Prog metal trio Black Orchid Empire crank up the technical complexity and again display their playing chops on Tempus Veritas (Season Of Mist). While there is a certain schizophrenia at play here, a clash of styles, if not intent, it has to be said that when these London-based boys (Paul Visser – vocals/guitars, Dave Ferguson – bass/vocals, and Billy Freedom – drums) are good, they are very good.
Prog Metal legends Dream Theater have announced 2023 European and UK tour dates. The band continues to support their acclaimed latest album A View From The Top Of The World, out now via InsideOut Music.
We caught up with Dream Theater great Jordan Rudess to discuss his current solo tour! Jordan discusses his downtime from Dream Theater, his practice regimen, the format of his solo gigs, storytelling through songs, seeing his creativity unlocked by technology, performing covers, singing live, and much more!
Having amassed a discography of over twenty albums as the lead vocalist (of which this is the fifth solely under his own name), and nearly two dozen guest appearances across a thirty year professional recording career, you could have forgiven James LaBrie for taking some overdue and well-earned time off when the 2020 Dream Theater world tour was halted. Instead, he and Eden’s Curse (whose Trinity album was adorned by his distinctive a glorious pipes) guitarist Paul Logue began trading the musical ideas that would grow into Beautiful Shade of Gray (InsideOut Music).
After a two year wait, the third ever Download Festival Japan will be held this summer on August 14, 2022 at the Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Center in Chiba. Dream Theater And Bullet For My Valentine will headline this year’s edition, along with Mastodon, Steel Panther, At The Gates and The Halo Effect, and more bands to be announced. Continue reading
Foo Fighters, Dream Theater, and St. Vincent ran the table of the heavy music awards at the 64th annual Grammy Awards. Foo Fighters cleaned up in the Rock categories winning Best Rock Performance for “Making a Fire” and Best Rock Song for “Waiting On A War” – and Best Rock Album for 2021’s Medicine At Midnight (Roswell Records). The award is a posthumous accolade for drummer Taylor Hawkins, who passed away on March 25th. Long-running legendary prog metal band Dream Theater won for best Metal Performance for “The Alien” from their album “A View From The Top Of The World” released last fall 2021 (InsideOut Music). The band beat the most crowded field in the rock categories including Deftones, Mastodon, Gojira, and Rob Zombie, all past winners. St. Vincent won for Best Alternative Music Album Vocal or Instrumental for the song “Daddy’s Home.”
Persefone’s metanoia (Napalm Records) opens and it feels as if I’m watching an Andrew Lloyd Weber Broadway musical. Metanoia is atmospheric and grandiose; one would expect nothing less from Persefone. ‘Katabasis’ explodes onto the listener with a bombastic array of seventies progressive rock and psychedelia feel. Marc Martins Pia has shades of Yaz and Freddy Mercury on the opening track juxtaposed with the guttural vocalizations of death metal. The guitar work of Carlos Lozano Quintanilla and Filipe Baldaia are a wild mixture of mathematical genius, LSD, and a plethora of thirty-second note runs. ‘Katabasis’ can be an intense listen.
On the heels of releasing their new album A View From The Top Of The World (InsideOut Music, read our review here) progressive metal legends Dream Theater have rescheduled dates for the tour. The dates will now kick off in Mesa, AZ on February 2nd and run 7 weeks before ending in Austin, TX on March 21st. The tour will also make stops in Los Angeles, CA; Quebec, QC; New York, NY and Dallas, TX among others and will mark the first live performances of music from the band’s latest release A View From The Top Of The World. Arch Echo will be the opener on all dates in the United States and Falset will be the opener on all of the dates in Canada. Information on tickets for all upcoming shows as well as VIP packages can be found at the link below!
