by Blake | Mar 29, 2017 | Prog Report
Aviv Geffen, the Israeli singer/songwriter as one half of the rock duo Blackfield with British musician and producer Steven Wilson, is taking the band’s newest studio album V on an anticipated 10-date European tour in May 2017. Having recently performed with and hosted British Indie artist Jake Bugg in Tel Aviv and with fan requests for more live dates following his support for Biffy Clyro in February, Aviv will be heading on his first headline tour since the release of V.
Sat May 20 – FR – Paris La Boule Noire
Sun May 21 – BE – Brussels La Madeleine
Tue May 23 – UK – Birmingham Institute 2
Wed May 24 – UK – Glasgow Oran Mor
Thu May 25 – UK – Manchester O2 Ritz
Fri May 26 – UK – London Islington Assembly Hall
Sun May 28 – DE – Hamburg Knust
Mon May 29 – DE – Colgone Luxor
Tue May 30 – DE – Berlin Musik and Frieden
Tickets on general sale from Wednesday March 29th – for details www.facebook.com/blackfieldhq
Blackfield recently announced two new music videos, created by long time collaborator Lasse Hoile (www.lassehoile.com), for the Wilson-penned “From 44 to 48” and for “Lonely Soul”.
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by Blake | Mar 29, 2017 | Prog Report
Review by Joel Barrios
Cosmosquad is not a name that will ring a bell for many, being one of the reasons for the 10 year gap between their previous discographic effort “Acid Test” and their new album “The Morbid Tango”. If you are familiar with the band’s catalog, then do yourself a favor and buy the album right now. On the other hand, if you are hearing about them for the first time by reading this review, don’t be shy and keep on.
The L.A. based musical collective led by veteran guitarist Jeff Kollman (Bombastic Meatbats, Glenn Hughes, Mogg/Way) on guitar, Shane Gaalaas (B’z, Diesel Machine, MSG) on drums, and Kevin Chown (Tarja, Bombastic Meatbats, Paul Gilbert) on bass have been around for quite some time, specifically since 1997 when Jeff, Shane and Barry Sparks formed the band after some serious jams at a rehearsal studio in Phoenix, Arizona. With three studio albums and a live record under their belt, Cosmosquad have been one of L.A.’s best kept secrets, yet with a dedicated following spanning all four corners of the globe. To define what genre their music moves into, I’d say “jazz rock”, however tagging them like that will let you wonder whether their stock in trade is a total jazz take on rock songs like Alex Skolnick Trio, a smooth laid back combination of jazz grooves with a generous serving of blues like Endangered Species, or a guitar soloing over a metal chug riff like Derek Sherinian’s solo albums.
Fortunately, the Cosmosquad’s sound veers away from the common clichés of an overpopulated genre, and manages to melt together a vast amalgam of sounds and eclectic melodies, serving them in an organic and smoking tight package. After a horrible wait of 10 years (yes, I keep ranting about it!) “The Morbid Tango” arrives to my collection and doing so it reveals one simple fact: time has done nothing but add a slightly more metallic edge to the same killer combination they are known for: equal parts of fusion, funk, infectious and melodic riffs, intense bass lines, and impossible drumming patterns; all of them generously sprinkled with heavy footed chops and over the top musicianship; resulting in energetic, complex and melodic instrumental music, impeccably executed.
If you have never heard of Jeff Kollman, you might want to pay attention at his playing on this record. From early Van Halen-ish riffing to Hendrix fueled bends, Kollman finds a way to just own each track, the Moroccan Tango licks paired with the Flamenco guitar in the title track are pure elegance, and his guitar tone is amazingly diverse throughout the 11 songs. However, his partners in crime are all for it, playing their asses off musically. Shane Gaalaas is a true drumming machine, following his drum fill could leave you jaw-dropped; and the uber-talented Kevin Chown lays down powerful and bonding bass chords wrapping the band’s sound effortlessly.
“The Morbid Tango” is a musical concept, the story of the circle and meaning of life itself, from birth through the journeys of youth, love and loss, wisdom and how we all ascend through death’s door. It was conceived and recorded at Crumb West Studios in Simi Valley, CA, produced by the tandem of Shane Gaalaas and Jeff Kollman, and mixed by Gaalaas, with guest contributions coming from top L.A. session musicians Jeff Babko on keyboards, David Collier on percussion, and Jono Brown providing strings.
A well-balanced combination between old-school, raw, organic, and modern production electronica, this record demonstrates these guys have found a great recipe to keep the listener interested and curious as to what will happen next. ‘The Morbid Tango’ is a true team effort more than the spotlight being on any player; a musical and visual adventure, told in vivid sonic colors, viciously visceral one moment, fragile and intimate the next. A defiant statement against the laws of virtuosic musicianship, songwriting and all other sorts of tomfoolery; and a true example of how gorgeous melodic composition can meet farfetched playing.
