Tag: InsideOut

A Hevy Devy Year: Devin Townsend’s “Galactic Quarantine”

On By Bryan MoreyIn Heavy metal, progressive metal, progressive rock1 Comment

Devin Townsend Galactic QuarantineDevin Townsend, Devolution Series #2 – Galactic Quarantine, Inside Out Music, 2021
Tracks: Velvet Kevorkian (02:28), All Hail The New Flesh (05:32), By Your Command (08:18), Almost Again (03:42), Juular (03:50), March Of The Poozers (05:25), Supercrush! (05:15), Hyperdrive (03:42), Stormbending (05:21), Deadhead (07:55), Aftermath (06:51,), Love? (05:21), Spirits Will Collide (04:35), Kingdom (05:05), Detox (06:20)

Just a few months ago I pontificated about the sheer brilliance of the mighty Devin Townsend. I’m happy to announce that Devin has since surpassed my already high expectations with the release of the second volume of his Quarantine Series, this one formally entitled Devolution Series #2 – Galactic Quarantine.

Over the last year many music artists turned to the Internet when their ability to tour was cut off. None did it better than Devin Townsend. I’m not sure when he started live streaming, but I know I saw him announce impromptu live streams on Twitter pretty frequently as he worked on mixing various things. With his tour cut short, he began working on several live stream concerts, many of which raised money for hospitals in the UK and Canada in the early days of the pandemic.

This particular show originally aired on September 5, 2020 with musicians contributing from around the US and Canada. How anyone could pull this off to the extremely high level that he did it is astounding. It’s one thing to live stream yourself performing music, but it is another thing entirely to incorporate musicians from around the world and merge them onto a single screen. 

The setlist is a what’s what of some of the best music from Devin’s career, be it solo music, Devin Townsend Project, or Strapping Young Lad. It’s all good, and it’s all really really heavy. Sure, there’s plenty of cursing, but that’s par for the course with Devin and his music – particularly the Strapping stuff. Less so in his other work after Strapping. Besides, those Strapping songs have a level of rage that befits the world we live in. It’s also nice to hear Devin play that music again, especially since it seemed for a while like he wasn’t going to be returning to those songs or that style of music. He’s been very open about how it took a very toxic mindset for him to write that music all those years ago, but hopefully playing it doesn’t bring up those same emotions. For me, listening to it is rather cathartic. 

“Deadhead” is always a favorite when it gets included in his live sets, with its Floydian atmospherics and the gut-tearing crunch of Devin’s vocals. The sweetness of the clean vocals mixed with the grittiness of his distorted vocals perfectly represents the struggles of love that he sings about in the lyrics. 

He may end the live album with one of SYL’s most intense songs (“Detox”), but he also gives us the beautiful “Spirits Will Collide” off of Empath near the end of the show. There’s so much hope in those lyrics – really in that entire record. In that regard, this live show has some very disparate lyrical themes, but our lives are full of conflicting emotions. Why shouldn’t our music be full of that too. It can’t or shouldn’t be happiness and sunshine all the time, and likewise it shouldn’t be doom and gloom all the time. Balance is key. 

Musically the whole show is perfect. Guitars, drums, wall of sound… the mixing is fantastic, and many of the songs sound better than the original album recordings. Townsend’s vocals seem to get better with age, which makes for a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. He’s one of those few artist’s that I would almost rather listen to live, in part because of his voice but all because of his sense of humor. 

This is yet another great minor release from Devin Townsend that any fan will certainly want to check out. This particular release would also make a good entry point for Devin’s music, since the tracklist features songs from across the heavier side of his career. Highly recommended.

http://www.hevydevy.com
http://www.facebook.com/dvntownsend
http://www.omerch.com
https://www.instagram.com/dvntownsend/
https://www.youtube.com/user/poopynuggeteer/featured

https://youtu.be/4rOhiHLPT9Q

 

FROST* Release Video for Title Track off Upcoming Album “Day And Age”

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock, progressive rock musicLeave a comment

From the fine folks at Inside Out:

Frost* are set to release ‘Day And Age’, their first new studio album in 5 years, on May 14th, 2021. The band’s fourth record features Jem Godfrey once again joined by John Mitchell & Nathan King, as well as 3 guest drummers: Kaz Rodriguez (Chaka Khan, Josh Groban), Darby Todd (The Darkness, Martin Barre) & Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, Mister Mister). The album also features actor Jason Isaacs.

