This is Phoenix’s “Listomania,” from their terrific album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. It’s the opening track, but my fave on the album has always been “Love like a Sunset” (Part 1 and Part 2 — shades of prog!), not to mention also “Lasso” (track six). Wait, who’s that dancing in the video below?
Album Preview: Soen – Lotus
From an early review of Soen’s forthcoming Lotus:
When I say that Soen is pushing progressive metal forward, what I mean is that they take divergent strains and piece them together in a way no one else is capable of. They have the dynamics and chord choices of classic Opeth, and they marry with that the rhythmic bent of djent. But unlike the latter, where everything becomes muted by the chugging technique, Soen’s focus on open notes and chords slips melody into the rhythm, which is such a simple yet devastating trick I’m amazed I can’t recall anyone else who has mastered the art. Soen really is a synthesis.
…
“Lotus” is a work that stands entirely on its own, but it also works as a companion piece to “Lykaia”. They are cut from the same cloth, but are shaded differently by the spotlight. “Lykaia” is the darker, slightly heavier record, while “Lotus” is the more richly melodic affair. If such a word can be applied to Soen’s sound, this is their ‘optimistic’ record. Though still dark, there is an uplifting spirit to the melodies, which is a balance that only enhances the effect.
…
“Lotus” is an album even more after my heart. Soen have taken what they have always excelled at, and added in even stronger melody. They took the formula from what I consider one of the best metal albums of the last five to ten years, and made it even better. Fortunately, I have had the time to live with this record long enough to feel it settle within me, so I don’t have to predict how the record will age. As I listened again and again, “Lotus” continued to peel back new petals, revealing the sweet nectar waiting in the center. As good as “Lykaia” is, and as much as I love that record, “Lotus” makes an impact capable of digging deeper into our emotions.
Do Yourself a Favor and Listen to Southern Empire
Wow. How on God’s beautiful earth did I miss Southern Empire? “Civilisation” and its 2016 predecessor, “Southern Empire,” are absolutely brilliant. Progressive rock/metal at its best. If you’re like me and somehow let this band slip your attention, remedy that now and check them out. You will not regret it.
Brian May: “New Horizons” (Ultima Thule Mix)
Queen has posted to their YouTube channel:
Celebrating the whole 12-year Journey of New Horizons probe. This is Brian’s personal tribute to the on-going NASA New Horizons mission, which on New Years Day 2019 will achieve the most distant spacecraft flyby in history.
H/T: Brian May’s Anthem for the New Horizons Probe Is Really Worth a Listen
The Enduring, Incandescent Power of Kate Bush
Margaret Talbot writes in The New Yorker about The Enduring, Incandescent Power of Kate Bush after working her way through the box sets:
I spent most of a week last month in a Kate Bush-induced reverie—or was it a swoon? I know there were tears: you try remaining dry-eyed listening to “This Woman’s Work” on a cold November night after a glass or two of wine; if you do, I don’t want to know you. There may have been some ecstatic dancing that alarmed the dog; there was definitely some animated texting of lyrics to my children, who, at twenty-two and nineteen, are both, bless them, Kate Bush fans. She seemed, in certain ways, so current in her embrace of femininity as power—protean, generative, and emotive—and in the fact that, for all her artiness, she also eagerly grabbed onto the contemporary pop sounds and tools that she liked (drums recorded with the heavy-hitting effect called “gated reverb,” which was favored by Michael Jackson and Phil Collins, for instance). She anticipated a busier and more nonchalant traffic between pop and indie music.
BFG’s Prog of 2018
My post-christmas indulgence….
It has been a funny sort of year where for me the definition of what could be called prog has diluted down further to something noisy with a small ‘p’. Many critics favourites gave us the best of the year in the form of some great artists many of which seem to have as much in common with progressive rock as a turkey dominos pizza has with a Christmas dinner. It passes as food for the one who ordered it but it tastes like shit with cranberry sauce.
As such this third wave of Prog that really took shape from the mid-nineties onwards has slowly morphed into something increasingly distant from its recent origins and unrecognisable from the 70’s progenitors or dinosaurs, depending on your viewpoint or how old you were when you bought your first Emerson, Lake and Palmer or if you think the Rick Wakeman needs to start wearing a cape again…
A lot of it has to do with metal and alternative rock in all its forms that has lost its way over the past decade or more and has clung on tightly to the coat-tails of prog for a lifeline. Many of the top bands of the past year would shun the title of prog anyway and frequently do unless there is an award to be had.
Ironically some bands that would claim to be prog or wear the title with some kudos are missing from a lot of lists this year, and this needs to be addressed. So in the name of balance here are the best of what I think of as prog rock from 2018. Before you scream at me about what is prog anyway, please put it in writing to my agent….
