Norway’s LEPROUS are rolling out the campaign for their much-anticipated new fifth studio album “Malina” (Out August 25th, 2017 via InsideOutMusic) by debuting its first single and video “From The Flame” today.
Watch the video for “From The Flame”, which was directed by David Solbjørg of Twitchy Films, here:
The band checked in with the following comment about “From The Flame”: “From the Flame” is definitely one of our favourite tracks from the album, with a strong hook and memorable melodies. Despite it sounding big and catchy, it also sounds pretty organic and it has a depth to it. We’re super proud of the son and feel it represents LEPROUS 2017 very well!”
And video director David Solbjørg of Twitchy Films added about the clip: “It’s always fun and challenging to work with Leprous. This time around we chose to shoot with RED 8K cameras and brand new colour science (ipp2) to get as atmospheric shots as possible in a demanding low light environment.”
The track-listing for “Malina” reads as follows:
LEPROUS – “Malina”: 1. Bonneville 2. Stuck 3. From The Flame 4. Captive 5. Illuminate 6. Leashes 7. Mirage 8. Malina 9. Coma 10. The Weight Of Disaster 11. The Last Milestone
“Malina” will be available as Jewelcase CD and Digital Download, but also as limited edition Mediabook CD (with extended booklet and the bonus-track “Root”) and as Gatefold 2LP on 180gr. vinyl (with a poster, the bonus-track “Root” and the entire album on CD).
Following a hugely successful European tour as support to label-mates Devin Townsend Project earlier this year, LEPROUS wrapped up the work on “Malina” with producer David Castillo at Ghost Ward Studio in Sweden, while mixing duties were once again taken care of by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden. The album’s artwork was designed by Corey Meyers.
In order to support the release of “Malina”, LEPROUS will be heading out on an extensive headlining tour of Europe together with special guests Agent Fresco from Iceland, plus Australia’s AlithiA and fellow Norwegian’s Astrosaur. Here is a list of the dates announced so far:
LEPROUS, Agent Fresco, AlithiA & Astrosaur – European Tour: Presented in Germany by Eclipsed, Laut.de, Guitar & Metal.de
28.10.17 – Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, Denmark 29.10.17 – Logo, Hamburg, Germany 30.10.17 – Luxor, Cologne, Germany 31.10.17 – Rockhal, Esch, Luxembourg 1.11.17 – Patronaat, Haarlem, Netherlands 2.11.17 – The Dome, London, UK 3.11.17 – Voodoo Lounge, Dublin, Ireland 4.11.17 – Damnation Festival, Leeds, UK 5.11.17 – Biebob, Vosselaar, Belgium 6.11.17 – Trabendo, Paris, France 7.11.17 – Barakason, Nantes, France 8.11.17 – Rocher Palmer, Bordeaux, France 11.11.17 – Le Metronum, Toulouse, France 12.11.17 – Le Moulin, Marseille, France 13.11.17 – Magnolia, Milan, Italy 14.11.17 – CCO Villeurbanne, Lyon, France 15.11.17 – Salzhaus, Winterthur, Switzerland 16.11.17 – Grillen, Colmar, France 17.11.17 – Backstage Halle, Munich, Germany 18.11.17 – Szene, Vienna, Austria 19.11.17 – A38, Budapest, Hungary 20.11.17 – Rock Café, Prague, Czech Republic 21.11.17 – Proxima, Warsaw, Poland 22.11.17 – Musik & Freiden, Berlin, Germany
Montreal-based Cydemind will release their first full length album ‘Erosion’ today, May 26th. The album is the follow-up to their 2014 debut EP ‘Through Mist and Ages’. Now you can listen to the album exclusively here.
The band had this to say about the new album, “We’re very excited to finally release Erosion. We’ve been working on it for so long; to finally launch it feels like we’ve reached the summit of a mountain that took 5 years to climb. We hope you’ll appreciate the scenery as much as we do. Thanks for supporting us and here’s to many more albums!”
Influenced by bands such as Symphony X, Dream Theater, Haken, Plini, Rush along with classical, jazz and progressive rock, the album offers a refreshing take on progressive music that is sure to attract interest from a wide audience, especially with classically trained violinist Olivier Allard, who leads the listener throughout the different moods of their compositions.
“Erosion” was recorded in Montreal at The Grid with producer Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy, The Agonist, Beyond Creation, Neuraxis) along with additional recording of grand piano done at Studio 270.
The album consists of six compositions including a 27 minute masterpiece of the release’s title track, making it CYDEMIND‘s most ambitious project to date. The album artwork was done by drummer and band co-founder Alexandre Dagenais along with lyrical poems included with the release written by pianist Camille Delage. The poems describe each composition as the album gravitates around the theme of nature and its persistence through time.
Night of the Prog, the yearly festival that takes place in Germany and is now in its 12th year had a bit of a last minute shake last week when it was announced that Kansas had to be replaced. Kansas were set to be the last night headliner. Marillion have been scheduled as the new headliner for the 3rd and final night of the festival which already includes Yes featuring Anderson, Rabin, and Wakeman, and Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress as the other 2 headliners. The festival takes place July 14-16th. For more information visit: http://www.nightoftheprogfestival.com/index.eng.html
The Mute Gods return barely more than a year since their debut album took the Prog world by surprise. Looking back, of course, it should not have been such a shock that it was a great debut album considering the members involved. However, few knew Nick Beggs had this sort of writing in him. Now full of confidence as a frontman and main songwriter, Beggs bring back his fellow MG’s Roger King and Marco Minnemann for an even stronger set of new material.
