You can kiss the mainstream culture goodbye, because there is no such thing anymore. And if there is no mainstream culture, there is no can be no real prog because there is nothing “mass culture” for it to react to. So, we’re all proggers now, insofar as no one partakes of mass culture anymore.
Need more color on that “end of mass culture” thesis?
First, while it had an enormous influence, mass culture had a surprisingly brief life. The first nationwide radio networks, the predecessors to the big three commercial networks, were born in America in the 1920s, right around the same time that Hollywood had completed building its nationwide movie chains. But mass culture has been dying since the mid-to-late 1970s, when cable TV, the VCR, and videogames first began to break the monolithic stranglehold that the three commercial TV networks had on viewers. It was around that time that the personal computer first took off, allowing early adopters to dial into the first information services such as CompuServe and early homebrew bulletin board systems.
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While the Beatles were obviously influenced by Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and other early rockers, we were lucky that the Fab Four came of age during a period when there was still a traditional music culture they could ransack ideas from, including Tin Pan Alley, big band swing music and crooners, and classical music (thanks to their brilliant producer/arranger, George Martin). And as Charles Paul Freund perceptively noted at Reason in 2001, by the time of Sgt. Pepper, while the Beatles “continued to use rock elements to make their music, there is almost as much British Music Hall in their later work as there is rock.”
While the Beatles leaned heavily on the music traditions of the mid-20th century, concurrently, Berry Gordy borrowed a very different show business tradition to build his musical empire at Motown. Even as it was beginning to fade as a production technique in Hollywood, Gordy used the Hollywood studio system as a model to run Motown as a business. In the studio system, the film studios signed actors to long-term contracts, gave them allocution and dance lessons, and generally groomed them for stardom. Gordy did the same thing for his artists, and supplied them with songwriters and a crack house band called “the Funk Brothers” who played on virtually every great Motown hit.
Arguably, the Beatles’ role as a benchmark for what was possible in rock music didn’t wane until the end of the 1980s, when genres such as punk rock-influenced grunge and death metal removed much of the melodic impulse from rock. Motown’s influence on the soul and disco music of the 1970s would start to end in the early 1980s, as record labels and MTV pushed rap, which eschewed melody and traditional pop craftsmanship entirely.
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“It was fun watching the applecart being upset, but now where do we go for apples?”
It seems a lifetime since these words have been etched into my mind. Countless runs on the moors and trails of our Pennine hills amongst old quarries, broken shepherds rests, along sheep trods to old mining tracks, rusting old machinery dramatically lit by shafts of sunlight amongst stark moorland beauty ….. the words silently going round in my mind as I run blissfully up the hills.
Yet, somehow, it is but a few years since the Underfall Yard came into my life.
Never has music resonated and connected with me so strongly to the extent that it has almost become my theme tune for running, for life even …
So here we are, in a rainy and warm London, having a pre-show pint with some wonderful friends about to witness this magnificent piece of music performed live for the very first time. In my mind there was somehow a nagging doubt that it was all some huge spoof, a wind up, and we would get to the venue to find it had all been a dream and that the concerts were in fact just us fans wishing beyond dreams that BBT would perform live.
The venue could not have been any better, a mini Bridgewater Hall lookalike with perfect views wherever. Small, modern and intimate – perfect.
There was palpable tension in the air and, as alluded by Nick on a previous post, a slight worry that the sound might not be right, the tracks may not lend themselves to live performance, could the group cut it ….. ?!
The lights went down. The band walked out. The audience was hushed.
Then David Longdon said “Hello ..shall we make some noise ?”, in a cheery voice and you could almost feel everyone relax.
And it started ….
Two and a half hours of the most sublime, moving and emotionally charged music I have had the pleasure to witness – ever.
Although they started with my least favourite track of the evening, it was a joy to see these people who I have listened to for so long, actually there on stage, performing with such energy and fun. My eyes were casting back and forward, yes, there’s Dave Gregory, that’s Greg Spawton tucked away at the back on the right, just next to Nick D’Virgilio … wow.