Get on with it….
Starting with one band who accomplish as much within the prog bracket as anyone, combining jazz, pop, funk and EDM into something that still feels true to the template, The Tangent….
Yes, the outspoken, fantastically eccentric Andy Tillison and his talented cohorts known as The Tangent proved once more that there was still plenty in the fuel tank with their accomplished 10th studio album in which the run time of a song nearing 20 mins is still the best way to compose music, capable of taking the listener on a journey. A more rounded experience of songs germinated through the rare occurrence of being in the same room during their 2017 tour, ‘Proxy’ delights in its diverse nature and isn’t afraid to poke a finger in the eye of modern politics or throw shapes in the Balearic haze of Ibiza. It all amounted to a brief sojourn in the BBC charts.
Next up is the former Beardfish leader who’s solo career continues to astound under the Gungfly guises… also known as Rikard Sjöblom’s Gungfly
The talent this guy has in his little pinkie is greater than many modern musicians and perversely the recognition in the wider world is non-existent. Sjöblom should be talking about his desert island disks on the radio or appearing on the Jules Holland show or hit the charts in the numbers that Steven Wilson is capable of.
His latest opus ‘Friendship’ is an emotion and melodic journey which sees long time friends Diamant and Diamant and Zackrisson in a supporting role. Encapsulating the prog ethic with a broad sonic palette and juggling it with real, fundamental, core feelings is the rarest of gems alone but there are sublime hooks here too which makes this a standout album from 2018.
My next contender for album of the year is from a TV soap producer who we’ve waited patiently to return to tell us about the end of the world…its Phideaux’s ‘Infernal’
Completing the journey that started with ‘The Great Leap’ back in 2005, Infernal was mooted for release as far back as 2013. Five years later and finally the dark, apocalyptic trilogy of albums is complete. Was it worth the wait? Hell yes, you bet it was, and hell is most appropriate.
Never compromising or deviating from the plan, Phideaux has produced some of his finest work to date. Once more he proudly works on his art like some kind of musical Banksy, mysterious, allegorical and visually striking, yet elusive within the genre. The epic quality shines throughout and never more so on the closing of the second disk with ‘From Hydrogen to Love’, neatly wrapping up many threads.
Another American prog artist who remains as invisible to many of the prog reviews of the year is the ridiculously brilliant Evership with the follow up to their eponymous debut with ‘Evership 2′
The majesty and epic experience that is Evership is astonishing and yet this latest release from the Nashville based prog rock group lead by the outstanding Shane Atkinson and the supersonic vocal talents of Beau West has remained largely unnoticed. Sporting a half hour, multi-segment monster, this band show their vast range of sounds that delicately tap the influences of Kansas, Queen and Rush. Evership 2 can rock hard as well as make the hairs stand up in the delicate classical infused passages. Plus they have a band logo that is worthy of a patch on your denim jacket. My personal favourite release of 2018.
Enough to be getting on with…
The plan was for a top three, but typical of prog the ending was a bit longer than planned. But there it is, 4 of the best of the year and worthy of inclusion in any top 10. These are wonderful examples of progressive rock, diligently crafted and designed to stir the soul and the imagination, and each one of these entries I have included are successful at that.
Happy New Year! Keep Calm and Prog On in 2019…
Happy New Year from Progarchy!
Start the year right with some brand new prog from Dave Kerzner and friends…
Progarchy’s Rick K. comments:
Dave Kerzner, Gabriel Agudo, Randy McStine and company, you’ve done it again! In Continuum is the new band; “Acceleration Theory” is the debut album. Long-form sci-fi storytelling recalling The Alan Parsons Project at its best, then going further: irresistible energy, musical sophistication, and narrative flow. Plus great guest shots from Steve Hackett, Marillion’s Steve Rothery, Yes’ Jon Davison, Fernando Perdomo and more. Progressive rock is off to a great start in 2019! Check it out and buy it here: https://sonicelements.bandcamp.com/album/acceleration-theory-2
Top 10 Metal Albums of 2018
To my taste, the following albums were more metal than prog, so rather than place them on my Top 10 Prog Albums of 2018 list, I place them on a separate list of official recognition of their supreme excellence. Note that, as with my Prog list, the ranking is determined simply by consulting the number of times I listened to the album during the year 2018.
