Prog

I found myself wandering around a branch of HMV (not the proggiest of shops, unlike the fabulous ST Records in Dudley) when I saw the new Yes album The Quest. Now, I’ve been a Yes fan since Time And A Word but have been a little disappointed since Fl

Mastodon are to release their long-awaited ninth album, Hushed And Grim, via Reprise Records on October 29. The double disc sees the Atlantan four-piece re-embrace prog, four years after the arena metal of the Grammy-winning Emperor Of Sand. “Overall

German electronic proggers Tangerine Dream have announced that they will release a brand new EP, Probe 6-8 through Kscope on November 26. The five-track recording features three new songs: Raum, described as “a 15-minute bow to early live studio perf

Voyager bass player and singer Alex Canion will release his debut solo EP, Birthmark, through his Bandcamp page on October 25. The title of the EP was inspired by the birthmarks on Alex’s left side of his face, symbolising his first solo effort in th

Hawkwind are to release the retrospective box set, Dust Of Time – An Anthology, via Atomhenge/Esoteric on December 10. This contains 77 tracks spread across six CDs, and not only spans the band’s 50-plus year career from debut album Hawkwind (1970) t

On November 19, post-rockers Maybeshewill release comeback album No Feeling Is Final. It’s their first new music since 2014’s Fair Youth and their disbandment two years later. “It’s been really nice to get back to doing stuff,” says guitarist John He

Tennessee-based progressive rockers Glass Hammer have released a new studio album entitled Skallagrim – Into The Breach. It’s not only the follow-up to last year’s acclaimed Dreaming City, but also their first to feature new vocalist Hannah Pryor. Gl

Tears For Fears will release their first new studio album for almost 20 years when The Tipping Point comes out through Concord Records on February 25. The new 10-track collection, described as “a song cycle reflecting many of the personal and profess

“I used to play in a band called Iwrestledabearonce and we were on tour when TesseracT’s Altered State came out [in 2013]. Our drummer had already been a fan from the Concealing Fate EP days. We had an eight-hour drive so he put on Altered State [wit

SINGER-SONGWRITERS LAURA J Martin and Lavinia Blackwall first bonded at 2017’s Moseley Folk Festival, but it wasn’t until lockdown that they finally hatched a plan. Martin had just added flute parts to Muggington Lane End, Blackwall’s first solo albu

In the mid-2000s Sydney proggers Super FLORENCE Jam were making headway on the scene with their Crimson-meets-Zeppelin sound, but whenever their drummer Michael Solo approached bookers for gigs, or press for coverage, he came upon a big problem. “No

FOR DEDICATED SURFERS of the cosmic highway, few bands in recent memory struck a chord like Astra. Led by vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Conor Riley, the San Diego quintet released two extraordinary albums – 2009’s The Weirding and 20

The world was a very different place back in 1984 when Marillion released their acclaimed second studio album, Fugazi. You can take a trip back five decades with this issue’s competition prize, as we’ve got a set of each of the brand new deluxe editi

IN THE 70s, bands left the big city to get it together in the country, seeking inspiration in a Welsh studio or manor. As chance would have it, The Mentulls already live in the North Yorkshire countryside and they had been due to go into the studio t

CHRIS BAINBRIDGE, SINGER and guitarist of psych duo Man Of Moon, is remembering the impulsive and fateful moment that led to him meeting drummer Michael Reid. “We’d both left our respective schools to do sound engineering at college,” he says. “The c

Thirty years ago, Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström formed Katatonia as a studio-only project in which they could indulge their shared love of doom and death metal. The myriad twists and turns that followed have seen the Swedish band transform into one

On October 8, 1971, Hawkwind released their second album, In Search Of Space. It’s a landmark record, space rock ground zero, and every bit as mind-melting and innovative as the then-contemporary krautrock scene in Germany. But while Hawkwind were bo

As discerning music listeners often note, defining genres is a rather dangerous game. Luckily space rock is the exception that proves the rule because it is so easily summed up: space rock is all about the whoosh. The exact birth of space rock is imp

One of the abiding mysteries about Hawkwind’s second album is what exactly it’s called. While commonly referred to as In Search Of Space, Barney Bubbles’ cover design clearly says Xin Search Of Space. And as it was Bubbles who gave the album its titl

Slaves to the reverb-drenched guitar, Slift are France’s greatest-ever exponents of the art of space rock. The Toulouse trio’s 2020 album Ummon is a flat-out masterpiece that seems to cover everything from wild, acid rock jams to meandering kosmische