Once the little opening track had allowed them to loosen up, we moved into a powerful section with ‘The First Rebreather’ providing drama and the first opportunity for David Longdon to really open up that fantastic voice :
‘Searching for hope at the ninth hour …..’
What I wasn’t expecting was the 24 minute epic ‘The Underfall’ Yard to be so early in the running order but boy, did this deliver. From those first opening chords to the magnificent section with the lyrics above, this was a stunning tour de force : powerful, precise, tight, dripping with emotion and passion for the subject matter ….. wonderful.
I never thought I would get to see this track performed live and it really did feel like I had died and gone to heaven.
As a bit of light relief we then had ‘Uncle Jack’ which has always struck me as a quirky track with an awkward but charming feel to it. Maybe it’s the use of the banjo or it’s structure, but it was a delight to listen to live despite a couple of timing issues, not to be unexpected I guess in a first live performance !
So far we’ve not mentioned the brass band, or more correctly the brass section. At first I was a bit non-plussed as I could hear them but there was no sign on stage. Then I noticed they were sitting in the balcony just above the band. This was good timing as another track from ‘The Underfall Yard’ was next – ‘Victorian Brickwork’.
If you know this track, you will be aware of the power of the closing section with it’s huge build up of brass, guitar and keyboard. If you don’t, you need to rectify that situation with immediate effect. The track itself is wonderful, a haunting lament that rolls along as the waves and sea it describes envelope us to finish off with the beautiful brass-infused wall of sound finale.
The hairs on my arms were tingling at this point, particularly when the trumpet (or cornet ?) soared so clear and emotionally over the crescendo coming for the stage below ……
Time was going so quickly, as I knew it would. I couldn’t stop time, despite wanting to.
A 20 minute interval allowed everyone to regather themselves, take in what they had just witnessed and try and absorb what had just been.
An interesting choice to start the second part of the performance was ‘Kingmaker’ which, for me, is an often overlooked track sitting as it does somewhat between albums. The live performance was captivating and had me quickly checking my iPod on the journey home to give it the attention it deserves.
One feature of the performance was the energy of David Longdon. He was superb : lively and energetic. He added pathos and drama and at one stage even donned a subtle face mask during ‘Wassail’ that, along with his flute waving, was completely in keeping with the track. He really connected with the audience and delivered a virtuoso vocal performance that was stunning to see at such close quarters.
‘Summoned by Bells’ followed and was played with sumptuous ease, and again, we were treated to a wonderful brass section that could have frankly gone on for several hours and I think we would have all been very happy ….
Now, as a rule I hate drum solo’s with a passion, so was a bit taken aback as Nick D’Virgilio suddenly started thrashing around in a very accomplished drummer sort of way but then suddenly – bang ! – we are into ‘Judas Unrepentant’ as quickly as you like. A stunning way to open this track actually. Again, if you know this track you will be realise it’s quite a complex little fellow with odd phrasing, clever structure and a wonderfully chaotic feel to it. Somehow, this was performed with hardly a missed beat, at least I didn’t notice one, and this was a complete hoot to see live. Loud, energetic, fun and impeccable played.
The mood changed dramatically for the next track – ‘Curator of Butterflies’ from English Electric 2. Danny Manners’ cultured keyboard playing provided a beautiful backing for Longdon’s vocals to soar powerfully. This wonderful track has, for me, always evoked feelings of loss, gentleness, delicacy and compassion and to hear it so beautifully played was mesmerising.
Grown men were weeping at this point it must be said ….
This utterly captivating performance was coming to a close, it had to, it couldn’t go on for ever. There was a sad inevitability that this was a moment in time that was going to be over too soon.
Anyhow, enough reverie. There was some serious business to complete in the form of ‘East Coast Racer’ a track which I have enjoyed immensely from the very first listen but is fast becoming my second favourite track of all time. There is something about its movement and rhythm, the way it mirrors the Mallard steaming along the rails at 120+mph, the elbows jutting from the cab and caps worn in racing style – everything about the lyrics, the history and the industry combine to stunning effect.
The performance of this track was simply astonishing.
During the mid-section the power of the brass section, the drum work of D’Virgilio and the build up of layer on layer of keyboards was spellbinding and when Longdon gets to the final lyric and belts out over all this …..