The band are pleased to launch an animated clip for an edit of the album’s title track, ‘Day And Age’. Watch it now here: https://youtu.be/RmiAmW3sgHs

Jem Godfrey comments: “Day And Age is about how we have become a planet full of transmitters. Everyone has the power to convey their thoughts far and wide. However nobody is listening because they’re too busy transmitting.”

Watch the previously released video for the track ‘Terrestrial’ here: https://youtu.be/wda09d-QdUk

‘Day And Age’ was recorded over the course of 2019 and 2020, featuring 8 tracks and striking cover artwork by Carl Glover of Aleph Studios (Steven Wilson, Marillion, Steve Jansen). The album will be released on Limited 2CD (including a bonus disc of instrumentals), Gatefold 180g 2LP + CD (with etching on Side D), and as Digital Album.

Pre-order now here: https://frost-band.lnk.to/DayAndAge

1.  Day And Age 11:49
2.  Terrestrial 5:13
3.  Waiting For The Lie 4:31
4.  The Boy Who Stood Still 7:33
5.  Island Life 4:14
6.  Skywards 4:13
7.  Kill The Orchestra 9:27
8.  Repeat To Fade 6:14

Continue reading “FROST* Release Video for Title Track off Upcoming Album “Day And Age”” →

LaserCD North American Preorder: RIVERSIDE

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Screen Shot 2018-08-07 at 9.41.25 AM
Yes, a screenshot.  Just in case you thought we at progarchy.com weren’t classy.

LaserCD has been designated the official store for the North American release of Riverside’s forthcoming album, WASTELAND.  Thank you, LaserCD!

To order (and read the excellent editorial writeup), go here:

https://www.lasercd.com/cd/wasteland-import-mediabook-preorder

Insideout: 25th Year

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Spock’s Beard & Roine Stolt’s The Flower King’s celebrate InsideOutMusic’s 25thanniversary on tour
InsideOutMusic, the leading light in today’s progressive rock scene, celebrate their 25th anniversary of being a label in 2018, in what will be one of their biggest and busiest yet. To coincide with this, two of their longest serving artists, Spock’s Beard & Roine Stolt’s The Flower King’s, will head out on a European co-headline tour in Winter 2018.

Spock’s Beard comment: “Spock’s Beard is excited to announce an upcoming Winter tour!  It will be a co-bill with Roine Stolt’s THE FLOWER KING’s revisited band, so each show promises to be a great evening of music.  We’ve been getting a lot of questions about who will be playing drums on this tour, so at this time let me introduce our new touring drummer, Mr. Mike Thorne, from SAGA!  We are really excited to have him on board and are looking forward to seeing you on tour.”

Roine Stolt adds: “Asked to put together a band  to go on the road, celebrate our label Inside Out’s 25 year anniversary – I was thinking of the ‘treasure’ that is the music I wrote for The Flower Kings during that same period. I felt compelled to bring out this music for yet another round – and in the process bring in some old friends and some new.
The music is universal – some songs timeless – and by November I hope to have an exciting set-list – to not only celebrate my 1st album and the origin of all things  “The Flower King” – but to cover the rest of TFK’s history – and eventually a new tune & a few new faces. Tune up the engine – Time to prog!”

You can find the full list of dates below:
30th November – Cosmopolite, Oslo, Norway
1st December – Kulturhuset Studion, Stockholm, Sweden
2nd December – KB, Malmo, Sweden
4th December – Zeche, Bochum, Germany
5th December – Z7, Pratteln, Switzerland
6th December – La Machine, Paris, France
7th December – De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
8th December – Hedon, Zwolle, Netherlands
9th December – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK
10th December – Academy Club, Manchester, UK

Formed back in 1993 in Kleve, Germany, the label made their name with acts such as Enchant, Spock’s Beard, Symphony X & The Flower Kings, many of whom they still work with now – a rarity in this day and age. Since that time, the label has played a key & continued role in the survival and resurgence of progressive rock in recent years, and has always prided itself on shining a light on leftfield music. Now the band count some of the biggest & most exciting bands amongst their roster, including Dream Theater, Steve Hackett, Devin Townsend, Sons of Apollo, Kansas, Haken, Riverside, Leprous & more. On the label’s 20th anniversary back in 2013, one of the labels founders, and current label-head Thomas Waber was given the Guiding Light award at the Progressive Music Awards, praising his aforementioned role in the continued celebration of progressive rock.

