by Blake | Feb 26, 2017 | Prog Report
By the time Neal Morse was set to work on his next solo album in 2006, he had done 4 concept album in a row, dating back to Snow with Spock’s Beard (his last with that band). He and Mike Portnoy were decidedly against another concept album. However, plans changed when a friend suggested doing an album based on the story of Martin Luther and his battle against the Catholic Church.
Neal Morse: “It was actually a different friend that suggested that I do the album of Martin Luther. And again I thought when he told me I smiled and listened but in my mind I was saying ‘absolutely not, absolutely not’ I’ve just done what, four concept albums, I can’t do another concept album. This is crazy. But over the following week, I began to feel like it was the thing to do.”
Despite the controversial nature of the, Neal, along with his now recurring group of Randy George and Mike Portnoy, produced one of his celebrated albums. A favorite among the Neal Morse fans, the album is a tour de force of Prog with only 4 tracks, 3 of which clock in 29, 25 and 17 minutes respectively. The album features some outstanding musical moments that stand amongst the trio’s best work.The heavy nature of the subject matter led to the heavier music throughout the album as it displays more metal elements than had been in previous Morse outings. Paul Gilbert also joined in with a couple of fiery solos.
“After I worked with Paul (on Yellow Matter Custard), I was like ‘oh my gosh this guy’s amazing’. And so then there was an opportunity to have him play on something. I just I sent it to him and he sent back those solos.”
Neal Morse recently performed the entire Sola Scriptura album as part of Morsefest 2015. The show is being released on March 24th a on CD/DVD/Blu-ray.
The post Neal Morse releases ‘Sola Scriptura’ 10 years ago appeared first on The Prog Report.
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by Blake | Feb 25, 2017 | Prog Report
Having accomplished what he felt he could with Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson embarked on a solo career in 2008. With his first 2 solo albums, ‘Insurgentes’ and ‘Grace for Drowning’, Wilson explored new instrumentation, songwriting arrangements and mostly strayed completely away from his Porcupine Tree days. With his 3rd album, 2013’s ‘The Raven That Refused to Sing’, Wilson hit his high-water mark. Combining his love of ’70s classic Prog albums with his solo experimentation, and a hint of a return to his previous band, ‘Raven’ became the most successful album of his career.
The 6 tracks on the album cover a lot of territory, from the aggressive opener “Luminol” to the gorgeous ballad “Drive Home” to the epic story “The Watchmaker”. With an excellent band behind him including Nick Beggs (bass), Marco Minnemann (drums), Guthrie Govan (guitar), Alan Holzman (Keys), and Theo Travis (Flute/Saxophone), the performances are flawless. But the highlight of the collection is the title track, a haunting song about loss and death.
In an interview with The Prog Report, Wilson described “The Raven That Refused to Song” as the best song he has ever written. “I think the Raven is the best song I ever wrote and I say that to the audience. It’s a song that I will struggle to better the rest of my career. Well you know what, the great thing about it is, I wrote it 20 years into my career and to be writing your best music 20 years into your career, I’ll settle for that.”
Wilson followed up the album with another that would surpass it in sales, ‘Hand.Cannot.Erase’ in 2015.
The post Steven Wilson releases ‘The Raven That Refused To Sing’ 4 years ago appeared first on The Prog Report.
Source:: Prog Report
by Blake | Feb 24, 2017 | Prog Report
The Neal Morse Band have recently announced the release of the once-in-a-lifetime concert event, Morsefest 2015. The live set, due out on March 24 via Radiant Records via Metal Blade Records/SONY, captures the band at their live best for a 5 hour extravaganza with complete performances of the ‘Sola Scriptura’ and ‘?’ albums, as well as songs from Spock’s Beard (featuring guest Nick D’Virgilio), Transatlantic, and surprises—including performances with guitar legend Phil Keaggy. Now you can see the first live clip from the first night for “In The Fire”. This extended live version finds the band as explosive as ever.
Morsefest 2015 is the most massive live release of Morse’s career. In addition to both concerts, a one-hour documentary puts audiences behind the scenes for this epic event. Featuring candid moments from Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Bill Hubauer, Eric Gillette, Randy George, other musicians, and crew—it’s an engaging glimpse into the whirlwind staging of this event.
Sonically, outstanding audio is delivered by veteran mix engineer by Rich Mouser, who has helmed every Neal Morse, Spock’s Beard, and Transatlantic studio album. The package is presented as either 2 Blu-ray discs, or 2 DVDs with 4 CDs. Digital downloads of the music portion will be available from Radiant Records in uncompressed audio, and on iTunes. Pre-orders are available on Radiant’s website.