‘into history
into legends
she flies ………’
Goodness me ….. I’m not sure I’ve seen any live music as compelling as this and yes, I’m a fanboy and know the music inside out, so perhaps my views are a little biased but there was something out of this world about this performance.
To expect any great encore was maybe pushing it but we were treated to a lovely rendition of ‘Hedgerow’ which included sublime violin work from Rachel Hall. In fact, this seemed to captivate Dave Gregory so much he didn’t seem quite ready for his guitar part, as though he was lost in the music and enjoying it as much as us .. a lovely moment !
So, that was it. It was over.
A performance I feel privileged to have seen and one I hope will be repeated should the band feel it was a success.
I sincerely hope they do because from a fan’s perspective it was everything I had dreamt and more …….
Thank you to all the Big Big Train band and the brass band guys for a truly memorable evening.
Great new work coming soon from Dave Kerzner and Heather Findlay — Mantra Vega:
Mantra Vega is a new transatlantic progressive rock band from Heather Findlay and Dave Kerzner (founding members of the bands Mostly Autumn and Sound of Contact respectively) along with Chris Johnson (Halo Blind/Mostly Autumn), Stu Fletcher (We Could Be Astronauts), Alex Cromarty (Mostly Autumn) and featuring legendary guitarist David Kilminster (Roger Waters/Steven Wilson).
Melding together their wide range of styles and influences in Progressive, Classic and Alternative Rock, Mantra Vega offers a fresh blend of female and male lead vocals and harmonies which deliver many a poignant message dressed in atmospheric soundscapes, emotional dynamics and captivating moods. With Heather Findlay’s expansive vocals which range from pure and angelic to raw and powerful, to the lush and intricate keys, guitars and sound design of Dave Kerzner and Chris Johnson, to soaring guitar leads and licks from Dave Kilminster, all sailing the soulful groove of the Cromarty/Fletcher rhythm section, there’s something for fans of artists like Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac, Yes, The Beatles, Sigur Ros and more.
The preview sounds amazing. Hear it over at SoundCloud:
Here is an audio preview of all new tracks from the forthcoming Mantra Vega album “The Illusion’s Reckoning”. Note these are early rough mixes and not the finals. This is meant to be a small taste of the songs “The Illusion’s Reckoning”, “Learning To Be Light”, “Lake Sunday”, “Veil of Ghosts” and “In A Dream” which, in addition to the songs from the Island single and more will be featured on the full album coming this October.
To echo John, “Wow” is a pretty good way of summing it up. “Stunning” and “special” would also do. There are countless superlatives that could be substituted here.
I was thinking a lot about last night’s gig as I travelled north on the train this morning and I’ll share a few of those thoughts here. There’ll be no spoilers, and I’ll not be writing an actual review myself – I’m sure John and other Progarchists will be doing that more thoroughly and eloquently than I could.
The first thing that strikes me is how unusual it is for a well-established band, with such a body of work behind them, to have never before performed as a live act. That’s part of what made yesterday evening so magical to me, aside from the obvious special qualities of the music itself.
Second observation: debutantes could be forgiven some hesitancy or nervousness, and we might not expect them to sound as tight as a more seasoned unit. Yet there was none of that here. The thrill of seeing this music performed in a concert venue for the very first time was greatly amplified by the confidence and assurance of the performers. It simply felt like they’d been doing this as a band for years. (If only they had been…)
Third (slightly shamefaced) observation: I’ll confess to some doubts before last night. I worried about how well that amazing album sound, rich, multilayered and impeccably recorded, would translate to the live setting. Surely some of its depth and subtlety would be lost in the process? Well on that score I’m happy to have been conclusively proven a complete idiot!
These players have taken that advice to “run hard as you like” to heart. Moments that were powerful and energetic on record seemed to take on new power, greater energy. Yet none of the delicacy was lost – a testament to their skill as musicians.
Big Big Train have emerged from the chrysalis, and the splendour of their new form is dazzling.
Full review to follow when the three London gigs are complete to avoid spoilers for those with the pleasure of attending tonight and tomorrow lunchtime …….
