Neal Morse Band: aLIVE again

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment
ALIVE-AGAIN-COVER-LOW+REZ
Forthcoming, August 2016

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!]

 

Jordan Rudess and Zee Baig: Fire Garden’s Heaven

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment
Fire Garden - Jordan Rudess Banner
The fire montage!

Location: Chicago, IL, USA

Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) records guest solo for Fire Garden’s upcoming album

FG_Far_and_Near_Album_artwork
The sophomore album

Chicago based progressive rock act Fire Garden is pleased to announce the guest appearance of virtuoso keyboardist Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) on their second full length release ‘Far and Near’. The record also features Jimmy Keegan of Spock’s Beard on drums and many others. The album is mixed by Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief) and the artwork cover is designed by Travis Smith (Opeth, Riverside, Katatonia).

The album is going to be released on July 29th 2016 through PledgeMusic platform and can be pre-ordered with special exclusives at http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/firegardenmusic

Fire Garden’s mastermind Zee mentions, “It’s a great honor for me to work with Jordan Rudess. He is a legend and I have grown up listening to his music and watching him play throughout the years. It’s surreal, and at the same time amazing to see his personal touch on my music.”

Fire Garden is a progressive rock project by Zee Baig from Chicago. The band has released one EP, ‘The Prelude’ in 2012, and one full length record, ‘Sound of Majestic Colors’ in 2014. The brand new album, ‘Far and Near’, is more personal and exploratory in nature, and is ready to release this summer. The band is also ready to hit the road to support the new album.

Contact: Get in touch with Zee at info@firegardenmusic.com for bookings, interviews and promos.

Zee_Fire_Garden_one

Hackett’s Latest Video: Wolflight

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment
Hackett
Photo by Tina Korhonen

 

WORLD-RENOWNED GUITARIST/COMPOSER STEVE HACKETT‘S NEW VIDEO CLIP “WOLFLIGHT” HAS EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE PREMIERE ON TEAM ROCK TODAY

 
VIDEO TAKEN FROM 2CD/2DVD, BLU-RAY “THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE 
LIVE IN LIVERPOOL,” NOW DUE OUT IN NORTH AMERICA JULY 29TH
VIA INSIDEOUT MUSIC
 
(New York, NY) – Fans of progressive rock around the world can click here to check out the exclusive worldwide premiere of the brand new live clip “Wolflight” from world-renowned guitarist/composer Steve Hackett on Team Rock today.  The live performance clip is taken from his forthcoming 2 CD/2 DVD, Blu-Ray package THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE LIVE IN LIVERPOOL, due out in North America on July 29th (please note new release date) via InsideOut Music.  The package was filmed during Hackett‘s Acolyte To Wolflight With Genesis Revisited tour last year.  Celebrating the 40th anniversary of his first solo album VOYAGE OF THE ACOLYTEand following his latest album WOLFLIGHT, the Acolyte To Wolflight With Genesis Revisited Tour was Hackett‘s effort to represent the many chapters of his career. Featuring two sets – one highlighting his solo work, the second paying tribute to Genesis – the two hour performance was greeted with enthusiasm by both fans and critics.  To preorder the package, please click here.
THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE LIVE IN LIVERPOOLwill be available as double CD plus double DVD digipak, separate Blu-Ray edition as well as digital album including the two audio CDs; click here for cover art.  The line-up for the performance is as follows: Steve Hackett (guitar, vocals), Roger King (keyboards), Nad Sylvan (vocals, tambourine), Gary O’Toole (drums, percussion, vocals), Rob Townsend (saxophone, woodwind, percussion, vocals, keyboards, bass pedals), Roine Stolt (bass, variax, twelve string, vocals, guitar) with special guests John Hackett and Amanda Lehmann.
Steve Hackett‘s latest solo album, WOLFLIGHT (InsideOut Music) explores a new chapter in Hackett‘s career.  The tracks take the listener through a journey in space and time looking at the different faces of the endless fight for freedom. Wandering between parallel universes, Hackett explores contemporary and ancient cultures, from Greece (“Corycian Fire”) to the Far East (“Wolflight”), the United States and Martin Luther King (“Black Thunder”), and also his very own childhood memories (“The Wheel’s Turning”) and the unresolved drama of domestic violence (“Love Song To A Vampire”).  The video for the title track can be seen here.
In 2010, Steve Hackett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame at The 25thAnnual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony alongside his Genesis bandmates from the classic line-up: Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford.  For more than three decades, Steve Hackett has been known for his innovative tone and extraordinary versatility as a guitarist and composer.  He helped define Genesis’ sound as lead guitarist in the classic line-up and went on to have a highly-successful career as a solo artist, and also as part of 80s supergroup GTR with Steve Howe.
 

