by progrock.com | Jan 21, 2017 | Prog Report
On January 21st, 2013 Riverside released their fifth full-length album, Shrine of New Generation Slaves. The album saw a shift towards a more organic approach, with less focus on the metal aspects of the band’s music and a greater focus on melody. The result was one of their more eclectic and diverse albums.
Singer Mariusz Duda said this about the album in a recent interview with The Prog Report, “with Shrine of New Generation Slaves I started to produce us, and not just in the rehearsal room. I wanted to open the window and let the air come and to refresh something in our arrangements, and I really wanted to get rid of unnecessary things. I based it all on the songs because Shrine of New generation slaves is an acronym for Songs and I wanted to focus on melodies. I wanted to bring back our melodies that disappeared a bit on Rapid Eye Movement and on Anomi High Definition.”
Songs like “Depth of Self-Delusion”, “Celebrity Touch” and “Feels Like Falling” conveyed this new approach while the 12 minute epic “Escalator Shrine” is one of the highlights of the album with its dynamic elements and grand ending.
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by progrock.com | Jan 20, 2017 | Prog Report
Tim Bowness recently announced the release of his fourth solo album, ‘Lost In The Ghost Light’ for February 17th, 2017, through InsideOutMusic. Now he is pleased to reveal the second track to be taken from the album.
Tim had this to say: “Distant Summers is the most optimistic song on Lost In The Ghost Light. It’s a recollection of the moment when the musician the album revolves around falls in love with music. It’s the song that answers the questions regarding why he made music in the first place and why he’s sitting in a dressing room 40 years later.
Appropriately, the song features a superb Ian Anderson flute solo. Ian’s music had been something I admired greatly when I was growing up and I did indeed walk around the school playground with a copy of Aqualung under my arm! As such, the song is as much about how and why I became interested in music as it is about the character the album concerns.
Steve Bingham’s evocative violin parts and the sedate feel make this the Ghost Light song that most resembles my work with no-man. Lyrically, it’s the one time on the album where I partially recycled an earlier song that related to the concept (Songs Of Distant Summers from 2014’s Abandoned Dancehall Dreams). I felt that the sentiment of the song was necessary to Ghost Light, so over a completely different piece of music I re-wrote the lyrics and added a reference to another song (The Great Electric Teenage Dream from 2015’s Stupid Things That Mean The World).”
The post Tim Bowness – “Distant Summers” (Lyric Video) appeared first on The Prog Report.
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by progrock.com | Jan 19, 2017 | Prog Report
Neal Morse Band just kicked off their North America tour for ‘The Similitude of a Dream’ in Nashville, TN on Jan 14th. The album has been a huge success for the group and they have already released 5 videos from the album thus far. Now comes video number 6 for “Makes No Sense”, one of the album’s central themes. The video, made by Christian Rio, who did “The Ways of the Fool” video, is comprised of visuals from the first night of the tour and you can check it out here:
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by progrock.com | Jan 18, 2017 | Prog Report
Blackfield first formed back in 2004 as a collaboration between Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen after the two met in Israel following a Porcupine Tree show. The debut album was a great mix of Geffen and Wilson’s melancholic style set against more alternative pop setting. The result was Porcupine Tree-lite, whereas songs that might have usually gone 10 minutes as Porcupine Tree, within Blackfield were 3-4 minutes at the most. The follow up, Blackfield II, was a continuation of the first album. Both were fantastic albums that offered something different for fans of Wilson to absorb while they waited for a new PT album. The following 2 albums (Welcome to my DNA, Blackfield IV), however, fell short of the quality the band was known for. The albums were largely very mellow and one dimensional, perhaps due to the Wilson taking more of a step back on the last 2 albums. There is, however, a reason to be excited if you are a Blackfield fan. The new album ‘V’ finds Steven Wilson back in the fold and, as a result, the album is the duo’s best since the second album, and might even be their most diverse and refreshing work yet.