The day has finally come! Iron Maiden have released the first single from their upcoming 16th studio album, The Book of Souls. The band’s fresh cut “Speed of Light” goes back to the roots of Maiden’s legendary career while brandishing a music video saluting the evolution of video games.
At five minutes in length, “Speed of Light” is one of the shortest songs on the massive Book of Souls double album. The track definitely follows the classic Maiden style of their memorable singles, sounding almost like it’s been dug up from the Number of the Beast or Piece of Mind sessions.
The music video is somewhat of a departure for Iron Maiden despite the fact they put out their own Ed Hunter video game in 1999. Maiden mascot Eddie the Head makes his way through different generational styles of video games from the classic 8-bit climb ‘n’ dodge, to slick side scrollers and first-person shooters.
District 97 have released a video for their stellar track “Snow Country” from In Vaults — one of the very best tracks from one of the very best albums of 2015, in case you haven’t been listening!
Go watch it over at PROG. The song is a showcase for top-notch songwriting. Now, in the video, you can watch the superb musicians in action as well. I love the way it starts out with the acoustic guitar.
Muse have returned to their heavier, progressive roots with their latest album, “Drones.” After venturing into pop rock and dubsteppy techno pop garbage on 2012’s “The 2nd Law,” the three piece, made up of Matt Bellamy on guitars, vocals, and keyboards, Chris Wolstenholme on bass, and Dominic Howard on drums, decided that they wanted to hit number 1 on the US charts. To accomplish this, they turned to veteran AC/DC producer, Robert John Lange. It worked, and “Drones” became the band’s first #1 album in the US.
Now, you wouldn’t really expect a concept album to go to the top of the charts in this day and age, but that is exactly what happened. “Drones” is indeed a full fledged concept album about a dystopic society controlled by a government that dictates its citizens’ every move. Thus the title, “Drones.” The funniest part about all this is that the majority of people listening to this don’t even realize that it is prog, much less know what prog is. Some reviews I have read claim that the concept doesn’t really work, but I disagree. I think it works just fine, and it is incredibly applicable to today’s changing governmental policies in the West.
The story begins with despair and rage against a government that won’t allow its people to think. In the middle, we see the main character(s) (there really isn’t a character like in “2112,” but there is first person, implying a character) attempting to defect and revolt. In “Aftermath,” that character wishes everything were over. The album ends with survivors of the destruction (caused by the revolt) learning to live in the new world they have created.
The jewel of this album is the song, “Aftermath.” This song is to 2015 what Flying Colors’ “Peaceful Harbor” was to 2014. Muse really nailed it with this song – it is incredibly beautiful. The guitar work combined with haunting vocals and orchestra make this one of the top songs of the year. “The Globalist,” Muse’s longest song to date, is quite progressive, merging from quiet to a heavier rock towards the end. The album ends perfectly with Bellamy singing a sort of a cappella hymn (he sings several different parts that are overlaid). It is stunning.
The second half of “Drones” is much stronger musically and lyrically than the first half, although “Mercy” and “Reapers” are excellent tracks, with the latter having enough time signature changes to make even the most ADD prog fans happy. However, the poor lyrics in the chorus of “Pyscho” are offensive and sophomoric. The short “[Drill Sergeant]” intro to the song is rather annoying as well, creating more of a distraction. The re-emergence of the drill sergeant in the song itself also draws away from the music. The short JFK speech later in the album works, however (despite my great distaste for the President as both a politician and a human being).
Another misstep for this album is the packaging. I decided to pony up and buy the cd, thinking it would come in a nice jewel case. Instead, it came in a cardboard sleeve, which I found to be quite lame, particularly from such a major record label like Warner. However, the booklet has artwork for each individual song, and it is quite stunning. The artwork really adds depth to each song. I’m sure the vinyl package is probably pretty nice.
