Today sees the release of a live version of The Last English King by Big Big Train.
While live and studio versions of the song feature on the forthcoming re-issue of the band’s third studio album Bard on 21st March 2025, the live video features a different performance recorded in the Netherlands in September 2024.
Originally released in 2002 and after many years of being unavailable as a physical CD, Bard has been completely re-mixed by the band’s longstanding engineer Rob Aubrey. Its release will be simultaneously accompanied by a digital EP entitled Scop.
You can watch The Last English King here: https://youtu.be/e53QcRGoyHg “On the tour last autumn and at our forthcoming shows in April and May, our focus is on playing songs from our most recent studio album The Likes Of Us,” lead vocalist Alberto Bravin explains. “But we also always want to celebrate the great Big Big Train back catalogue and so we decided to dust off The Last English King, a song that the band had never played live until last September.”
“It has been such a blast to delve into ancient history with The Last English King”, adds drummer Nick D’Virgilio. “I really dug the song the first time I heard it and knew that this line-up could do something very special with the arrangement. I love the way it starts out acoustically and then has a very psychedelic section before the huge, powerful ending.”
Keyboardist Oskar Holldorff comments: “The Last English King is great fun to perform. The extended keyboard solos gave me a chance to stretch out and play something slightly different every night. Hopefully we will play the song many more times in the future.”
Big Big Train’s The Likes Of Us In North America tour commences on 2nd April and runs until 19th April, with 10 shows in the United States and Canada as well as a co-headlining appearance on board Cruise To The Edge. The band then co-headlines the Gouveia Art Rock festival in Portugal at the beginning of May.
BIG BIG TRAIN – LIVE IN ‘25
THE LIKES OF US IN NORTH AMERICA TOUR
Wednesday 2nd April – Sweetwater, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA Friday 4th – Wed 9th April – Cruise To The Edge Thursday 10th April – Arcada Theatre, St Charles, Illinois, USA Friday 11th April – The Token Lounge, Westland, Michigan, USA Sunday 13th April – Electric City, Buffalo, New York, USA Monday 14th April – Fairmount Theatre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Tuesday 15th April – Algonquin Theatre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Wednesday 16th April – Salle Dina-Bélanger, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada Thursday 17th April – Regent Theatre, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA Friday 18th April – Rivoli Theater at The Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey, USA Saturday 19th April – Rivoli Theater at The Williams Center, Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
Sunday 4th May – Gouveia Art Rock, Gouveia, Portugal Tickets for all shows are on sale now via www.bigbigtrain.com/live.
March 4, 2025 – Portuguese musicians Álvaro Silveira, Paulo Chagas, and João Nuno Represas have come together to release Cloud Silver Rain, their first album as a trio. The album, launched on February 20, 2025, blends progressive rock, psychedelia, and experimental textures, creating dynamic and poetic soundscapes.
Recorded between December 2023 and January 2025 the album showcases the trio’s ability to explores the balance between composition and improvisation and fuse elements of jazz, folk, world music, electroacoustic and progressive psychedelia into a deeply immersive listening experience and intelligent songs.
“This album is about fluidity, about embracing the unknown without leaving your own senses as a human being,” says Álvaro Silveira. “We wanted to create something that exists in the space between composition and improvisation, between sound and silence.”
Paulo Chagas, known for his innovative approach to wind instruments and electroacoustic music, and which creative production plays a key role in shaping the album’s beautiful textures, adds, “The interplay between the three of us is what shapes the album. Each sound is a conversation, an exploration of sonic possibilities.”
João Nuno Represas highlights the immersive nature of the work: “Cloud Silver Rain is best experienced as a whole. It’s an album that rewards deep listening, where every detail reveals something new upon each encounter.” The album features 13 evocative tracks, including “Drowning,” “Evening Sun,” “Landscape Invention,” “She” and “Neverland (Dedicated to David Lynch)” each offering intricate layers of sound and shifting moods.
Between other guest musicians, Cloud Silver Rain also benefits from the unique musical approach of Armindo Neves, one of the most virtuous and recognized Portuguese electric guitarists.
Cloud Silver Rain is available now on Bandcamp, Spotify, Tidal, and other major streaming platforms.
