by Blake | Feb 23, 2017 | Prog Report
New bands and supergroups emerge every with regularity these days, but it is not often that they are great right out of the gate. In the cases of instrumental groups, it is even more difficult to achieve a successful debut. Often there is just a lot of mindless jamming that can be labeled as songs. Nova Collective have defied the odds to produce a fantastic first album. A group made up of instrumental superstars from a few very well-known progressive bands Between the Buried and Me, Haken, Trioscapes, and Cynic, the foursome’s new album ‘The Further Side’ is an energetic, creative, and enjoyable listen from the first few notes. They describe themselves as “fusion, weaving progressive rock influences with world music, jazz and classical, to create something entirely new that is pure aural candy for prog/jazz fans.”
As is the latest norm with forming bands, often the members don’t even meet at first. Bassist Dan Briggs (Between the Buried and Me, Trioscapes) and guitarist Richard Henshall (Haken) follwed the trend by first exchanging emails about music in 2014. Demos turned in to full songs and drummer Matt Lynch (Trioscapes, Cynic) and keyboardist Pete Jones (ex-Haken) joined after to finish writing the album. For any that follow these members’ bands, the same kind of technical prowess is fully on display throughout, but don’t expect death metal growling. Rather, the group take a more fusion metal approach, with lots of clean playing playful arrangements. There are no silly jams or wasteful moments. Each phrase written is deliberate and performed with precision.
The first track and track to be released from the album, “Dancing Machines” is a perfect showcase of what this album is about. The song begins with the keyboards and guitars playing a lead melody in a crazy time signature before the explosive drums come in. Keyboardist Jones plays a key role in the music often leading the track’s bass rhythms on his piano. Henshall brings elements of what makes Haken so great into this track and the album, as well. The second track “Cascades” has more of a straight forward Jazz-Fusion feel at times, but by the end is on full-on prog rock attack mode. The recent single “Ripped Apart and Reassembled” is another barrage of notes played at light speeds with the keyboards again taking a large role. The rhythm section of Lynch on drums and Briggs on bass are as dynamic a set as you will here, ripping through each song. Throughout the album, the music is closer to that of Chick Corea’s ‘Return to Forever’ than it is to these members’ regular bands, but there is plenty of rock in there to keep it heavy enough.
To describe the playing throughout the 6 songs in the collection is a futile exercise. Instrumental albums are to be listened to and enjoyed. To that end, we cannot recommend this album enough. Get Nova Collective now!
Tracklisting:
1.Dancing Machines 9:46
2.Cascades 6:54
3.Air 6:52
4.State of Flux 9:41
5.Ripped Apart and Reassembled 5:42
6.The Further Side 9:00
Nova Collective line-up:
Dan Briggs – Bass
Matt Lynch – Drums
Pete Jones – Keyboards
Richard Henshall – Guitar
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by Blake | Feb 23, 2017 | Prog Report
Randy McStine is one of those rare talents that is able to do just about anything. A great singer and songwriter, and an exceptional guitar player, McStine has spent much of the last few years as either a highly sought after session musician or in underground bands like the excellent rock trio The Fringe, with Nick D’Virgilio and Jonas Reingold. Anyone who saw their recent performances on Cruise to the Edge knows that these are some serious top-level players, and McStine, a serious musician’s musician.
Over the last few months, McStine has been working on his latest album, this time a solo album under his own name. The album called The Master, is a personal collection of 8 mostly acoustic and ambient tracks that McStine recorded and produced almost entirely on his own. There are a few contributions from the likes of Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson) and Jesse Molloy (Panic! At The Disco, Crush Effect), along with string arrangements from Dave Gregory (XTC, Big Big Train). As he says on his website, “This record is my statement to hit the reset button as Randy McStine. My name hasn’t graced an album cover since I was in my early teens. That version of me was another lifetime ago, and with all I’ve been incredibly lucky to do with others since, I feel the time is right to restate my name and redirect my efforts.”
Most that listen to this album might be taken aback by the lack of instrumentation and shredding. But the more the album is listened to, it becomes apparent that this collection possesses a charm all its own. The melodies are subtle but they are powerful while the lyrics are honest and expose a side of the singer in a way that few in the Prog genre often dare to attempt.
The opening track “The Master” sets the stage right away with McStine singer over an acoustic guitar with some ambient keyboards sounds filling the gaps. The song brilliantly shifts halfway through as some rarely used distortion is brought into play. The second track, “Purity of Youth” continues with a bit of a darker vibe as he earnestly pleads “This could be yours and mine.” Much of the album follows a similar path shifting through subtle changes. There are great moments that add to the sonic landscape, like the sax solo in “Election Season” and the Lindsey Buckingham-like guitar playing on “Figured Out”. Overall, the songs accomplish what the singer intended to do, record something heartfelt and authentic and bring music back to the core of what its about, the song.
Randy McStine continues to be an artist in the truest sense of the word, choosing to do his art the way he wants. The only drawback here is that after seeing McStine display his guitar skills in a more rock setting, as a listener, you wish there was more of that here. However, it does not take away from the quality of the material. The songs are solid, and the performance and production excellent. For something a little bit different, this is definitely a collection worth digging into.
Tracklisting:
1. The Master
2. Purity of Youth
3. What You Become
4. Electric Season
5. Evacuation
6. Waves
7. Figured Out
8. Evacuation Plan
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by Blake | Feb 23, 2017 | Prog Report
The new Ayreon album ‘The Source’ is scheduled for release on April 28. Now comes the release of the 2nd video for the album for the track “Everybody Dies”. The song once again features the use of multiple singers and musicians. The concept album is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious projects Arjen has every put together for an Ayreon album. Check out the new video here:
You can pre-order THE SOURCE here: http://www.arjenlucassen.com
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by Blake | Feb 22, 2017 | Prog Report
Nova Collective (featuring members of Between the Buried and Me, Haken, Trioscapes, Cynic) will release their debut album, The Further Side, via Metal Blade Records, on March 10th. Nova Collective’s music can be described as fusion, weaving progressive rock influences with world music, jazz and classical, to create something entirely new that is pure aural candy for prog/jazz fans. Now you can see the new full band play-through video for the new single, “Ripped Apart and Reassembled. can be viewed here. Mixed by Rich Mouser (Neal Morse, Transatlantic), it is immediately clear that The Further Side is a labor of love for all involved, and that enthusiasm shines throughout.
Nova Collective line-up:
Dan Briggs – Bass
Matt Lynch – Drums
Pete Jones – Keyboards
Richard Henshall – Guitar
Perorder at metalblade.com/novacollective.
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by Blake | Feb 22, 2017 | Prog Report
Big Big Train, who released their last album Folklore last year, are already back with a new album, entitled Grimspound. The album, which was initially intended as a companion EP to Folklore, became a full album once the band realized it had too much good material. Grimspound, their 10th album, will be released on April 28th and will feature 8 new tracks.
Grimspound will launch on CD, 180g double vinyl, hi-resolution 24/96 download, standard resolution download and via streaming services, with pre-orders beginning March 2.
Tracklisting:
1 Brave Captain
2 On The Racing Line
3 Experimental Gentlemen
4 Meadowland
5 Grimspound
6 The Ivy Gate
7 A Mead Hall In Winter
8 As The Crow Flies
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