Despite the few minor missteps in “Drones,” Muse created one of the best albums of their career with their most recent output. The fact that it is one of their most successful gives me hope for a possible growing popularity of prog, although I assume most people are ignoring the best songs in favor of the more radio friendly “Dead Inside” or other such pieces. “Aftermath” and “The Globalist” are transcendently awesome in a way most people might gloss over. The balance of hard rock, piano, keyboards, classical music, and Chris’s awesome bass riffs (the dude is a beast) make this an incredibly enjoyable album to listen to, faults and all. It is definitely one of the top releases of 2015, across any genre.
In his first official Progarchy assignment, rookie Progarchist Adam Sears talked to Ted Leonard of Spock’s Beard about their new album, The Oblivion Particle, set for release on August 21st by Inside Out Music. The Oblivion Particle is the follow-up to 2013’s Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep, as well as Ted’s second SB album on main vocal duty. In addition to the album, they also cover everything black holes to cruise ships to venereal diseases.
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PROGARCHY First off, just like to say that the new album is great! It has some of the stuff I’d expect from Spock’s Beard, but it had a lot of new fresh sounds.
TL Yeah, there’s a bit of both, there’s a bit of harkening back on songs like “Tides of Time” and some of the other songs are a bit of a departure, like “Minion”.
PROGARCHY You wrote “Minion” as well as “Hell’s Not Enough”, correct?
TL Yes, I started writing “Minion” a long time ago, about the same time I wrote “Hiding Out”, which was about 2010, but it just kinda got shelved. Then I resurrected it, but I wasn’t sure what band I was going to submit it to, until it started shaping up and then it started sounding more Spock’sy than Enchanty to me.
PROGARCHY What inspired you to write “Minion” and “Hell’s Not Enough”?
TL “Minion”’s a little tough to get into without incriminating myself. But basically it’s about being in an oppressive relationship. Feeling like someone else’s little bitch, as it were.
PROGARCHY Ah, yes. Been there, done that. I think we’ve all felt that way at some point.
TL Haha, yep. Then “Hell’s Not Enough” is kind of an interesting song, given my background and the band’s background. It’s not a terror on religion in itself by any stretch- it’s more of a lash out at cult leaders and people who manipulate the week-minded. There’s a reference to the Jonestown thing, where it says
“Hook line and sinker, thank God you’re not a thinker, here take this fruity drink, you’re fine”. (laughs) So that’s what that’s all about.
PROGARCHY I don’t remember where I saw it, maybe on Facebook or Twitter, but you have mentioned that The Oblivion Particle is the best project you’ve ever been involved with. Tell me why that is.
TL You know, I don’t know if it’s necessarily better than BNaDs. If I posted that late at night, there’s a chance I was, ya know, gushing…
PROGARCHY Or just overly excited?
TL Yeah, or drunk… haha, but no, I do feel like it’s super, super strong. I think it holds up against BNaDs quite well. And I also think, for variety’s sake, it’s more of a wide array of styles wrapped up into one album. I think it’s super cool, because of that. And the sound quality of the recording is so well done.
PROGARCHY I’m sure a lot of that is due to Rich Mouser. Did he engineer, as well as mix and master the album?
TL As far as the engineering goes, there was a lot of it done in our houses. Some of the guitars were recorded at Al’s house and I recorded some of the vocals at home, then we did some at the studio. So he [Rich] engineered most of it, but we tried to do a lot at home this time. The bass is always engineered at home. We tried to save some money because BNaDs turned out to be pretty expensive.
PROGARCHY On August 29th in Los Angeles, you are doing double duty, performing with not only Spock’s Beard but also with your band Enchant. What are a couple of differences in the group dynamics and your relationship with the two bands?
TL Spock’s Beard approaches their career with more business sense, so there’s a degree of being business partners with them rather than being old buddies. But we are good friends, especially with Dave, because we hang out and play in cover bands. It’s a little different than the camaraderie of Enchant where we’ve known each other for a long time. Some of us have known each other more than half our lives. So we’re almost like brothers. We laugh like brothers and we fight like brothers. (laugh). It’s totally different than Spock’s, especially because I came into the band way later. But it was actually less weird then you’d think, ‘cause I knew the guys pretty well from before. So definitely a difference in the dynamics. They’re both good, just different.
