Sometimes modern bands can forget the lineage of Progressive Rock – if we go back in time to the seventies and early eighties, it was an experimental style of music that often incorporated twinges of Psychedelia, Pop and Rock whilst still allowing for extensive sonic exploration with elements of Blues, Folk, and Jazz along with constructs such as longer song formats.Continue reading
Amongst the packed djent arena, Danish troupe Ghost Iris has always been a strong and reliable act that have never quite managed to step up to the heady heights of the scenes leading lights, such as Monuments. In the face of a fast-moving scene, how can Ghost Iris now adapt? To use a wrestling metaphor, latest album Apple Of Discord (Long Branch Records) is the plucky and ever decent mid-carder suddenly about to make the main event push.Continue reading
Confession time: I came late to the letlive. party. So late, in fact, that the band were just about to call it a day when I decided that they were, you know, more than just pretty good. Yes, that kind of late. Despite the break-up, and whatever the reasons and rationales behind it, you always had a sense that an artist as talented and inquisitive as Jason Aalon Butler would soon return to the music scene in some form or another. And so it has proven with Fever 333, his latest project and passion.Continue reading
It’s long past the time of day when Thomas Giles (aka Tommy Rogers of Between The Buried And Me) began being able to do whatever the hell he wanted. To be fair, to say his day job band has moments of eclecticism is like saying that Brexit negotiations have been a little bit difficult. And that diversity of spirit, of zig-zag, is absolutely at the core of fourth solo offering Don’t Touch The Outside (Sumerian Records), a record that is everything and nothing, and that is laissez-faire in respect of genre while being incredibly focused in trying to keep the listener moving.Continue reading
Oft breathed by those in the know in the same exhalations as Dream Theater, Leprous and Devin Townsend, London’s Haken frequently pass below the radar of those outside of Prog spheres. New album Vector (InsideOut Music) is, however, the fifth in the band’s ten-year existence and shows a level of accomplishment to surpass those more notable names.Continue reading
Porcupine Tree’s Steve Wilson has released a greatest hits album! But don’t get too excited Sadly, it’s for that pop side-project you probably didn’t know or had tried to forget about.Continue reading
There comes a point, it seems, for a lot of bands where they decide to go in a direction that would seem directly opposed to their core sound, or sound with which they are most associated with. Now, and this will not turn into a witch hunt or anything, but these creative directions often split fan bases and in turn lead to a lot of anger, comment, though in balance, often also acclaim. At one such crossroads are Aussie metalcore band The Amity Affliction, and their sixth album Misery (Roadrunner).Continue reading
Bad Rabbits’ new album, Mimi (InGrooves), huh? Not my usual review fare, I will admit, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t work for me. After several weeks of hardcore, doom, death metal, and Gundam themed albums, Bad Rabbits house blend of funk, synth pop, rock, and R&B may be the palate cleanser I didn’t know I needed. Continue reading
Up and coming Charlotte, NC based rock band Hectorina is dropping a new album, Muck, this Friday, June 1st. In advance of the release, the band has partnered up with Ghost Cult to drop their new music video for their song ‘Beyond The Trees’. Check it out below: Continue reading
With the UK’s Progressive/Tech Metal scene growing ever bigger and ever more packed, a band that provides any form of new ideas is surely going to be a welcome addition, right? On paper, Mask Of Judas sounds like an intriguing prospect which should offer some wide appeal with their brand of progressive metal with vocals that range from the recognisable growls to contemporary pop and R&B. The sad reality, however, is that, at very best, debut album The Mesmerist (self-released) can only be described as a mixed bag.Continue reading