It’s not the fact that he turned 80 in August that Dave Brock is lamenting. No, it’s what passed for his birthday celebrations that’s causing much rolling of the eyes. “Where we live on our farm, the water trough had a terrible leak the night before,

The Hawklords were born in 1978 when three Hawkwind members – guitarist Dave Brock, frontman Robert Calvert and drummer Simon King – broke away for the album 25 Years On. When Hawkwind rebooted, to all intents and purposes the Hawklords appeared dead

Having been a part of Hawkwind’s road crew for a decade before being promoted to bandmember, the Hawklords’ newest addition, Mr Dibs, played bass and fronted Hawkwind for 11 years before an abrupt end in August 2018. “I’ll be diplomatic and say that

Among the most fascinating aspects about Yes is the band’s perpetual state of transience. De facto leaders have come and gone as each chapter of their saga unfolds. Following the loss of co-founding bass player Chris Squire in 2015, Steve Howe has em

t’s amazing what music can do,” says Bryan Josh. “It lubricates any sort of stress or fear, things that are clogging up when you’re in a dark place. Music becomes like an exhaust pipe. There’s no two ways about it. It’s one of the best things in the

Tucked away in an inconspicuous industrial park in the centre of Long Island, New York, is Dream Theater’s newly renovated bolthole. In the space of a mere 18 months, this studio/rehearsal space has been the setting for the recording of Dream Theater

The night of November 23, 1971 was supposed to be a celebration. Hamburg’s Musikhalle, a prestigious venue that had once hosted the likes of Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Maria Callas, was now the setting for a showcase gig from Polydor’s brightest new h

Jace Lasek – singer, guitarist and producer of Canadian space cadets The Besnard Lakes – turns to his bassist, co-vocalist and wife, Olga Goreas, as the pair burst into gales of laughter. It’s been five long years since the band’s last album, A Colis

Tony Kaye has a very good reason for not previously doing a solo album in his lengthy and distinguished career. “Look, The Dark Side Of The Moon has already been done and so has The Six Wives Of Henry VIII! And I had no clue what else to write about,

Rob Reed has enjoyed an extremely productive 18 months. On top of releasing a seemingly continuous stream of contrasting albums under his myriad musical banners, the Welsh prog workaholic has also embarked on a long trip down Memory Lane. This was to

Speaking with Peter Hammill is almost like taking a step back in time. Though his clipped, well-spoken and precise tones suggest a man who could confidently command a squadron of Spitfires against an attack from marauding Messerschmitt Bf 109s in bet

James Warren is a musician who has enjoyed pop success. But the guitarist/bassist and vocalist is a steadfast citizen of the progressive world. In the early 70s he was a member of Stackridge, the West Country band who had a quirky blend of folk, psyc

“People were responding well to our music and we were getting better at our craft. We’d played ArcTanGent and Damnation, and supported Pelican. Then two guys wanted to leave to pursue other projects.” Drew Vernon looks pensive as he reflects on the b

Time to renew that membership to the Caravan club. The past few years have seen a steady stream of progressive icons enjoying late-career hot spells. Soft Machine, Steve Hackett, Peter Hammill and Jon Anderson have all released albums that wouldn’t h

New Year’s Eve hedonism, the virtual way. Never one to do things by halves when it comes to shows, Jean-Michel Jarre spent last New Year’s Eve presenting a mixed media livestream concert from Notre Dame. Except he was playing in a studio nearby while

Keyboard maestro and space fan soundtracks an incredible journey. Somewhere between Mars and Jupiter there’s an asteroid named after Vangelis. No, really. The artist’s 1976 concept album Albedo 0.39 was an early indication of his fascination with spa

Self-curated best of set shows reunited icons’ prog and pop faces. When Genesis’ second – and most likely final – reunion jaunt The Last Domino? Tour was originally announced in a pre-pandemic 2020, there was a scramble for tickets. But over on the P

Tales from the prehistory of Yes. Unearthing the archaeology of a band is something that definitely appeals to the Indiana Joneses lurking just below the surface of hardcore fans. Sifting through ancient studio sessions, early demos and lo-fi rehears

Landmark late 80s prog metal album gets its time in the spotlight. When Watchtower emerged from Austin, Texas in the mid-80s, they stunned the metal world. This was a league away from the 100mph fare served up by many of their thrash peers. Alongside