PROGARCHY You’ve been performing with Spock’s Beard for four years now. Do you still feel like the new guy or do you feel like you are now an accepted member of the band since you’ve now completed 2 albums and performed many many shows?
TL Yeah, I think the shows have definitely solidified it, especially the cruise [Progressive Nation at Sea 2014], was a cool thing with Neal being there, being out in the audience, and then me being on stage with Neal in Transatlantic. I think what fans took away from Transatlantic was there’s no weirdness. Neal respects me, I respect him. So, I don’t feel like the new guy anymore. It has been quite a while and we have played a lot of shows. By the time you finish the 2nd album you start to feel that this isn’t an audition anymore.
PROGARCHY So what should we expect to hear on The Oblivion Particle?
TL Sonically, we branch out- there are plenty of moments, keyboard tones especially- we’re not just relying on the four keyboard tones that Spock’s has always been famous for- the tron choir, tron strings, tron flute, and organ. And of course piano. There are a lot of analog synths going on- kind of a nod back to certain eras of Genesis with the tones, like Duke era to mid 80’s, rather than going for a strictly 70’s sound, which has kind of been the Spock’s thing, at least with the keyboards. There’s a sonic difference in what you hear from Dave too. On most albums, he’s mostly playing with a pick the whole time. With this album, he plays quite a bit of finger style. Tonally it’s not the same old Dave on every song. Another cool thing about this album are the piano highlights- there are three of them, that I can think of off hand that are really cool piano parts kind of out there by themselves. There’s one in the breakdown of Minon, there’s one in the beginning of the song that Ryo and Al wrote [The Center Line], then the bass comes in and does a really cool thing with them. As far as the overall vibe of the album- it gets big and huge, pulls back and gets really intimate, those are all typical characteristics of Spock’s stuff and this album is no exception.
PROGARCHY Why is the album called the Oblivion Particle?
TL You know, we’re going to have to invent a reason, because I get that question all the time, and I honestly have no idea.
PROGARCHY Does it have anything to do with CERN or the Large Hadron Collider?
TL Well, some people have theorized that it is the opposite of the “God particle”, or whatever they were trying to find. I can’t remember what that particle is actually called.
PROGARCHY The Higgs boson. Yeah I’m kind of a nerd and like reading about that stuff.
TL (Laughs) Yeah that’s right! But I don’t know, I think it just sounded cool. But some of the songs have an invention theme like “Bennett Built a Time Machine” and “A Better Way to Fly”. It seemed kind of science-y, so we thought it would be cool to have a title that went along with that.
PROGARCHY In “Disappear” when you’re singing “We could disappear” are you sure you’re not referring to the Large Hadron Collider’s theoretical creation of a black hole that may swallow us up?
TL Yeah, I’m going to use that! I’m gonna fake like I’m that intelligent!
PROGARCHY What is your favorite track of the Oblivion Particle?
TL Ok, my favorite track, that I didn’t write, (laughs), is “A Better Way to Fly”. Although I love “Get Out While You Can”- it’s totally short and concise. It has me going into a Bono territory with the voice, so it’s a little different for me. I really dug that. You always try to do things a little bit different, otherwise people get sick of you. (laughs)
PROGARCHY What was the most difficult thing about recording this album?
TL I would say, the timing on some of the songs. Especially with some of John’s songs, like “A Better Way to Fly”. That one is going from 6 to 7 to sometimes 8, then back. There were times when I was recording along his scratch vocals, and I was just watching the wave form to know what beat to come back in on. Now that I’m trying to learn it for live shows, I’m sitting there just having to count ‘cause it’s really trippy. I’m comfortable doing songs in odd time, obviously, but this song is really giving me grief. And I’m playing a lot of keyboards on it too, so it’s like… ugh!!! That song is going to be the toughest one.
PROGARCHY So you’re definitely going to be doing that song live?