Top 10 Metal Albums of 2018:
#10 Wytch Hazel — II: Sojourn
#9 TesseracT — Sonder
#8 Distorted Harmony — A Way Out
#7 Michael Romeo — War of the Worlds, Part 1
#6 Judas Priest — Firepower
#5 Lucifer — Lucifer II
#4 Stryper — God Damn Evil
#3 Magick Touch — Blades, Chains, Whips, and Fire
#2 Haken — Vector
#1 Motorowl — Atlas
Metal Christmas, everyone, and a Heavy New Year!
UPDATED (Jan 8, 2019): Seventh Wonder’s Tiara is replaced in the #10 spot with Wytch Hazel’s II: Sojourn, with which it was tied in December 2018, but which has now been overtaken by Wytch Hazel in my January 2019 listening.
Top 10 Rock Albums of 2018
The following albums didn’t have enough progginess to make my Top 10 Prog Albums of 2018 list, but for their rockin’ excellence they still deserve official recognition all the same, so here is an extra list. Note that, as with my Prog list, the ranking is determined simply by consulting the number of times I listened to the album during the year 2018. Here we go:
Top 10 Rock Albums of 2018:
#10 Sloan — 12
#9 Lenny Kravitz — Raise Vibration
#8 Metric — Art of Doubt
#7 Greta van Fleet — Anthem of the Peaceful Army
#6 Jack White — Boarding House Reach
#5 The Smashing Pumpkins — Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1
#4 Lake Street Dive — Free Yourself Up
#3 Gygax — 2nd Edition
#2 Bend Sinister — Foolish Games
#1 Danny Wilkerson — Wilkerson
Phish, Radiohead and YES: Live Concerts in Review
With 2018 coming to a close, Spotify users can now review their music history through a feature called 2018 Wrapped. This feature, which has been around for three years now, shows users cool statistics such as one’s number of minutes listened, most streamed songs and, based on one’s top artists and bands, one’s top genre. Although I rarely use Spotify for streaming, Spotify determined that my favorite genre was rock . . . and for good reason. Three of my favorite bands– Phish, Radiohead and YES– are all typically termed as rock bands. Yet, despite their collective grouping under the genre, these bands could not be more different. While listening to these bands alone demonstrates the vast variations which exist within the rock genre, nothing proves this more than experiencing each of these bands live. This year, I set out to do just that.
I saw YES this summer at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati. One of the most acclaimed progressive rock bands ever, YES, in their 50th anniversary tour, continued to demonstrate their greatness. Although no founding members remain in YES (note: there are now two incarnations of YES and each had their own 50th anniversary tour: YES and YES Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, and Rick Wakeman–this article addresses the former), its current members, including long time guitarist Steve Howe and Alan White, continue to evoke the features which led to YES’ distinctive sound–experimentation, harmony, and avant-garde lyrics. This commitment to founding principles made up for the lack-luster lights and atmosphere and resulted in a great show. While most of YES’ music does not quite match my tastes, I still hold tremendous respect for their contributions to music and am glad that I managed to see them live.
I had waited a long time to see Radiohead and this year I finally received the opportunity. I saw them twice this summer: first at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and second at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati. Each performance was incredible in its own way. In Detroit, Radiohead displayed its incredible versatility, playing both driving, dissonant songs such as “2+2=5,” and softer, intimate songs such as “Fake Plastic Trees.” Their performance, coupled with mesmerizing lights and the incredible atmosphere of the newly renovated arena, made for an unforgettable experience. While some set-list similarities existed in Radiohead’s Cincinnati show, overall, they played a lot of different songs and gave almost an entirely different show. Since the show did not sell out, my brother and I managed to get closer to the stage and that made it all the more memorable. The coolest moment from the Cincinnati show, however, occurred when Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien both gave me a wave before exiting the stage. Radiohead closed out both shows with one of their more widely recognized songs– “Karma Police.” Hearing a stadium full of people sing along to this song was nothing short of magical. It was a moment I hope to never forget.
I saw Phish twice at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL. Although I had seen them live before, I did not truly appreciate the awesomeness of their live sets until this year. Many people label Phish as merely a jam band. While they do jam, they always change the structure and sound of their jams, making their music extremely interesting and fun. One never knows quite what to expect from them because of their vast number of songs and the improvisations made within those songs. Their musicianship always mesmerizes me. Phish also possesses some of the nicest, loyal fans and their concerts always feature incredible light displays. Overall, Phish’s live concerts always guarantee a unique, unforgettable experience (go to one of their live concerts and you will understand what I mean).
While 2018 gave me some incredible memories, I look forward to 2019 and the new musical adventures that await. Although I love to stream music and follow my favorite bands and artists online, nothing truly compares to the beauty of live concerts. Music, after all, surpasses the boundaries of sound. It represents a spectrum of emotions and these emotions are best shared with other people.
Progarchy 