Tag Archives: Porcupine Tree

Full Details of New Steven Wilson Album, US Tour Announced

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Progressive rock and metal legend Steven Wilson has dropped further details of his upcoming opus Hand. Cannot. Erase. (Kscope) on March 3rd. In addition to his astounding solo career, Wilson is best known for his band Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, and his frequent collaborations with Opeth, as well as being an in demand producer, and re-mastering genius of classic rock and prog albums.

Wilson has announced that the second leg of his upcoming tour will see him cover the USA and Canada.

From Facebook:

The 2nd leg of Steven Wilson’s 2015 ‘Hand Cannot Erase Tour’ will cover the United States and Canada. For more information about the tour including dates and where to buy tickets, please visit here –http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/tour-dates/

You can pre-order Steven Wilson’s new album “Hand Cannot Erase” here –http://smarturl.it/HandCannotErase

“We are currently developing a show that I hope will raise the bar both musically and visually from previous tours, with a set list based around the new album, as well as casting the net further back into my songwriting past for a few surprises” – Steven Wilson

Tour dates:

Thursday, May 21 Albany, NY The Egg

Friday, May 22 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center

Saturday, May 23 Harrisburg, PA The Whitaker

Tuesday, May 26 Washington, DC 930 Club

Thursday, May 28 Philadelphia, PA Keswick Theater

Friday, May 29 New York, NY Best Buy Theater

Saturday, May 30 New York, NY Best Buy Theater

Thursday, June 04 Chicago, IL Park West

Friday, June 05 Chicago, IL Park West

Saturday, June 06 Madison, WI Barrymore Theater

Tuesday, June 09 Denver, CO Boulder Theater

Friday, June 12 Anaheim, CA The Grove

Saturday, June 13 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern

Sunday, June 14 San Francisco, CA The Warfield

Tuesday, June 16 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater

Wednesday, June 17 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater

Friday, June 26 Toronto The Danforth Music Hall Canada

Saturday, June 27 Montréal Montréal Jazz Festival Canada

 

Steven Wilson on Facebook

 


Empty Yard Experiment – Kallisti

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There should be no doubt by now of the ability of rock and metal to reach new and distant climes across our planet. Progressive rock, additionally, has stretched its hand beyond the Western world into more unexpected territories. Testament to this is Dubai’s own Empty Yard Experiment with their melancholy drenched take on modern prog.

Debut full length Kallisti (Independent) shows a wealth of ideas and varied influences. Predominantly it shows a sonic likening to Porcupine Tree (particularly on the likes of ‘Greenflash’) but also points towards Tool worship in its sense of dynamic shifts and even shades of grunge’s raw, demon ridden angst. Where Kaillisti really shows its strength is in its despondent atmosphere almost throughout, encapsulated through its slow pace for the vast majority, only picking up its stride in a few, more immediate songs. Instead much of the album is built upon subtlety, on a construct of mostly instrumental tracks layered with spoken samples.

As effective as conveying tone as the album is however, it does lack familiarity throughout. The few songs where it does hit the throttle are the musical highlights, otherwise on its own merit there seems to be a few too many instrumental passages which lead to nowhere. Ultimately this feels like the soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist; showing real merit for a background piece but not as a main act in itself. The few instances where it picks up the momentum are where this album is strongest and shows that they have a knack for penning a riff and a strong tune. Elsewhere it shows a plethora of ideas and exudes ambiance, but not enough substance to be as special as they could be.

 

6.0/10

Empty Yard Experiment on Facebook

 

CHRIS TIPPELL


John Wesley To Tour With Flying Colours And Living Color, Joins Big Elf For Unique Run Of Dates

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Progressive music guitar hero John Wesley is hitting the road touring with prog super-group Flying Colours, as well as Living Color this fall. In addition Wesley will join the ranks of another legendary prog band band, Big Elf, for a one-off tour starting with Progtoberfest in Chicago and continuing with European dates. Continuing to support his excellent solo album Disconnect (Inside Out Music) from earlier this year, Wesley continues thrill fans audiences in concert with his songcraft and musicianship.

 

 

From The Press Release:

Earlier this year John Wesley released his new studio album Disconnect, and now he has revealed that his band have been invited out on a European tour with Flying Colors (Neal Morse, Steve Morse, Casey McPherson, Dave LaRue, Mike Portnoy). Following this, they will also join Living Colour for a select few U.S. shows in December. John had this to say about the tour:
“I am really excited to finally be able to bring the band over to Europe for our first series of shows in support of “Disconnect”. I am looking forward to seeing and meeting all the fans and friends and getting back into some of my favorite cities. Hopefully this tour will open the door to many more shows in many more cities in the future.”

The full list of dates are as follows:

Flying Colours European dates:

Oct 7: Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz 2

Oct 8: Milan, Italy – Milan Live Club

Oct 9: Tilburg, Netherlands – 013

Oct 11: Frankfurt, Germany – Batschkapp

Oct 12: Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7

Oct 13: London, England – Islington Assembly Hall

Oct 14: Paris, France – Alhambra

Living Colour US dates:

Dec 10: Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle

Dec 12: Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room

Dec 13: St. Petersburg, FL – The State Theatre

Dec 14: Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade Atlanta


Not only that, but John will be joining Bigelf as a guest guitarist in October and November, starting with “Progtoberfest” in the US and continuing into Europe. Those dates can be found below:

Bigelf tour dates:

Oct 25: Chicago, IL – PROGTOBERFEST

Oct 29: Zoetermeer, Holland – Boerderij

Oct 30: Dortmund, Germany – Dortmund FZW

Nov 1: Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7

Nov 2: Frankfurt, Germany – Nachtleben

Nov 3: Munich, Germany – Strom

Nov 4: Milan, Italy – Legend Club

Nov 6: Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz 3

Nov 7: Madrid, Spain – Copernico

Nov 8: Bilbao, Spain – Sonora

Nov 14: Manchester, UK – The Deaf Institute

Nov 15: Gwynedd, North Wales, UK – Hard Rock Hell 7

Nov 17: Glasgow, UK – Cathouse

Nov 18: Wolverhampton, UK – Slade Rooms

Nov 19: London, UK – The Garage

John wesley album cover

John Wesley Featured in Guitar Player Magazine:

Renowned music journalist Anil Prasad interviewed John for a 5-page feature in the October 2014 issue of Guitar Player Magazine. Alex Lifeson of RUSH contributed to the article, discussing Wesley’s music and how he came to be involved with Disconnect.


What People Have Been Saying About Disconnect:

“he’s been hiding away too long” – Prog Magazine

“gloriously turbulent axework” – Classic Rock
“it’s time for John Wesley to receive the proper artistic recognition and praise he so rightly deserves.” – Powerplay

“a feast of wonderful guitar sounds and breaks, plus stunningly expressive extended solos” – Total Guitar
An official video for the title track ‘Disconnect’ can be viewed here:
http://youtu.be/6XKB4TKYqoE

John Wesley on Facebook


Blackfield – John Wesley: Live at the Best Buy Theater, New York City

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I’m not quite sure if this was Blackfield’s last show or last show with this lineup, it remains unclear to me. Tonight’s show had a feeling of closure and finality. Having newly discovered this group I can say I was regretting not finding them sooner. The night started off with fellow Porcupine Tree alumni John Wesley. Not at all what I was expecting when I heard who was in his band. Wesley and his solo band put on a massively mellow and grooving set. Fellow guitarist and vocalist Ian Medhurst won me over very quickly. I was even more impressed with his rhythm section: former Iced Earth drummer Mark Prator and Sean Malone of Cynic. Their musicianship was uncanny. They powered through eight songs of new and old tunes with little or no effort.Continue reading →


John Wesley- Disconnect

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John wesley album cover

 

Although not the most household of names, John Wesley is a very important contributor to modern day progressive rock. Most notably John was band and touring guitarist for Porcupine Tree during their acclaimed period of In Absentia through to final album The Incident, as well as an understated solo career, with Disconnect (Inside Out Music) the latest.

Still under the prog rock banner, Disconnect is linked to the genre rather loosely, sharing considerably ground with some of the more inconspicuous components of prog and even at times with moody, post-grunge American rock. Reference points seem to include the likes of A Perfect Circle and Porcupine Tree whilst the likes of ‘Mary Will’ even have some ties with Goo Goo Dolls and the like.

As strong as John’s vocals are here, the real star is his guitar work which interchanges to strong melodic leads to a lower rumbling powerhouse, culminating on the clean acoustics of ‘Satellite’. At times the guitar tone even invokes Adam Jones of Tool’s unique tuning and use of short, but powerful notes. Alex Lifeson contributes to the track ‘Once A Warrior’ too. 

Overall a brooding and melancholic album, Disconnect puts John Wesley’s formidable guitar chops right at the forefront, leading some very strong, straightforward and memorable song writing. Not hugely mind-bending and off-kilter as some under the progressive umbrella, but still with plenty of versatility, Disconnect is a highly recommended gem in a very low key solo career.

8/10

John Wesley on Facebook

CHRIS TIPPELL


Boil – aXiom

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Boil - aXiomWith Jens Borgen, of Opeth, Symphony X and Devin Townsend fame, behind the production desk, Boil’s thirds album aXiom carries high expectations. A concept album that explores paranoid schizophrenia and the very meaning of truth itself, it’s safe to say that aXiom is something of an ambitious beast.Continue reading →


Leprous – Coal

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Leprous-CoalI don’t care who you are — start managing people, and prepare for a bag of dicks. They may blossom from you, they may sprout from elsewhere, but trust me… bag of dicks. Probably because no one likes to be told what to do, and despite any pre-existing relationship, things get strained — which is perhaps why Leprous grows adventurous when released from the reign(rein?) of Vegard “Ihshan” Tveitan. This is not to suggest potential dissolution nor unhappy work conditions (after all, I’m not on tour with these folks), but it’s easy to imagine how one might feel a greater personal investment in their own creation.Continue reading →


Honesty In Progression – An Interview With Leprous

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Leprous 1Norwegian progressive metal band Leprous are the embodiment of being progressive. With each successive album they push their musical boundaries. Coal, their latest album, may well be their finest effort to date. Einar Solberg (keyboards/vocals) certainly shares this sentiment and he’s more than happy to share his thoughts on anything Leprous.Continue reading →


Gothic Ghost Stories – An Interview With Steven Wilson

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Steven+Wilson 2013Steven Wilson rightfully deserves the title of the dean of the modern progressive rock and metal world. In addition to his own groundbreaking work with his own bands such Porcupine Tree, No Man, Bass Communion, as a producer of albums by giants such as Opeth, and remastering the works of King Crimson, Jethro Tull and Caravan among other projects. Steven is out on the road supporting his third solo album The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories) on Kscope Records. Chatting at length with Ghost Cult, Steven talked about the making of the new album, his creative process, production work, lyrical inspirations and his favorite Pink Floyd albums among many other topics.Continue reading →