The Fierce and the Dead: Both and Neither

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

I’m sorry, but, really, who doesn’t love these guys!?!?!  So glad to know that BEM is treating them so royally.  –Brad

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The Fierce And The Dead – If It Carries On Like This We Are Moving To Morecambe (remastered) – released by Bad Elephant Music on 18th November 2016

Originally released in 2016, the album has been remastered with five bonus tracks, and is presented in Digipak format for the first time. The release also features all new artwork by celebrated artist Mark Buckingham.

…Morecambe represents the first flowering of The Fierce And The Dead’s signature sound, and displays both the immediacy of their music and a promise of what was to come.

Guitarist Matt Stevens says: “We’re really pleased to get this opportunity to release a definitive version of the first Fierce And The Dead album – we’re still really proud of it. It’s nice to get an opportunity to go back to  remaster it, sort out the packaging and put some previously unreleased tunes on there. Mark Buckingham’s brand new art is really special and the opportunity to work with one of our favourite artists is a massive deal for all of us. I’m really pleased to be able to release it in partnership with our friends at BEM.”

Continue reading “The Fierce and the Dead: Both and Neither” →

Iris Interviews: Geoff Tate (Operation: Mindcrime, ex-Queensrÿche) — Grendel HeadQuarters

On By IrisIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Written interview! Interview with Geoff Tate of Operation: Mindcrime Geoff Tate recently released his second studio album with his band Operation: Mindcrime, named Resurrection (you can read my review of that album here). It’s a follow up of the album The Key, and the second part of the trilogy. Geoff and Iris did an interview […] Continue reading by clicking on the link below!

via Iris Interviews: Geoff Tate (Operation: Mindcrime, ex-Queensrÿche) — Grendel HeadQuarters

A Proper Awe: The Gift’s WHY THE SEA IS SALT

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

The Gift, WHY THE SEA IS SALT (Bad Elephant Music, 2016).  Tracks: At Sea; Sweeper of Dreams; Tuesday’s Child; The Tallest Tree; All These Things; and Ondine’s Song.

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From: Bad Elephant Music, 2016

Talk about mythic.  The Gift has given us a love song to the vast world of the oceans.  Well, “love” might be too strong.  There’s love here, to be sure, but there’s also fear and mystery and more than a bit of properly understood awe.

Finding myself quite taken with this most recent release, I keep feeling waves of nostalgia for the first time my great friend, Craig Breaden, introduced me to real Procol Harum—not the Procol Harum of the top 40, but Procol Harum in all of the band’s art rock glory.  Yes, The Gift talk about “Salty Dogs”, but it’s far more than this lyrical reference that calls me back to my first moments with that Procol Harum album, more than a quarter of a century ago, now.

Partly, it’s the flow of the album.

Partly, it’s the intelligence of the lyrics.

And, partly, it’s the whimsy that mixes so well with gravity—not an easy skill for any lyricist.

And, there’s another fantastic aspect to this album—the flow of the music perfectly follows the flow of an ocean journey.  How The Gift accomplished this so ably, I’m not sure.  But, every instrument—whether the keys, the bass (love the bass playing on this album; absolutely love it), the voice, or the guitar—leads to the next one, always playing nicely as it trades off the focus, one to the next.  The effect is an usual and compelling flow for the listener as he (or she!) journeys from one wave to the next.

Continue reading “A Proper Awe: The Gift’s WHY THE SEA IS SALT” →

Rush: TIME STAND STILL–still in theaters

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

This just came from Rush official:

Due to overwhelming demand, there will be encore screenings of the documentary Rush | Time Stand Still across the US on Thursday, November 17 – check http://rushtimestandstill.com for a theatre near you!

On Thursday, November 17 there will also be a special screening by Planet Rock in London, UK. The event will be hosted by Rush Superfan Darren Redick at Planet Rock studios at 6pm. There are 10 pairs of exclusive tickets to be won, you can enter here: http://www.planetrock.com/win/rush-exclusive-uk-advance-screening/Contest closes Monday Nov 14 at 23:59PM.

Recent Physical Arrivals at Progarchy HQ

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

 

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Every day is Christmas at Progarchy HQ

Arrivals at Progarchy HQ:

  • XTC, SKYLARKING (Steven Wilson Mix)
  • Space Cossacks, LIVE SUPERNOVA
  • Evership, EVERSHIP
  • Neal Morse Band, A DAY IN THE LIFE
  • Justin Hayward, LIVE IN CONCERT AT THE CAPITOL THEATER
  • Sioum, YET FURTHER
  • Necromonkey, SHOW ME WHERE IT HERTZ
  • HEROES TEMPORIS
  • Esthema, LONG GOODBYE
  • Notice Grace, MOVEMENTS
  • Yurt, MOLLUSKKEPOKK
  • Gadi Caplan, MORNING SUN
  • Sills and Smith, ECHOES IN TIME
  • Jonas Lindberg, PATHFINDER

 

Confidence Within a Sphere of Creativity: FIRE GARDEN

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Fire Garden, FAR AND NEAR (2016).  Tracks: Far and Near; There’s Something; A New Day; Life of a Drifter; A Thousand Lost Souls; War and Peace; Faint Shadows; Whitelight; and Diary of a Blood Moon.

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Fire Garden’s second release, FAR AND NEAR.  A must own.
www.firegardenmusic.com

One of the single best things about being a hyperfan of progressive rock music is always dealing with the most interesting of people.  When it comes to prog—the musicians, the engineers, and the fans—we’re all basically a bunch of OCD perfectionists.  And, I think we understand each other in ways non proggers simply cannot (as in, not constitutionally equipped to do so).  In the nearly ten years I’ve been reviewing music online, I’ve met a number of absolutely fascinating people.  None less so than Chicago’s young master of all that is melodic metal prog, Zee Baig.