TL Yeah, we are, unfortunately. I love the song, but it’s giving me… it’s giving me fear. It’s a great song for Jimmy too, because he’s just pounding back there. He really comes out of his shell on this album, not that he ever was in a shell, but on the first album he wanted to keep it safe and not try to overstep his bounds. But on this album he just kind of got free reign and he was like “I’ll take it”. On the last couple of tours when Nick and Jimmy were having their drum-off solos, of course Jimmy shined and did well, but now that he’s the ONLY drummer, we’ve had these nights where we’re like “Hey, take a solo!” and he just goes and does it completely off the cuff. It’s always like the best thing ever. I never get bored watching him take a drum solo, and usually get bored watching EVERY drummer do a solo. That’s usually a good time to take a piss! But he’s always doing something different and interesting and pulls it right out of his hiney. Al and I would be just sitting on the side of the stage just like laughing at how cool it was. So this time around it was just like “Do what you do! Tear it up!” So there are a couple of moments that come off like a drum solo in that song, which is good stuff!
PROGARCHY Track 4 of the The Oblivion Particle is “Bennett Built a Time Machine”. If you were to build a time machine and you can change one thing in your past life, what would it be?
TL Well, I think, just like the song goes, there might be some historical moments that would be interesting to be a part of, but it would be really hard to slip into it unnoticed, unless you go dressed for the period I guess. I think what most people think of when going back to the past is revisiting pivotal moments in their own life, like maybe they could have changed things, but we all know how that turns out with the paradox factor. I can think of a few moments in my own life, where things would be vastly different. But then I’d come back and realized I created a black hole or everyone’s dying from some strange disease I introduced by accident, maybe a bad venereal disease because I somehow changed the course of events that led my past self into sleeping with someone I shouldn’t have. So yeah I come back 20 years later, and the whole world is a wasteland.
PROGARCHY Maybe that should be the plot for the next Spock’s Beard concept album?
TL (laughs) Yeah, there are not enough venereal diseases in concept albums.
PROGARCHY Or in prog in general.
PROGARCHY After your European Tour in September and October, Spock’s Beard is going to play Cruise to the Edge in November, which will be on the same ship you guys performed on at last year’s Progressive Nation at Sea. What was it like performing on a boat in the middle of an ocean?
TL Yeah! Washy Washy, Happy Happy! Yeah that’s going to be really nice, and I’m going to be doing double duty again! Well, when we were in the theater, it was kind of a rocky night and you could actually feel it while on stage- even just walking around. It just made you feel like you were drunk, which you know. I’m familiar with performing drunk. That’s happened, but not often. I usually don’t drink that much when it comes to prog, but I have done plenty of cover band gigs where I’m like “Oh my God, I don’t even know how I’m going to do this third set!” I usually have like a beer before, a beer on stage, or maybe two. So by the end of the show, there might be three beers in my system, but it’s usually a two hour show, so it’s pretty tame. And then afterwards it’s a completely different animal, especially when you know you’re getting on the bus in a total controlled environment. You spend three weeks out on the road and you just have to come home and detox. I can’t imagine if we were out there, like some of the big bands, for six months at a time. I would be just like Keith Richards. I would totally just look like that by now already.
PROGARCHY (Laughs) Let’s get back to the cruise… how was it playing the outside pool deck area?
TL Oh, that was amazing! Especially when I opened with Transatlantic. You could see the port going by and the boat getting up to speed, so you could really feel it. It was really super windy. I needed the music for that band, but my charts were just flying all over the place. Luckily, the guitar tech saw it and started taping it down for me. But it was incredible. And the reception was awesome for both bands, but especially for Spock’s Beard on that first night, by the pool… that was really cool. And when everyone knows that Neal’s on the boat, to get that kind of reception out of the crowd was pretty cool for me. Then of course the second night in the theater when he came out and did the thing, that was just so cool. I think the weirdest part of that night for me was singing “Walking on The Wind” with Neal right in the front row. I was like, “Well damn, you should sing this too, dude!” But it was cool, it turned out really cool.
PROGARCHY And here, I will add my Chris Farley style Interview question… remember when I saw you guys play at Progressive Nation at Sea, while I was in the hot tub? That was Awesome!
TL (Laughs) Yeah, hopefully I have time to do that for some bands on this one, maybe Marillion. That’d be cool!
PROGARCHY Ted, thanks so much for your time. Congratulations on the new Spock’s Beard album and good luck with the tour! I’ll see you at the CalProg show on the 29th!
