“In my mind, this is a band that melds two of my favorite things about music; Pop sensibility and progressive complexity. ” – Ted Leonard – Spocks Beard, Enchant
Prog ensemble 41POINT9 is premiering their second video titled “These Four Lands” from their forthcoming album “Mr. Astute Trousers” on Sonic Perspectives! The band has two albums being released internationally on September 21, 2018. One is the brand-new sophomore release “Mr. Astute Trousers” and the other is a remixed and remastered version of their debut album “Still Looking For Answers.” The band has been busy creating a series of high-quality concept videos to help get word about the album out.
Watch 41POINT9’s “These Four Lands” video here:
Hammer meets anvil and the sparks fly. In the process, a sword is made stronger than it could have been before. The same thing happened back in 1995 when bassist/songwriter/producer Bob Madsen met guitarist/songwriter/singer Brian Cline in the North Bay Area of California. Brian and Bob began working together on a few tunes written by Bob and began a lifelong “bromance.” In Brian, Bob had found the perfect voice for his muse. The only problem was Brian’s insistence on editing Bob’s lyrics (a process referred to as “lyrical evisceration”). (Of course, the real problem is that almost without exception Bob has had to admit that Brian’s edits make the songs better.)
After nearly a decade of friendship, the two decided to start a band together. That band is 41POINT9 and is known for being a prog rock band, but Bob and Brian would probably argue that point with you. “We don’t care about styles or subjects or how the song will be classified. We start out with an idea and let the idea dictate where the song will lead. We usually write the lyrics first and then add the music in order to further the concept of the song. As such, we are able to bring a diverse range of musical influences to bear, like a painter would with many pigments and brushes. We actually create the songs with little to no regard for how we would or even could perform them live.” Bob continues, “We might combine Stravinsky strings with funk bass and heavy metal guitars. Hip-hop or EDM production styles might meet new wave synths and storytelling lyrics that would be at home on a classic country album. We simply don’t care as long as the song is good.”
“Notice we didn’t mention Prog?” Brian adds, “We absolutely love progressive music; however, we don’t stop there. We are in the pursuit of the different. Shouldn’t progressive music progress? Why apply the same stylistic norms that have been used since the ’70s and still call it progressive? That’s not progressive – that’s stagnant.”
“Don’t get us wrong,” chimes in Bob, “we are writing songs with a very strong pop sensibility and we feel they are eminently listenable; we just don’t feel the pressure to stay in one genre or tonality. It just doesn’t matter as long as it serves the song.”
In support of the “Mr. Astute Trousers” album release, 41POINT9 is preparing to tour later in the year if all goes well. “The difficulty in touring is that we have been having a real problem finding a drummer for the band,” Bob concludes. “All of the ones we have auditioned have spontaneously combusted. I guess that’s what we get for using the same talent agency as Spinal Tap.”
Sympho-disco metal band STORYUM have announced a deal with Musicarchy Media to release their sophomore album ‘We Are The Fire’ in Fall and manage the band.
STORYUM have been formed in 2006 by JJ (guitars), who was later joined by childhood friend, Ness, on drums, Tie on bass and the mesmerizing vocals of Raw. STORYUM succeeded in combing powerful metal riffs with disco-electro parts, symphonic moments and pop choruses – the result is a unique STORYUM sound. In 2011, the band released debut album ‘Insomnia’ via Ravenheart Music.
Now the band is ready to unveil ‘When The Storm Comes’, a track from the upcoming full-length ‘We Are The Fire’. Watch below:
STORYUM is also working on shows for the Fall in collaboration with Musicarchy Media. Like their music, their shows will be far from ordinary – a real 360° live experience for the audience, with dancers and more surprises
Three times Progressive Music Award-winning band, Big Big Train, will be releasing the “Swan Hunter” single on July 13th, 2018. The single release features a remix of the studio album version and a live performance of “Swan Hunter,” alongside two previously unreleased tracks.
You can see the promo video here:
The film was recorded live at Cadogan Hall, London, on October 1st, 2017.
Swan Hunter is an elegy for the shipbuilding communities of the north-east.
Vocalist David Longdon says:
‘Imagine being a child who grew up within this community, seeing these huge vessels grow daily until their launch. Imagine the relentless sound of machinery and construction workers. Your father most likely would have worked there and probably his father before him. It must have been almost impossible back then to imagine a time when this way of life would come to an end. This is what you knew and it defined you.’
Big Big Train will be playing at The Anvil, Basingstoke, England on July 11th and at Loreley, Night of the Prog festival, Germany, on July 13th.