About the Artists Álvaro Silveira is best known for his work with Miosótis, an avant-folk-prog band from Portugal, with his unique approach to vocal delivery and acoustic guitars. Paulo Chagas is also a prominent member of Miosótis and has participated in numerous musical projects across different genres, from experimental jazz to contemporary classical and electroacoustic music. His versatility as a multi-instrumentalist has earned him recognition in avant-garde circles worldwide.
João Nuno Represas gained prominence as a percussionist with Trovante, one of Portugal’s most iconic folk-rock bands. He has also contributed as a percussionist to many musical projects throughout Portugal, bringing his clever rhythms and innovative sound textures to diverse genres.
The 5th solo album from Airbag co-found Bjørn Riis is called “Fimbulvinter”, and will be out on the 11th of April.
Named after the legendary long winter that heralds Ragnarok, a time of both destruction and rebirth. Bjørn Riis’ new album “Fimbulvinter” is a profound and deeply personal work. Drawing from his own experiences with anxiety, Bjørn explores themes of hopelessness, paranoia, and despair, ultimately finding a spark of hope and gratitude in the darkness. “This isn’t an autobiographical album,” Bjørn explains, “but I wanted to share parts of my own journey and address a subject that I feel is both deeply important and still somewhat taboo.”
Musically, “Fimbulvinter” reflects Bjørn’s diverse influences, blending the atmospheric and introspective tones of progressive rock with the energy and swagger of the hard rock bands he grew up with in the early ’80s. Fans of Kiss, Black Sabbath, and classic progressive acts will find much to love in the album’s rich soundscapes. From the driving, anthemic energy of “Gone” – a track made for blasting on the open road – to moments of introspection and monumental heaviness, “Fimbulvinter” is a dynamic journey through darkness and light.
Bjørn takes centre stage on the album, performing all instruments and vocals, while also enlisting contributions from talented collaborators, including Henrik Bergan Fossum (Airbag), Arild Brøter (Pymlico) and Kai Christoffersen on drums. Longtime partner and co-producer Vegard Kleftås Sleipnes also returns, ensuring the album’s production is as impeccable as its compositions.
With “Fimbulvinter”, Bjørn Riis once again demonstrates why he is a cornerstone of the progressive rock scene, delivering music that is as emotionally resonant as it is sonically captivating.
Tracklist: 1. Illhug 2. Gone 3. Panic Attack 4. She 5. Fimbulvinter 6. Fear of Abandonment
“Fimbulvinter” will be available CD, Digipak, Digital and Black Vinyl LP and Coloured Vinyl LP formats, and can now be pre-ordered at:
The Flower Kings are set to release their 17th studio album on May 2nd, 2025, titled LOVE. With “How can you leave us now!?”, the quintet unveils the first track from their upcoming record that is available for pre-order now.
The band will debut the material from LOVE live in Stockholm, May 29th followed by a European tour together with Neal Morse & The Resonance.
When The Flower Kings played their first show on Aug 20th, 1994, they likely had no idea they would go on to make music history worldwide. With 17 studio albums, numerous live albums, and performances at festivals and countless tours across the globe, their legacy is unmatched in the rebirth of progressive rock. They remain titans of melodic prog, brimming with creativity and vitality, placing them firmly in that royal reign that their name suggested 30 years ago.
Their first song “How Can You Leave Us Now!?” can be listened to HERE
The album features the three original members—Roine Stolt, Hasse Fröberg, and Michael Stolt—alongside relative newcomers Mirko DeMaio and Lalle Larsson. Together, they have crafted an album that embodies the essence of progressive rock from the late sixties and early seventies. This era was marked by a departure from the norm of seeking hit singles, embracing creativity with bell-bottoms, Mellotrons, Moogs, phasing, flanging, and epic compositions. The Flower Kings have always had a knack for writing songs that blend pop sensibilities with experimental and jam band influences.
This new album showcases the Swedish royals with newfound confidence, delivering progressive rock second to none. It promises to take listeners on a journey to the hidden corners of their musical world. Fans can expect to hear more of the experimental side and wild guitar and synth solos reminiscent of the band’s early albums. The album, with a runtime of 75 minutes, features 12 tracks ranging from 3 to 12 minutes, designed to be listened to as a whole.