I’ve been listening to this new release for a few weeks now and it just gets more impressive and more enjoyable with deeper familiarity. What a stunning achievement by this hugely talented Canadian heavy metal band:
Brittney Slayes – vocals
Scott Buchanan – drums
Grant Truesdell – guitar, death metal vocals
Andrew Kingsley – guitar, death metal vocals
Kyle Sheppard – bass
The first track (“Northern Passage”) is a brief, atmospheric overture that hardly prepares you for the onslaught to come, but it does succeed in evocation of an epic mood and preparing your imagination for a panoramic cinematic scope.
Then the next three tracks take you into some serious head banging with jaw-dropping musicianship, as unusually nimble and supremely tasty guitar work dances over top of the relentless rhythmic propulsions:
2. Frozen Steel
3. Hail Of The Tide
4. Tonight We Ride
Brittney shows herself to be Canada’s new reigning metal queen (move over, Lee Aaron), and she commands and deploys what seems to be an army of orcs and Gollums with death metal vocals at her musical service. I’ve never heard death metal vocals used in such a musical fashion as part of an intelligently arrayed musical arsenal of colors and flavors. It’s very effective and the trio of these first three tracks should have a wide appeal to metal heads of all stripes. As for me, given my own proggy tastes, it’s the next three tracks, surprisingly varied from what has gone before them, that take things to a whole new level and give me the trio of tunes that I always look forward to most whenever I hear this album:
5. Test Your Metal
6. Crypt
7. No More Heroes
“Test Your Metal” is fantastic old-school awesomeness that attains upper-echelon anthem status.
But then “Crypt” seems to come out of nowhere with it sinister opening riffage and begins what is arguably the greatest track on the album; it goes through so many interesting changes and musical transmutations that I am in awe of its sophisticated narrative scope: it begins in what definitely sounds like the underworld, but then breaks out above ground into a dazzling resurrected landscape swirling in sunlight.
“No More Heroes” continues painting with a diverse palette and distinguishes the album from the merely ordinary realm of metal. There’s so much musical intelligence built into this you will be hard pressed to name other bands that have ever attained this level of supremacy. Rush comes to mind, indeed, perhaps because of each outfit’s Canadian origins, but certainly because of each outfit’s distinctively outstanding musical talents.
The final trio of tracks begins with “Dreamcrusher,” which is probably the one track that denizens of Progarchy should download, if they want to sample some Unleash the Archers. Clocking in at 9:16, it has the full-length scope affording wide play for the best sensibilities that prog fans gravitate towards, and it begins with strings and nuance, and then into some trademark blistering riffs, and then some atmospheric guitar work with more strings action, and then… it just keeps unfolding into epic variation and everything amazing that Unleash the Archers can do but seemingly no one else can (if they can, then where are they?).
8. Dreamcrusher
9. Going Down Fighting
10. Time Stands Still
“Going Down Fighting” brings the dazzling complexities of the album back to a nice mix of old-school, hook-laden accessibility. It proffers indomitable assertion, but again mixed with unusually distinctive musical skill and nuances: apparently, the musical speciality of Unleash the Archers.
“Time Stands Still” is the rousing title track with its anthemic beer hall chorus kicking things off, sung by an army of loyal soldiers on (or ready for) the march. Brittney then breaks in and proceeds to sing the lyrics with such powerful conviction on this song that, unexpectedly, when she gets to the line, “Rebuild! History can only be written by the victors! And we will write it all!” (letting loose with her piercing war-cry screams on all sides), the listener is truly roused by this warrior princess. Her troops mobilize, abandoning the solar system to move on to conquer other galaxies. Where do we enlist?
“We finally have won!” she sings in the album’s closing line, and truer words have never been sung by any epic sci-fi metal outfit, for with this amazing album, Unleash the Archers have released their greatest and most accomplished album to date. It’s an album for the ages, destined to be recognized in time for its blisteringly definitive achievement. You won’t be able to stand still, or otherwise contain your excitement. And why should you? Let Unleash the Archers unleash their awesomeness. Play it loud!
Progarchy 