The album kicks off with the orchestral intro “A Drop in the Ocean” before hitting into the perfect Wilson track “Family Man”. Set against powerful drums and keys, Wilson’s voice starts right away, and immediately the album has a different and fresh feel than the previous Blackfield albums. The chorus is old school Porcupine Tree, which should make fans of that band warm with nostalgia. It is definitely a return to Wilson’s classic sound. The strong opening of the album continues with the brilliant, “How Was Your Ride”, a gorgeous ballad that begins simply with a piano and Wilson’s voice. The orchestration plays a big role here as the song builds. The simplicity here highlights Wilson and Geffen’s abilities to let a great hook do the work and let the song soar. This is one of the best track’s in the Blackfield catalog.
Geffen’s voice definitely has a heavy accent when singing in English, but it has grown since the early albums, and certainly does not feel forced. On tracks like “We’ll Never Be Apart”, he sounds raw and urgent. The mid-tempo rocker is a different type of song for the band and a nice change of pace. There are other highlights such as the ethereal “Life Is An Ocean”. The background vocals create a nice call and response with the lead vocals, and when the drums kick in towards the end, although expected, the song falls right into place.
The second half of the album finds the two taking a few more risks. Where previous Blackfield albums had more than their share of somber and melancholy ballads, here there are a few different options throughout. “Lately” is one of the more upbeat tracks the duo have ever produced. It is as straight forward a rock track as one might hear Wilson front, however, he sounds at home on this track that could have even fit nicely on Porcupine Tree’s album ‘Stupid Dream’. The instrumental “Salt Water” separates two Geffen-led songs, the bluesy, “Jackyl” which has a few surprises, and the grand “Undercover Heart.”
The album concludes and peaks with another one of the highlights, the semi-biographical “From 44 to 48” which Wilson lends his voice to. The lyrics start oddly with “and then between 13 and 17…” as he sings about the different stages as he gets older. The guitar that acts as the chorus is reminiscent of the guitar part from “Prodigal”, another PT classic song. The duo’s harmonies here are glorious. This is one of those songs that only Wilson can do justice to and it utterly beautiful and brilliant; a great ending to the album.
Blackfield only pales in comparison to the member’s other full-time responsibilities. By any other measure, this is a great album and one that is easy to enjoy. It is great to have the band return to what they do best.
Released on Feb 10th, 2017 on Kscope Music
Key Tracks: Family Man, How Was Your Ride, From 44 to 48
Tracklisting
1. “A Drop in the Ocean” 1:23
2. “Family Man” 3:37
3. “How Was Your Ride?” 3:58
4. “We’ll Never Be Apart” 2:54
5. “Sorrys” 2:58
6. “Life is an Ocean” 3:26
7. “Lately” 3:24
8. “October” 3:31
9. “The Jackal” 3:56
10. “Salt Water” 2:39
11. “Undercover Heart” 4:02
12. “Lonely Soul” 3:42
13. “From 44 to 48” 4:31
Total length: 44:01
Band
Steven Wilson – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Aviv Geffen – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Tomer Z – drums
Eran Mitelman – keyboards
Production
Alan Parsons – production on three tracks
The post Blackfield – ‘V’ (Album Review) appeared first on The Prog Report.
Source:: Prog Report
by progrock.com | Jan 17, 2017 | Prog Report
Radiohead has confirmed nine U.S. headline shows in addition to the band’s previously announced headline engagement at this year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.
Tickets for the newly announced dates go on sale beginning January 20th. Tickets for all shows will be limited to 4 per order*. Restrictions may vary from venue to venue.
The full Radiohead U.S. 2017 itinerary is below. Please check www.radiohead.com for further information.
March 30 – American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL
April 1 – Philips Arena – Atlanta, GA
April 3 – Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, LA
April 5 – Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
April 8 – Key Arena – Seattle, WA
April 9 – Moda Center – Portland, OR
April 11 – Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA* Tickets limited to 2 per order
April 14 – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival – Indio, CA
April 17 – Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
April 18 – Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
April 21 – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival – Indio, CA
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Source:: Prog Report