The band recently completed a long US tour in support of their album ‘The Similitude of a Dream’. The tour concluded with two epics shows on Cruise to the Edge. The band head to Europe in March.
March 22nd – Barcelona, Spain – Apolo
March 23rd – Milan, Italy – Magazinni Generali
March 24th – Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7
March 25th – Aschaffenburg, Germany – TBA
March 26th – Berlin, Germany – Lido
March 28th – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja Music Zone
March 29th – Hamburg, Germany – Markthalle
March 30th – Limbourg, Belgium – Salle Le Kursaal
March 31st – Cologne, Germany – Stollwerck
April 1st – Malmo, Sweden – KB
April 2nd – Tilburg, Holland – O13
April 4th – Luxembourg – Rockhal
April 5th – Paris, France – Divan Du Monde
April 6th – Birmingham, England – O2 Academy 2
April 7th – Glasgow, Scotland – O2 Ritz
April 8th – Manchester, England – O2 ABC 1
April 9th – London, England – O2 Islington Academy
April 12th – Tel Aviv, Israel – Havana Club
May 6th – Gettysburg PA – RosFest
Photo credit: Peter Rajaniemi
The post Neal Morse Band premiere “In The Fire” from forthcoming Morsefest 2015 DVD/Blu-Ray release appeared first on The Prog Report.
Source:: Prog Report
by Blake | Feb 24, 2017 | Prog Report
The Neal Morse Band have recently announced the release of the once-in-a-lifetime concert event, Morsefest 2015. The live set, due out on March 24 via Radiant Records via Metal Blade Records/SONY, captures the band at their live best for a 5 hour extravaganza with complete performances of the ‘Sola Scriptura’ and ‘?’ albums, as well as songs from Spock’s Beard (featuring guest Nick D’Virgilio), Transatlantic, and surprises—including performances with guitar legend Phil Keaggy. Now you can see the first live clip from the first night for “In The Fire”. This extended live version finds the band as explosive as ever.
Morsefest 2015 is the most massive live release of Morse’s career. In addition to both concerts, a one-hour documentary puts audiences behind the scenes for this epic event. Featuring candid moments from Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Bill Hubauer, Eric Gillette, Randy George, other musicians, and crew—it’s an engaging glimpse into the whirlwind staging of this event.
Sonically, outstanding audio is delivered by veteran mix engineer by Rich Mouser, who has helmed every Neal Morse, Spock’s Beard, and Transatlantic studio album. The package is presented as either 2 Blu-ray discs, or 2 DVDs with 4 CDs. Digital downloads of the music portion will be available from Radiant Records in uncompressed audio, and on iTunes. Pre-orders are available on Radiant’s website.
The band recently completed a long US tour in support of their album ‘The Similitude of a Dream’. The tour concluded with two epics shows on Cruise to the Edge. The band head to Europe in March.
March 22nd – Barcelona, Spain – Apolo
March 23rd – Milan, Italy – Magazinni Generali
March 24th – Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7
March 25th – Aschaffenburg, Germany – TBA
March 26th – Berlin, Germany – Lido
March 28th – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja Music Zone
March 29th – Hamburg, Germany – Markthalle
March 30th – Limbourg, Belgium – Salle Le Kursaal
March 31st – Cologne, Germany – Stollwerck
April 1st – Malmo, Sweden – KB
April 2nd – Tilburg, Holland – O13
April 4th – Luxembourg – Rockhal
April 5th – Paris, France – Divan Du Monde
April 6th – Birmingham, England – O2 Academy 2
April 7th – Glasgow, Scotland – O2 Ritz
April 8th – Manchester, England – O2 ABC 1
April 9th – London, England – O2 Islington Academy
April 12th – Tel Aviv, Israel – Havana Club
May 6th – Gettysburg PA – RosFest
Photo credit: Peter Rajaniemi
The post Neal Morse Band premiere “In The Fire” from forthcoming Morsefest 2015 DVD/Blu-Ray release appeared first on The Prog Report.
Source:: Prog Report
by Blake | Feb 24, 2017 | Prog Report
The excellent new album from The Mute Gods featuring Nick Beggs (Steven Wilson, Steve Hackett), Roger King (Steve Hackett) and Marco Minnemann (Joe Satriani, Aristocrats)is out today. Read our review of “tardigrades will inherit the earth” here. They band also release the hilarious video from the album for the title track which you can check out here.
Nick had this to say:“Just in case you have any hope left for the future of mankind, this video includes help for the hard of understanding.”
Catch Nick Beggs on tour with Steve Hackett in the US.
The post The Mute Gods – “Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth” (Official Video) appeared first on The Prog Report.
Source:: Prog Report
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
The post Nova Collective – The Further Side (Album Review) appeared first on The Prog Report.
Source:: Prog Report