Highly recommended for any metal fusion or progressive metal fan, as well as for jazz-fusion lovers (who aren’t afraid of some heavy moments in music) this is a tremendous record from head to toe and a candidate for one of the best metal fusion albums of the year. Simply put: Cosmosquad rules, and if their music doesn’t move you, I certainly don’t know what will.
Released on Jan 14, 2017
Cosmosquad are:
Jeff Kollman / guitars
Shane Gaalaas / drums
Kevin Chown / bass
With:
Jeff Babko / keyboards
David Collier / percussion
Jono Brown / strings
Track Listing:
1. Morbid Tango
2. Cyclops
3. The Ballad of Rick James
4. Anatomy of A Beatdown
5. Recollection Epilogue
6. Always Remember the Love
7. The Crosses
8. Still Life
9. Sangfroid
10. Beyond Death’s Door
11. Beyond Death’s Door Reprise
The post Cosmosquad – The Morbid Tango (Album Review) appeared first on The Prog Report.
Source:: Prog Report
by Blake | Mar 28, 2017 | Prog Report
Between the Buried and Me’s 8th studio album, Coma Ecliptic, is also its most diverse and cinematic album to date, offering a mix of the group’s earlier aggressive style and newer, more melodic songwriting. The result is a breathtaking piece of art that also lends itself brilliantly to live performances. While the band had taken entire albums on the road before, in fact performing Colors in its entirety the very first day that album was released, with Coma the band would wait until much later in the tour cycle. One of those shows is commemorated here on the Coma Ecliptic Live CD/DVD/Blur-Ray set. Filmed live on location October 4th, 2016 at The Observatory North Park in San Diego, CA, the set is the entire Coma Ecliptic album performed live at the peak of the band’s ability, with audio and visuals that are as captivating as the music itself.
The film centers around the mesmerizing performance by vocalist Tommy Rogers, who trades off between keyboard playing singer and powerhouse metal frontman. Strategically placed go-pros and professional cameras overlook each member of the band from more than a dozen angles, allowing the viewer to get an up close view, as well as a straight forward crowd perspective. The music is mixed to keep out much of the crowd noise, and at times can sound a little too much you are listening to the studio album, but nontheless, this is a great album’s worth of music that any BTBAM fan will treasure.
For any fan not familiar with their work and thinking it might not be their thing, Coma Ecliptic is the album to check out. So get the studio album first and then watch this live dvd. You’ll be hooked from there.
Coma Ecliptic Live Tracklisting
1. Node 03:31
2. The Coma Machine 07:35
3. Dim Ignition 02:16
4. Famine Wolf 06:50
5. King Redeem / Queen Serene 06:58
6. Turn on the Darkness 08:26
7. The Ectopic Stroll 07:02
8. Rapid Calm 07:59
9. Memory Palace 09:54
10. Option Oblivion 04:22
11. Life in Velvet 03:38
Tommy Rogers: Vocals, Keyboards
Dan Briggs: Bass
Blake Richardson: Drums
Paul Waggoner: Guitar
Dustie Waring: Guitar
The post Album Spotlight: Between the Buried and Me – Coma Ecliptic Live appeared first on The Prog Report.
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by Blake | Mar 28, 2017 | Prog Report
Magenta are back with a new album, ‘We Are Legend’ due out April 20th. ‘We Are Legend’ marks a first for Magenta, as it’s the first album where the live and studio line-up are one and the same.
The forthcoming gigs will mark the debut of Jon ‘Jiffy’ Griffiths as Magenta’s drummer. Some of you will have already seen Jiffy as part of Rob’s live Sanctuary band last year. He joins bassist Dan Nelson who has been an integral part of the live band now for several years. Both Dan and Jiffy have made fantastic contributions to the sound of the album.
Mar 31 – Cardiff The Globe
Apr 01 – Wath Upon Dearne Montgomery Hall (CRS)
Apr 02 – Bilston The Robin 2
Apr 08 – London Boston Music Room
Apr 09 – Southampton Talking Heads
May 13 – St. Helens The Citadel
Nov 18 – Pwllheli, North Wales HRH Prog 6
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by Blake | Mar 27, 2017 | Prog Report
Porcupine Tree followed their major label debut ‘In Absentia’ 3 years later with Deadwing on March 28th, 2005. The album was originally designed as a soundtrack to a movie and was meant essentially to be a solo album. When the soundtrack did not happen, Wilson decided to make it a Porcupine Tree album.
Wilson explained to The Prog Report, “I think there was an element of sort of pragmatic perspective there, okay well if this album if this soundtrack is not going to happen, if this project is not going to happen, at least I should give as much of the good material the best chance it has to get some exposure. So it ended up being a slightly schizophrenic record, because half of it was written for Porcupine Tree and half of it was written for this other record, this soundtrack. And I think it stands up pretty well.”
The album would ultimately feature longer tracks than on previous efforts such as the title track, the epic “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here” and “The Start of Something Beautiful”. The album also included the ballad “Lazarus” which Steven Wilson still performs at solo shows.
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