyboard Solo
7 The Creation
8 There Is Nothing That God Can’t Change
Total Time 65:22
CD 2
1 Waterfall
2 Eric’s Gtr Solo
3 In The Fire
4 Alive Again
5 Rejoice
6 Oh Lord, My God
7 Reunion
8 King Jesus
Total Time 73:50
Riding on the tremendous success of their breakthrough album, The Grand Experiment, The Neal Morse Band set out on a tremendously successful world tour in the spring of 2015. Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy have teamed up with Randy George, Eric Gillette, and Bill Hubauer to create one of the greatest progressive rock bands of all time. Full stop. The Alive Again package shows them at the top of their form performing for a rousing audience in Holland March 6, 2015.
Audio mixed by Rich Mouser
“The Neal Morse Band is a force of nature. They have evolved into a great live band, one that is as good as there is in music and they really shine on this live set. The performances here are jaw-dropping and might have you giving a standing ovation from your couch.” – Roie Avin, The Prog Report
[N.B. progarchy loves the views of Roie Avin!]
[N.B.II, my only complaint is that this does not include a live version of “New Jerusalem,” the single greatest song Morse has written!]
Progarchy 