Many of InsideOut’s longest running relationships will see new albums released in the labels 25th year, including Spock’s Beard’s 13th album ‘Noise Floor’, a new collaborative project called The Sea Within that features Roine Stolt, Daniel Gildenlow & Jonas Reingold (all veterans of the label), a landmark live album from Devin Townsend filmed at a special performance at a Roman Theatre in Bulgaria, a new studio album from Riverside & much more.

This year will also see InsideOut release a whole host of lavish catalogue releases throughout 2018, including the second part of The Flower Kings ‘A Kingdom of Colours’ CD boxsets, a series of Devin Townsend high-end vinyl boxes, a CD collection covering the whole of Enchant’s illustrious career, & much more yet to be announced.

The Progressive Music Awards 2018 recently announced their nominations, with InsideOutMusic seeing 10 nominations in total, including Spock’s Beard for best international artist, as well as nods for Perfect Beings, Toundra, PFM, Sons of Apollo, Kino, Leprous & Caligula’s Horse. Find more details here: https://www.loudersound.com/features/vote-now-in-the-2018-progressive-music-awards

Watch out for more news throughout 2018!

Insideout News

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock2 Comments

New Releases from Haken, Fates Warning, The Sea Within and Devin Townsend Project!
This summer marks the release of exciting new albums from InsideOut Music, including live albums from Devin Townsend Project, Fates Warning and Haken, plus the debut album from the newly-formed The Sea Within.
Each band is available for interviews, so please let me know if you are interested in setting up a call or if you need the music for any reviews.
If you have missed any of the news on these releases, here is a recap.

Haken – L-1VE, June 22nd – ‘L-1VE’ is the band’s first ever live album. Following the release of the bands much-acclaimed fourth studio album ‘Affinity’, they embarked upon their 10th anniversary tour across Europe & North America. Recorded and filmed on April 13th, 2017, at the legendary Melkweg venue on the Amsterdam stop of that tour, this represents the band’s first ever live document with tracks from across their discography.

Check out the video for “in Memoriam” (Live): https://youtu.be/fRiFrVaoEGM

The Sea Within – self-titled, June 22nd – The Sea Within is the new art-rock collective comprised of Roine Stolt(Transatlantic, The Flower Kings), Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation), Jonas Reingold (Steve Hackett, The Flower Kings, Karmakanic, The Tangent), Tom Brislin (Yes Symphonic, Renaissance, Spiraling, Deborah Harry) & Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats, Steven Wilson, UK, Joe Satriani) along with vocalist Casey McPherson with guests such as Jordan Rudess and Jon Anderson making appearances.

Watch the video for “Ashes of Dawn” here: https://youtu.be/nIAQZiSPAHM

Fates Warning – Live Over Europe – June 29th – Culled from the group’s most recent European headlining run for FATES WARNING’s much acclaimed latest studio album “Theories Of Flight” in January 2018, “Live Over Europe” includes recordings from 8 different cities (Aschaffenburg / Germany, Belgrade / Serbia, Thessaloniki and Athens / Greece, Rome and Milan / Italy, Budapest / Hungary as well as Ljubljana / Slovenia) and a total of 23 songs in over 138 minutes of playing time, spanning 30 years of the group’s seminal career.

Check out “The Light and Shade of Things” here: https://youtu.be/rvT6GyrrhG4

Devin Townsend Project – Ocean Machine:Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv’ – July 6th – The concert film from the special show at the Ancient Roman Theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria on September 22nd, 2017,, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the landmark Ocean Machine album in full, as well as a set of fan-requested tracks alongside the Orchestra of Plovdiv State Opera.

