Enjoy! Excellent music, and great to see these guys perform.
Tag: progressive metal
Symphonic Prog Meets Black Metal
“As Fire Swept Clean the Earth” blends multiple and in a way polarizing influences. Old 70s Genesis is pervasive, but layered with that most infamous variant of Norwegian artistic intensity. Quite like an elegant time warp, the delicate 70s prog intro launches headlong into 360 beats per minute drums and inhumane screams. Transition from the high of symphonic prog into this turbulent abyss cannot be starker.
Lead guitar and keyboards are textbook 70s prog. Enslaved blends that melancholic overtones of ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ with the ferocity of Viking metal. Subtle use of electronica is a wonderful prelude to more relentless drums. But this frenetic pace does eventually get reined in by that towering proggy lead guitar. Even the album artwork mirrors this aesthetic — calmness set atop absolute mayhem.
Unusual that the lyrics do contribute to the grim atmosphere, because it’s actually decipherable — “I close my eyes. As Fire Swept Clean the Earth. Nothing left to strangle. As the cords were torn from our hearts”.
Enslaved is arguably among the most accomplished metal bands, but even for them, the aesthetics of this track is an unmatched creative act. We can safely state; abstraction of the quirky melodic aspects of a ‘Selling England by the Pound’ and placing it within the context of 90s extreme metal has now been accomplished – with captivating surgical precision.
Death – The Sound of Perseverance
Whether it’s songs like “Cosmic Sea” or “Trapped In A Corner”, Death manages to capture a unique musical terrain. Deriving from primal thrash structures, they took that Celtic Frost like blueprint to a threatening, bleak, and a more refined direction. Instead of the more gruesome death metal attributes like blast beats, atonality and deeper growls — this album emphasizes coherent structural progression and melody.
‘The Sound of Perseverance’ (1998) is a genuinely dazzling confluence of these early influences and more. It’s tailored to quickly envelop a progressive metal disciple or a death metal-head. The record straddles this complex ground between progressive musical sensibilities and sheer sonic savagery. At the margins of these two demanding genres, Death crafts an exquisite bridge from a Dream Theater to a Morbid Angel. This overall immersive experience can be elegantly summarized in Chuck Schuldiner’s own lyrics: “touch, taste, breathe, consumed”.
Widely varying transitions are graceful and numerous. Baffling how an At The Gates like guitar imprint runs into a razor steel Priestly guitars, finally exploding into an Obituary like mid-paced chugging. The good old signature riff-drum pattern of Death is also omnipresent. ‘The Sound of Perseverance’ acknowledges the progressive side to Death, and does that without deviations from their death metal roots. Essentially the same old harsh melodic guitar tones, screaming vocals and scathing leads interleaved with intricate passages — but now restructured into a progressive death symphony.
While firmly grounded in thrash roots, over the years, Death pursued a guided musical trajectory of progressive refinement. Emphasizing that crucial New Wave of British Heavy Metal artistry and sophistication – it’s essentially Iron Maiden’s melody reconciled with Hellhammer like brutal force. This constant duality in Death’s composition was always shifting in a progressive direction. So, for the longtime fans, ‘The Sound of Perseverance’ must have been a lot like the very last song from the record – “Open my eyes wide to see a moment of clarity”.
By A Sniper (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons
Damian Wilson News
I’m not privy as to the reasons why this happened, of course, but it makes me terribly sad.
It doesn’t get much better than Wilson-fronted Threshold in this world of sorrows.
Threshold’s last three albums (2 studio and 1 live) have been some of the best in rock history, frankly.
DEPARTURE FROM THRESHOLD
Damian Wilson’s statement regarding the departure from Threshold:
Unfortunately this is not a mutual decision, but I respect it. After I had recorded the album and committed to the tour I was informed that Threshold were going to continue on without me. They have every right to make this choice, although it is difficult to part ways with a group of people you’ve shared so many experiences with.
I really enjoyed the past decade recording and touring with Threshold and wish them all the best for the future, with the hope we might work again on projects somewhere down the line.
The label Nuclear Blast are amazing, and with the wonderful support of the fan base the whole journey of being the frontman for Threshold has been fantastic.
Chicago Prog: Fire Garden Live, Nov. 30
Fire Garden Live at Martyrs’ with Sonus Umbra and Erzulie
Recommended for the fans of Progressive Rock, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Pink Floyd.
Venue: Martyrs’ Chicago
Date: Wednesday Nov 30, 2016
Tickets: $7
Doors: 7:30 PM
Erzulie 8 PM – 8:50 PM
Fire Garden 9:10 PM – 10:00 PM
Sonus Umbra 10:20 PM – 11:10 PM
Tickets at
http://martyrslive.com/wed-nov-30-8pm-7
Come and enjoy great music, venue and atmosphere.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1678754159103385/
Ayreon Specials
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Arcade Messiah III: Now Streaming
ALBUM PREMIERE: Arcade Messiah dish out a dose of instrumental perfection with “III” http://thesludgelord.blogspot.ie/2016/11/album-premiere-arcade-messiah-dish-out.html
Sludglord Blog are exclusively premiering the Full Album Stream of Arcade Messiah ahead of tomorrows release date, Arcade Messiah III is released on November 25th
Arcade Messiah III Album Preorder – https://arcademessiah.bandcamp.com/album/iii
John Bassett the singer, songwriter and producer of UK Progressive Metal Band KingBathmat) has announced the forthcoming release primarily on bandcampof ARCADE MESSIAH III (release date 25/11/16)
The mostly instrumental one man project combines progressive metal with post rock, sludge, doom and stoner rock with Bassett recording all instruments and producing the album himself. Says Bassett, “Arcade Messiah III has certainly been a labour of love for me, never before have I refined a record to the degree that I have done with this album, I incorporated many new production techniques and have learned a lot from the experience of putting this record together. I’m very excited to release this out into the wild.”
Acompanying this release is a music video for track 1 of the album “Revolver” it includes eye popping timelapse visuals of Tokyo at night by darwinfish105
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm7gPRG4ACc
Arcade Messiah III
(25/11/16) track listing
1. Revolver
2. Citadel
3. Deliverance
4. Life Clock
5. Black Tree
6. Sanctuary
Ayreon Live, September 15-16, 2017
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Fire Garden’s second album now available!
For those of us who love everything Zee Baig and Fire Garden, REJOICE! Album no. 2, FAR AND NEAR, is now available for those of us wise enough to have pledged our undying love, support, and devotion to this amazing band through PLEDGEMUSIC. Reviews and others cool things to follow. . . .
9 songs, 55 minutes, featuring the work and talents of Zee Baig, Jordan Rudess, Jimmy Keegan, and Bruce Soord. I get the feeling everyONE wants to hang out with Zee.
Jordan Rudess and Zee Baig: Fire Garden’s Heaven
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) records guest solo for Fire Garden’s upcoming 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.
Progarchy 