Press and radio comments:
‘Big Big Train have revisited the sound world of early Genesis and Yes and have managed to create music with great emotional clout’ John Bungey, THE TIMES
‘They make beautiful, pastoral quintessentially English music: their name is Big Big Train’ Bob Harris, BBC Radio Two
‘Beautifully understated yet consistently enthralling, Big Big Train wield pathos and poignancy with elegance and relish, amidst a musical backdrop that is as vivid as it is finessed’ Dom Lawson, PROG magazine
The “Live from Estudio del Sur” sessions will be out on July
Chilean Prog ensemble Aisles, South America’s most acclaimed prog band of the last 10 years, is premiering the last video of their “Live from Estudio del Sur” sessions, for the song “Club Hawaii”, which was originally released on the album “Hawaii” (2016). The clip was directed by Bernardo Quesney, who has worked with artists like Gepe and Javiera Mena.
Says Aisles guitarist, German Vergara, “We knew that ‘Club Hawaii’ could not be left out of this live series. It’s a very collective effort in which we incorporated elements from electronic and Latin music, pop, jazz, and even metal, so as to transport the listener to the future in which the concept of the album takes place. We used more distortion, sounded heavier than usual and Sebastián recites a heart wrenching poem in the darkest section of the song. Personally it’s my favorite on the ‘Hawaii’ album and I’m very proud of my lyrics. When playing it live I get goosebumps every time we reach the part ‘Turn my soul into flesh and soil and blood and waves…’”
Watch the video here:
The session started with the video for ‘Clouds Motion’, and it continued with ‘Shallow and Daft’, ‘Still Alive’, and ‘Club Hawaii’. All of these songs will be included on their new EP, “Live from Estudio del Sur” which will be out on July 6th and it will be available on digital platforms and on a limited edition CD. To pre-order: https://www.aislesproject.com/product/live-from-estudio-del-sur-ep-cd/
With four studio albums and a career spanning thirteen years, Aisles have become South America’s most acclaimed prog act of the last decade. Their daring combination of rock, fusion, jazz and world music illustrates the band’s uniquely eclectic approach. The group has played in South America and Europe, and their albums have been released in Europe, the Americas, and Japan.
In 2009 their second album “In Sudden Walks” was nominated for Best Foreign Record in the Italian Prog Awards and the group was invited to open the 11th Progressive Rock Festival Crescendo in France. Their third album, “4:45 AM” (2013) was widely acclaimed worldwide and was chosen among the best albums of that year in a number of specialized publications. “Hawaii” (July, 2016), their fourth studio album was called a “masterpiece” and named one of the albums of the year by media outlets such as Prog (England), Neoprog (France), Raw Ramp (England) and Chile’s premiere rock magazine, Rockaxis.
Aisles are:
Germán Vergara: guitar, vocals
Felipe Candia: drums, percussion
Sebastián Vergara: lead vocals
Rodrigo Sepúlveda: guitar, vocals
Daniel Concha: bass
Juan Pablo Gaete: keyboards
On September 22nd, 2017, Devin Townsend Project played a special show at the Ancient Roman Theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the landmark Ocean Machine album in full, as well as a set of fan-requested tracks alongside the Orchestra of Plovdiv State Opera. This concert was filmed, and on July 6th, 2018 it will see the light of day as ‘Ocean Machine – Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv’.
Today sees the launch of the second video to be taken from the live release, and you can watch DTP perform the track ‘Regulator’ from the album ‘Ocean Machine’, here:
Devin comments: “Hello again folks, dev here again…head above water for a minute from the massive writing period I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to do. Today, im proud that we can release another track from the upcoming ‘Live at the Ancient Theatre’ Performance. This one comes in the form of ‘Regulator’ from the Ocean Machine portion of the set. This DVD is a really important part of my work to date, as it not only summarizes a large portion of my musical output, but also swings right back around to the first true solo album, Ocean Machine, with the original bassist, John Harder, joining me onstage.
When all is said and done, this DVD acts as a powerful swan song for this portion of my career, and I am excited for people to actually get the whole thing into their worlds.
As always, thank you for the ability to do what I do, and I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Devin”
‘Ocean Machine – Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv’ will be available as a limited deluxe 3CD/2DVD/Blu-Ray artbook (with liner notes from Devin and a special documentary dubbed ‘Reflecting The Chaos’ on the second DVD & Blu-Ray), Special Edition 3CD/DVD Digipak, standalone Blu-Ray and as digital audio download.
Ocean Machine
1.Seventh Wave
2.Life
3.Night
4.Hide Nowhere
5.Sister
6. 3 A.M.