Review: MetaQuorum – Jonathan Livingston

On By NickIn Progressive rock2 Comments

Jonathan Livingston

UK based progressive rock duo MetaQuorum, in existence for a few years, have released a new single called “Jonathan Livingston” recently. When it comes to the progressive and atmospheric variants of rock music, bands coming from Europe have carried a rich history and undeniable reputation of taking it to unmatchable extremes, so a band like MetaQuorum immediately compels Progarchy to take notice, and share with readers thoughts on the band’s new single.

The almost four-minute song creates dreamy atmospheres with bass and keyboard works that strikes an excellent balance between heaviness and melody, and the drum patterns on top of it amplify the melodic element further. The music transitions between these extremes and smoothly moves from one passage to another, making the four-minute duration seems almost momentary. The song follows a simple structure but the music is well-written and played. Drawing parallels with other bands would be a mistake, as MetaQuorum tend to combine plenty of different styles. With a song of this nature, the duo has come forward as another noteworthy entity in a crop of progressive, electronic, atmosphere-inducing rock groups. Their subsequent releases should be on everyone’s radar. In the meantime, listen to “Jonathan Livingston” here.

Majestic Ayreon

On By bradbirzerIn Uncategorized1 Comment

For those of you who have followed progarchy from the beginning (and, a huge thank you–whenever you joined our little anarchomusical republic), you know how much we admire Arjen Lucassen.  Lucassen is a wonder in every way.  What he does with music is simply mind boggling.  Not only do I listen to Arjen in all of his many projects whenever I can, I also use every chance when lecturing on modern literature, science fiction, and dystopia to talk about Lucassen.  So, it grieves me that this has to be short as a post.  I’ve spent the past week at an academic conference in Bryn Mawr, and I’m more than a bit behind on my writing.  

Whenever Arjen produces something–whether it’s a solo album, Guilt Machine, Star One, Ambeon, or Ayreon–he does so with impeccable excellence.  The writing, the lyrics, the packaging–every thing is perfect.

soundstreamsunday: “If There Is Something” by Roxy Music

On By Craig BreadenIn art rock, electronic, glam rock, Progressive rockLeave a comment

ROXY-2If in May 1972 the Rolling Stones defined and deified rock and roll (and themselves) with the release of Exile on Main Street, one month later Roxy Music’s debut album made splatter art of such ideas.  A galvanizing, glammed-out, punked-up masterpiece, Roxy Music is the first of a series of four albums (including For Your Pleasure, Stranded, and Country Life) that artfully engage a European, distinctly non-bluesy, approach to rock. Where a mere three years later Roxy would hit the disco with “Love is the Drug” and a decade on would make one of the great, soulful, chilled-out new wave records with Avalon, in 1972 the band was pushing in every direction, its self-defined non-musician Brian Eno creating on-the-fly soundscapes that turned Andy Mackay’s reeds into guitars and Phil Manzanera’s guitars into sirens, while Bryan Ferry ululated — more in the style of Roger Chapman than the smooth crooner he would become — loose, even free associative, lyrics rendered on a spectrum from oddball to heartbreaking. While their image and aesthetic fit into the cutting edge of the British glam music scene at the time (Bowie’s Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust was released just the week before), and their creation myth is inseparable from their influential visual audacity (for who could look more creepy in a feather boa and leopard skin than the be-rouged Eno?), it was the band’s intense musicianship and penchant for the melodic that was the core of its success and influence, and why you can hear this first album in everything from The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Talking Heads. The sound is richly subversive, hooks are everywhere, songs use shifting dynamics to create emotional peaks. They challenge convention, but are fully wrought, they are all surface, but go deep.

Roxy Music on Amazon

soundstreamsunday archive

The History of Rush — Part 1

On By Time LordIn Progarchy1 Comment

Read all about the early years of Rush. A sample:

Alex Lifeson: It was at junior high, in that ‘getting to know you’ stage, that Geddy and I got heavily into music.

Geddy Lee: We wanted to be rebellious, to break away from our families, like all kids want to do. And we both had a really deep passion for music and wanting to play it. Almost every day we’d go to his parents’ place after school and we’d jam for two hours.

Alex Lifeson: For a long time we were in different bands, but we always jammed together. We loved to learn all those great Cream songs, play along to the record player, and play them better and better and better. It was really a lot of fun. It was just the two of us – no drummer. The good old days! We’d either play along with the record, or we would both plug into Ged’s amp and just play, him on bass, me on guitar. We were beginning to look at music more seriously and really trying to figure out what the musicians were playing, how the bands worked. And we loved to play. We just couldn’t get away from it.

Geddy Lee: The first time I ever got high was with Alex. He was just a terrific pothead, and a terrible influence on me. We went to the local public school grounds to smoke some pot. At that time I was playing in another band, and after I got high with Al, I went over to the guy in my band’s house for rehearsal. But I was a little too high to be very functional, and this guy was really mad at me. He was very straight and he was really upset with me. He was threatening to tell my mother that I was high. That was a bummer!