Watch DTP perform the track ‘Truth’ here: https://youtu.be/jhHxvAgjvEo

All albums are available at: www.insideoutmusicshop.com

The Truth Will Set You Free: Flower Kings, A KINGDOM OF COLOURS

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock9 Comments

The Flower Kings: THE KINGDOM OF COLOURS boxset (InsideOut, 2017).

Music: A

Physical Packaging: C/C+

Thanks to the great folks at LaserCD, my copy–no. 215 out 3000–of A KINGDOM OF COLOURS by the majestic FLOWER KINGS–arrived just this afternoon in the mail.

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No. 215 of 3000.

Strangely enough, despite a 20-year love of the band, I didn’t realize this boxset had even come out until I received the advertisement for the second boxset, KINGDOM OF COLOURS 2.

The box is constructed well and quite attractive.  Inside, one finds the numbered certificate, a booklet, the first seven Flower King studio albums (no, The Flower King (1994), however), and an InsideOut advertisement.  Each of the studio albums, it should be noted, is packed in a very thin cardboard sleeve.

Continue reading “The Truth Will Set You Free: Flower Kings, A KINGDOM OF COLOURS” →

Latest Tillison/Tangent News

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

cropped-img_00021.jpg

Posted by Andy Tillison an hour ago:

So at long last there will be a chance to see the much vaunted album sleeve tomorrow – Mark Buckingham‘s art for this sleeve is absolutely stellar. The dropbox for pre-preorders will be updated with some new excerpts from the album and we’ll have something for everyone to hear whether they have ordered or not. Shortly after that we’ll hope to get regular pre-orders going. I’ll be around this page tomorrow from 2.00 pm UK time and be up for any questions etc from that time onwards…. Hope to catch some of you tomorrow!

2017 might very well go down as the greatest year for prog, ever.  Very excited.

Best Prog of 2016, Part IV (and Final)

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

kc-beat
One of the many Steven Wilson remixed albums.  And, one of the best.  Beat.

Well, I must admit, I am a bit sorry to have taken so long to get all my “best of 2016” out.  Four parts is outrageous, even by prog standards.  Too much music, too little time, too many keys on my keyboard!

So, the final part of 2016 list is nothing less than a bit of cleanup, an attempt to give coherence to a number of disparate things.

First, I want to offer a huge thanks to all of you for reading Progarchy and also to all of our writers.  Obviously, we do what we do for love, not profit.  But, it’s truly a community effort.  Again, a profound thank you–to all members of the progarchy community.

Second, I’d like to single out three companies for making reviewing so much easier than it might otherwise be.  An amazing slap on the back to Roie Avin and Jeff Wagner at Insideout!  Incredible guys, incredible company.  Another loud and hearty shout out to Brian Rocha of Fresno Media not only for his wit and friendship, but also for all of his excellent support.  And, again to Steve Babb of Sound Resources (Glass Hammer).

Third, there are a few musical releases from 2016 that don’t fit easily into the lists I’ve offered thus far.

One album I’ve thoroughly enjoyed but have not had long enough to offer it a place within my lists is The Gift’s latest album, WHY THE SEA IS SALT.  It’s extraordinary, and I very much look forward to spending more time with it.

I must also recognize Steven Wilson’s ep, 4.5, and The Tangent’s single, “A Few Steps Down the Wrong Road.”  Each is simply outstanding.

Finally, this year’s progarchy audiophile award goes to Steven Wilson for his work remixing so many classic albums.  Indeed, Wilson has remixed so many, it’s becoming hard to keep track of them all.  But, I’d like to single out the ones that meant so much to me this year: Jethro Tull’s STAND UP and AQUALUNG; XTC’s SKYLARKING; King Crimson’s BEAT; and Yes’s TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS.

DPRP Reviews New Anderson/Stolt Album

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Press_Cover_01The great folks over at the DPRP (where I am proud to be a writer, as well) have just released a Round Table Review of the new Anderson/Stolt album, Invention of Knowledge. Three great reviews of a fantastic album.

If you like classic 70s Yes and you also like Roine Stolt’s godlike work on the guitar, then this is the album for you.

Check out InsideOut for more info on the album, and be sure and read the DPRP reviews.