7.Voices in the Fan
8.Greetings
9.Regulator
10.Funeral
11.Bastard
12.The Death of Music
13.Things Beyond Things
The first in a series of special vinyl boxes was also recently announced. ‘ERAS – Vinyl Collection Part 1’ compiles the albums ‘Ki’, ‘Addicted’, ‘Deconstruction’ & ‘Ghost’ in a sturdy box all on 180g heavyweight vinyl. You can pre-order your copy, including various coloured vinyl versions, now here: https://devintownsendproject.lnk.to/Eras
Devin Townsend Project released the much acclaimed ‘Transcendence’ in late 2016, before embarking on one of their biggest world tours ever. This new live release marks the end of an era, as Devin Townsend Project was disbanded in early 2018 to pave the way for Devin to focus on numerous other creative, musical endeavours of which he is currently hard at work on.
SONS OF APOLLO–former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force) — are about to begin the band’s first ever European live dates, starting this Friday at Hellfest in France. To celebrate, the band have launched a video for the track ‘Signs of the Time’, filmed during the bands recent North American tour. Watch it now here:
Mike Portnoy comments: “The ‘Signs of the Time’ Video was shot on the recent US tour and is a good taste of what the band is like on stage.
We are about to embark on the band’s 1st tour of Europe and the UK and can’t wait to bring this 5 headed musical monster to our fans overseas all throughout the summer”
The full list of Summer live dates can be found below:
22nd June – Hellfest, Clisson, France
23rd June – Graspop Metal Meeting, Dessel, Belgium
24th June – Teatro Degli Arcimboldi, Milan, Italy
26th June – Futurism Music Bar, Prague, Czech Republic
27th June – Hellraiser, Leipzig, Germany
28th June – Neushoorn, Leeuwarden, Netherlands
30th June – Be Prog! My Friend, Barcelona, Spain
1st July – Ramblin Man Fair, Maidstone, UK
2nd July – Motherwell Concert Hall, Motherwell, UK
3rd July – Limelight, Belfast, UK
4th July – Tivoli Variety Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
6th July – Helgeåfestivalen, Knislinge, Sweden
7th July – The Haunt, Brighton, UK
8th July – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, UK
14th July – Dynamo Metalfest, Eindhoven, Netherlands
3rd August – Wacken Open Air, Wacken, Germany
18th August – Prog in the Park 2018, Warsaw, Poland
19th August – Barba Negra Track, Budapest, Hungary
The band have further live dates planned for later in year, including an appearance at ProgPower Festival in the US, the band’s first Japanese shows, and more live appearances in Europe including a very special performance at the Roman Theatre in Plovdiv Bulgaria alongside the orchestra of Plovdiv State Opera. Find the full list of those below:
7th September – Prog Power USA, Atlanta, US
10th September – BigCat, Osaka, Japan
11th September – Liquidroom, Tokyo, Japan
12th September – Liquidroom, Tokyo, Japan
15th September – Raismes Fest, Raismes, France
19th September – Glavclub, Moscow, Russia
22nd September – Roman Amphitheatre, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
24th September – Fuzz Club, Athens, Greece
26th September – Barby Club, Tel Aviv, Israel
29th September – SWX, Bristol, UK
30th September – Garage, Glasgow, UK
1st October – Manchester Academy 2, Manchester, UK
6th October – Kulturfabrik, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg
8th October – Komplex 457, Zurich, Switzerland
12th October – Élysée Montmartre, Paris, France
13th October – Very Prog Festival, Toulouse, France
15th October – Radiant-Bellvue, Lyon, France
16th October – La Laiterie, Strasbourg, France
Released October 20th 2017 via InsideOutMusic / Sony, PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY is available as a 2CD Mediabook (featuring a second disc of instrumental mixes and extended booklet with an exclusive Studio Diary), Gatefold 2LP vinyl + CD (which comes with an etching on side D and the entire album on the CD), Standard Jewelcase CD & digital download. It was produced by the dynamic production duo of Portnoy and Sherinian, also affectionately known as “The Del Fuvio Brothers,” which is the nickname given to them over 20 years ago during their time together in Dream Theater. Get your copy here: http://smarturl.it/SonsOfApolloPS
PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY has racked up some fantastic reviews: “Fuck the term ‘supergroup’, that’s not what this is about. Sons of Apollo are simply a group that are super.” – Classic Rock “Psychotic Symphony is fierce, loud, bewildering, brilliantly performed and monstrously entertaining.” – Prog Magazine “God-like in conception, stellar in ambition and perfection in delivery.” – Metal
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