Progarchy’s* Interview* with Jem* Godfrey* of Frost*. Seriously.*

On By Erik HeterIn Progressive rock4 Comments

On May 27th of this year, Frost* returned from an eight-year hiatus to release their latestFrost album, Falling Satellites (Progarchy review here). In conjunction with this release, Frost* … ‘s mastermind, Jem Godfrey, was willing to sit down with us for a chat (where do you put the apostrophe with the asterisk already there??). We discussed the new album, mused philosophically about life, talked more about his the formation of Frost* and his activities outside of the band … and asterisks. Those pesky asterisks.

 Progarchy: What would you say is different in a musical sense relative to the two previous Frost* albums?

JG:      We have a different bass player and drummer from the previous recorded album we did. I think that in and of itself adds a whole new sound to the band, because they are playing in a different sort of way than JJ [John Jowitt] and Andy [Edwards] did. That’s the first thing. The second thing is that John Mitchell was very keen on not doing classic John Mitchell on this, he was really up for taking his rule book and throwing it out the window, and that was brilliant. He was trying out new, different sort of effects and putting his guitar through all kinds of plug-ins and interesting sort of sounds, trying different guitars, so he was really up for experimenting. I think kind of also just that it’s eight years later that our sound palette is slightly different as technology has sort of moved on. So you know it’s the same band but it’s definitely sort of moved on, I think.

Progarchy: Now with John (Mitchell), you say he threw out his rule book, so how would he define his rule book?

JG: Well, he has got two settings, loud and quiet normally. He’s not normally one for heavily effecting his guitars, but he got some Valhalla plug-ins and stuff, and was running it through his laptop and doing all sorts of non-John things this time out, and it really worked.

Progarchy: So I guess his classic John Mitchell sound is what you hear more on Arena or Lonely Robot then?

JG: Yeah, I think so. There are a couple of bits where it’s obviously him doing that sound, because you have to have a bit of that in there, but he was very up for trying different things. There are a couple of bits in there that you wouldn’t know it’s guitar, but it’s actually guitar, he’s gone quite experimental in some places.

Progarchy: And what about you, how would you say your sound palette has changed?

JG: I’ve got sort of a lead sound I’ve developed over the years which has sort of become my signature sound, and which I didn’t really mean to do that back in the day. There are a couple of times I sort of “wheel it out.” I sort of liken it to how Tony Banks does his Pro Soloist … it’s quite nice to get a sound in there that you recognize. But again, I’m not wedded to any particular synth, I just use whatever is around at the time and put it through effects.

Progarchy: You also mentioned something about using a Chapman Railboard on this album, can you elaborate on that?

JG: It’s a kind of Chapman Stick, sort of a Tony Levin classic 10-string guitar thing. It’s basically one of those but it’s made out of solid aluminum, so it’s basically a single machined piece of metal. It looks like a Stick, but it’s a metal Stick. It’s got different tones, it’s quite tubular, it’s really nice. It’s really good for arpeggio stuff. You can hear it on Numbers and Closer to the Sun, there’s a lot of Railboard on those two tracks.

Progarchy: Can you delve into the concept behind this album a bit more?

Continue reading “Progarchy’s* Interview* with Jem* Godfrey* of Frost*. Seriously.*” →

GRENDEL: Anderson/Stolt – Invention Of Knowledge (2016) — Grendel HeadQuarters

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rock2 Comments

Jon Anderson of Yes and Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings, making an album together? Why not? I always had the feeling The Flower Kings are heavily influenced by (early) Yes. The two blokes surrounded themselves with guest musicians like Tom Brislin, Daniel Gildenlöw and Nad Sylvan, and (ex) members of The Flower Kings for […]

via Anderson/Stolt – Invention Of Knowledge (2016) — Grendel HeadQuarters

The State of Prog, June 2016

On By bradbirzerIn Uncategorized4 Comments

Dear Progarchists, as always, a huge thanks to all who read us, all who write for us, and all who make the incredible music we all enjoy.

2016 has already been a really interesting year for Prog even if we’re not quite halfway done with it.  The market for Prog releases is higher than at any other time in my 48-year old adult memory.  In the meantime, we see more and more complaints and fears that the market is dead or near dead.  These cries of woe and despair began about a year ago, but now we see it becoming complacent in the music press.  Folks such as those who made huge money in the 70s and 80s now argue that they would never make an album now, as they’d find no support from labels.  I’m sure this is true, as the music market is radically decentralized from what it was in, say, 1985.

For someone listening to the music, however, all of these complains and fears seem like an incredible disconnect.  After all, the type of music I enjoy is now being produced and created at a rate I’ve not seen since my childhood.  I am not, however, looking at the market as a producer, merely a consumer.

Continue reading “The State of Prog, June 2016” →