Artwork by Joey Tessier
Track list 1.We Claim The Moon 2.The Elder 3.How Can You Leave Us Now!? 4.World Spinning 5.Burning Both Edges 6.The Rubble 7.Kaiser Razor 8.The Phoenix 9.The Promise 10.Love Is 11.Walls Of Shame 12.Considerations
The Flower Kings line-up: Mirko DeMaio: Drums & Percussion Lalle Larson: Grand Piano, Rhodes Piano, Hammond B3 & Synthesizers Hans Fröberg: Vocals, Guitar Michael Stolt: Bass, Moog Bass, Vocals Roine Stolt: Vocals, Electric & Acoustic 6 & 12 String Guitars, Ukulele
The album will be available in the following versions: Ltd. CD Digipak Ltd. CD Digipak (US version) Standard CD Jewelcase (Japanese Version) Ltd. Gatefold Black 2LP Ltd. Gatefold Neon Orange 2LP– Limited to only 500 copies worldwide Ltd. Gatefold Transp. Light Blue 2LP– Strictly limited to only 300 copies worldwide
Progressive pioneers Haken spent 2024 celebrating their most recent acclaimed studio album, ‘Fauna’, in the most comprehensive way possible, as part of their ‘An Evening With’ run throughout the world. Playing two full sets each night, the band performed ‘Fauna’ in full, before returning to the stage to run through a selection of the best-loved cuts from their catalogue. In a homecoming of sorts for Haken, on September 21st, 2024 the band played London’s legendary O2 Forum, and the document of that special evening is what’s witnessed on ‘Liveforms: An Evening With Haken’ – released May 9th, 2025.
To coincide with this announcement, the band have launched a video clip of their performance of ‘Beneath the White Rainbow’ which you can watch now here:
The band comments of the release: “The Evening With Haken tour across North America and Europe was without a doubt one of our favourite tours we’ve done, showcasing 3 hours of music from our entire discography, including our latest record ‘Fauna’ performed in full which was an absolute blast! Conducting an ‘evening with’ format is something that we’ve seen tried and tested by some of our favourite artists, and it felt like an important band bucket list item to tick off at this stage in our career, to celebrate all we’ve achieved in the last 15 years. When discussions arose as to which show we might document on film, it was a no-brainer for us that our homecoming show in London, at the legendary 02 Kentish Town Forum, should be the one. And the home crowd did not disappoint, on what turned out to be such an electric atmosphere, we just so happened to capture one of our best performances from the entire tour for our fans to relive again and again.”
Filmed by Paul Green Productions (Devin Townsend, Steve Hackett) & mixed by Jens Bogren (Between The Buried and Me, Ihsahn), the 3CD+Blu-ray release comprises all the music played on that evening, in both stereo & 5.1 Surround Sound, as well as bonus behind the scenes interviews with each band member. The Gatefold 2LP edition features the entirety of the ‘Fauna’ album performed that night. Both formats featuring iconic artwork from Dan Goldsworthy, whose work also graces the cover of ‘Fauna’.
The full setlist is as follows:
Set 1: The Last Lullaby Taurus Nightingale The Alphabet Of Me Sempiternal Beings Beneath The White Rainbow Island In The Clouds Lovebite Elephants Never Forget Eyes of Ebony Crystallised
Set 2: Puzzle Box Earthrise Cockroach King Nil By Mouth 1985 The Strain Strainwreck Canary Yellow Drowning In the Flood Visions
The band will be performing on Cruise To The Edge 2025, before heading to Latin America for a run of shows. Following this the band will continue work on a brand-new studio album
4th-9th April – Cruise To The Edge 2025, Miami, USA 25th April – Club Peppers, San José, Costa Rica 27th April – Sale Puebla, Mexico City, Mexico 29th April – El Teatro Flores, Buenos Aires, Argentina 30th April – Live Era, Montevideo, Uruguay 2nd May – Teatro Cariola, Santiago, Chile 4th May – Bankers Open Air, São Paulo, Brazil
HAKEN are:Ross Jennings Richard Henshall Charlie Griffiths Pete Jones Conner Green Ray Hearne
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