The moment I first found Zee’s music—as first sold through his ep, aptly titled THE PRELUDE—I knew I had to reach out to him.  I did, he was responsive, and we pretty quickly established a friendship through email.  We talked about war, tradition, music, kids, art.  You name it, and Zee and I talked about it.  Even though we’re only a three-hours drive from one another, we’ve never actually met in person.  Strange, but true.  And, here’s hoping, someday soon this will be rectified.

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Zee Baig
Until that glorious moment, I’m more than content listening to Zee’s astounding music.  It, in and of itself, has become a close friend.  The band’s first album, SOUNDS OF MAJESTIC COLORS, has remained in my constant listening rotation since it first appeared in 2014.  There’s no mistaking that the best of Dream Theater influenced and inspired much of the first album, but Fire Garden takes chances that Dream Theater never would.  This is especially true in lyrical content.  To be sure, Fire Garden is no clone of DT.

FAR AND NEAR, Fire Garden’s second full-length album, has just appeared on the market, and it’s a stunner, as strong and as good as anything else that has come out this year.  This is no small praise when one considers how many greats have come out: from Frost* to Glass Hammer to Big Big Train.  FAR AND NEAR stands with those at the very top.

Continue reading “Confidence Within a Sphere of Creativity: FIRE GARDEN” →

Riverside’s Soundscape

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment
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No note (or silence) is without purpose.

Riverside, EYE OF THE SOUNDSCAPE (Insideout Music, 2016).  Tracks: Where the River Flows (new), Shine (new), Rapid Eye Movement, Night Sessions 1, Night Sessions 2, Sleepwalkers (new), Rainbow Trip, Heavenland, Return, Aether, Machines, Promise, Eye of the Landscape (new).

It’s truly hard to know what to label Riverside’s latest release, EYE OF THE SOUNDSCAPE.  I can, however, state the following with absolute certainty: it is a truly glorious thing.  A thing of intense beauty.  A thing I very proudly own.  Two disks, 103 minutes of music, and great packaging.  What more could one want from any album, let alone from a band as exceptional as Riverside?

Yet, EYE OF THE SOUNDSCAPE is not really a proper album, or at least an album with all new tracks.  Of the thirteen tracks on this album, only four are new.  The other nine come from previous Riverside releases, generally from the special editions.  What holds them together is the ambient and electronic quality of each song.

But, wait. . . isn’t that what Lunatic Soul is for?  Duda’s more experimental side?

Continue reading “Riverside’s Soundscape” →

Neal Morse, Superstar: The Similitude of a Dream

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock10 Comments
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Radiant Records, 2016

Here’s the best way to sum up the new Neal Morse Band album.

  • If you loved SNOW, you might or might not love THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM.
  • If you loved SOLA SCRIPTURA, you’ll definitely love THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM.
  • If you loved THE GRAND EXPERIMENT, you’ll think THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM is good, but not great.
  • If you have not heard of any of the albums mentioned above, but you’d like to try some of Neal Morse’s music, you definitely DO NOT want to start with THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM.

Every one of Neal Morse’s post-Spock’s Beard album seemed to get better and better: TESTIMONY; ONE; ?; LIFELINE; TESTIMONY 2; and MOMENTUM.  With the exception of SOLA SCRIPTURA, Morse seemed incapable of making a mistake.  Though I dislike SOLA SCRIPTURA not only for its themes and lyrics and for its music being over-the-top bombast, I was certainly willing to forgive these problems — especially given the honest spirit in which the album was written, produced, and performed.

What about THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM, then?

Continue reading “Neal Morse, Superstar: The Similitude of a Dream” →

soundstreamsunday: “Dark was the night, cold was the ground” by Blind Willie Johnson

On By Craig BreadenIn bluesLeave a comment

blindwilliejohnson

*above image by R. Crumb.

soundstreamsunday archive and playlist

Concert Review: Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman (ARW) Saturday, November 12, 2016 at the Majestic Theater, San Antonio, Texas.

On By Kevin McCormickIn progressive rock12 Comments
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ARW

 

With the first step into the Majestic Theater in San Antonio one crosses the threshold into a magical space, like entering a ride at a theme park.  The original 1920s tiled floors direct your paces into the main theater with beautifully sculpted dark wood lining the walls, railings, ceilings, and staircases.  Ornate chandeliers illuminate the space and the main theater is adorned in its entirety with an elaborate stucco relief which includes birds and vases and spiraling banisters. It’s a sight to behold.  My fondest concert memories are from this incredible place.

Something about the Majestic’s dramatic architectural collage made it the perfect setting for the music of Yes performed nearly fifty years after the band’s creation.  That it would be performed by the band’s founding member—arguably the soul of Yes—Jon Anderson, along with his concertmaster, ringmaster, and erstwhile musical genius Rick Wakeman, and guitarist/composer extraordinaire Trevor Rabin, made it a concert for the ages.

Opening with the track that began the joining of Rabin to Yes, the band rolled in with the rocking instrumental “Cinema” from 90125: Rabin in a slim-fit coat and slacks looking like he might have stepped off of the photo shoot from the Beatle’s Sergeant Pepper’s album, and Wakeman dramatically strolling onto the stage in his iconic cape and tennis shoes and settling in behind his mission control deck of nine keyboards.  This served as the band’s intro, much in the same way that Stravisky’s Firebird Suite had in past concerts.  The stage is set, the band are playing…

Continue reading “Concert Review: Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman (ARW) Saturday, November 12, 2016 at the Majestic Theater, San Antonio, Texas.” →