While still on the road with Steven Wilson, Beggs found time to write and record this new album which is largely set against the backdrop of turmoil throughout the world. Beggs speaks his mind on a number of matters from animal rights on “Animal Army” to standing up against corrupt politicians in “We Can’t Carry On”, or on the title track singing about the survival traits of microorganisms that will outlive us all. Musically, there is not much here in terms of technical showing off or intricate instrumental moments, but Beggs has never really been about that, despite being one of the world’s most skilled bassists and Chapman stick players. However, the band do sound tighter throughout, playing within the songs and accenting when the moments are available.
The early moments of the album are hard-hitting and aggressive. “The Dumbing of the Stupid”, brilliant by the title alone, is one of the album’s best tracks. Minnemann drives the song with his rapid-fire approach, while the production especially in the chorus is explosive and powerful. Here Beggs rails against reality TV and its effects on society. On “Early Warning” we find the Beggs channeling his inner Steven Wilson with the haunting melody and harmonies setting the tone.
The title track “tardigrades will inherit the earth” is probably the album’s best track as well. The uptempo nature and main repeating riff already make this engaging, but it is Beggs’ vocal delivery that completes the song. Plus, somehow he found a way to make the words “tardigrades will inherit the earth” totally singable so that as you walk around singing this song, you will look completely insane. With a hint of 80s synth-pop influence, this should be a hit single. “Window Onto the Sun” is another memorable track where you can hear a bit of Tears for Fears. The album’s longest track is the exotic “The Singing Fish of Batticaloa”. It is also probably the most proggy song on the album clocking in at 8:25. Everything works here, from the gorgeous piano in the verse to the hook-laden chorus. The album then closes on the beautiful ballad “Stranger Than Fiction” which is a nice contrast to the angry nature of much of the album.
The Mute Gods have proven to be one of the new bands to be reckoned with. The lineup is solid and the songs keep getting better. This is one of the first albums this year to make a mark. Once it sinks in after a few listens, you will be walking around singing “tardigrades will inherit the earth” with people looking at you weird, which is probably what Nick Beggs wants anyway.
Released on Feb 24th, 2017 on InsideOut Music
Key track: Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth, The Singing Fish Of Batticaloa
Nick Beggs
Roger King
Marco Minnemann
01. Saltatio Mortis (01:57)
02. Animal Army (05:00)
03. We Can’t Carry On (05:11)
04. The Dumbing Of The Stupid (07:09)
05. Early Warning (03:56)
06. Tardigrades Will Inherit The Earth (05:02)
07. Window Onto The Sun (06:00)
08. Lament (02:01)
09. The Singing Fish Of Batticaloa (08:24)
10. Hallelujah (05:50)
11. The Andromeda Strain (02:57)
12. Stranger Than Fiction (04:21)
Lonely Robot, the project masterminded by producer, guitarist and singer/songwriter John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Arena), has announced that its much-anticipated second studio album ‘The Big Dream’ will be released on April 28th, 2017.
Following 2015’s acclaimed debut ‘Please Come Home’, ‘The Big Dream’ has a core theme running through it – one that sees The Astronaut, the central character in the Lonely Robot adventure, emerging from a long period in stasis.
Mitchell explains: “The Astronaut wakes up from a cryogenic sleep but finds he’s no longer in space, and is instead in a woodland area surrounded by a group of strange people with animal heads! It’s a little surreal, a little ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to some extent. This is something of a solipsistic haze, for want of a better description!”
Mitchell explains more about his Lonely Robot concept: “I have always envisaged the storyline of The Astronaut’s journey evolving over the course of three albums. And I always knew where I wanted to go with the second album – taking The Astronaut away from space and into a strange and unfamiliar environment. Right now, I have no thoughts of what will happen for the third one but I’d better start thinking about it now!”
“The key inspiration for Lonely Robot comes from my love of science fiction films, and the atmospheric soundtracks that often accompany them – such as Alan Silvestri’s compositions for ‘Contact’ and Clint Mansell’s work for ‘Moon’.”
The album once again features drums by Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson), with all other instrumentation on the album delivered by Mitchell himself.
‘The Big Dream’ will be available as a special edition digipak CD (including 3 bonus tracks), gatefold 2LP + CD & digital download.
The track-listing is as follows:
1. Prologue (Deep Sleep)
2. Awakenings
3. Sigma
4. In Floral Green
5. Everglow
6. False Lights
7. Symbolic
8. The Divine Art Of Being
9. The Big Dream
10. Hello World Goodbye
11. Epilogue (Sea Beams)
Bonus Tracks:
12. In Floral Green (Acoustic Version)
13. The Divine Art Of Being (Acoustic Version)
14. Why Do We Stay? (feat. Kim Seviour)
At the end of 2015, Lonely Robot played a triumphant show at The Scala in London, and Mitchell wants to play further dates in 2017, with a few already confirmed. “The only condition is that I want them all to be special; and now we have two albums of material from which to choose the set.” The current line-up is made of John Mitchell, Craig Blundell, Steve Vantsis (Fish) & Liam Holmes (Inglorious).
The following dates are currently confirmed:
5th March – Progdreams VI, Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
27th April – Sub89, Reading, UK
28TH April – Marillion Convention, Leicester, UK
27th May – Trinity Live, Assembly Rooms, Leamington Spa, UK
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LEPROUS – “Malina”:
