I first really started paying attention to Atreyu with the release of 2004’s ‘The Curse’, but although I grabbed all their albums up to 2009’s ‘Congregation of the Damned’ I hadn’t realized they had got back together after the hiatus following that to release an album in 2015, and here they are now back with the next, the seventh in their career. It is hard to believe that Atreyu has been together for twenty years now, as they still sound as angry as ever, mixing that aggression with melody and metal to create a sound designed to throw a mosh pit wherever they play. I also put them into the same category as Killswitch Engage and Avenged Sevenfold, all bands out there creating their own masterpieces and not worrying about the rest of the scene. There are parts of “The Time Is Now” which one would say belongs far more in the canon of their recent touring partners Slipknot than Atreyu. These guys have been turning it up and cranking it even harder than they used to, and took inspiration from their classic ‘Lead Sails Paper Anchor’ as they experimented and brought all the ideas under the Atreyu banner.
There is a freshness, which has been brought about by the way of working. “Every song with the exception of two was fully written in the studio,” says Brandon Saller (drums, vocals). “We’d split off into groups and crank out two ideas per day. We’d never written a fresh idea from scratch every day. Spontaneity makes things flow so much better though. We also never spread an album out like this either. We laid the foundation with five recordings, sat with them, and finished with a better picture of where we wanted to go.” Atreyu is very much back, and this reminds me so much of why I loved ‘The Curse’ when it was released. Methinks I need to dust that one off and put it on, as this has reminded me of what a powerful band they are. Superb.
This is the debut album from Dutch neo-prog band The Dame, which as the name might suggest is built heavily around the female lead singer, Marian van Charante. They have been gaining a lot of attention for their image and style, as apparently they aim to convey a feeling of the Roaring Twenties in what they do, although it must be said that with a download as opposed to a CD that isn’t necessarily apparent. For the most part, the keyboards are actually quite basic and in the background, but given that Thijs de Ruijter is actually the son of the guitarist Stephen and is just 16 years old perhaps that is understandable.
The songs feel like stories, which is very much a positive, and Marian moves between singing softly and bringing in elements of Alanis Morissette with her phrasing. It is pleasant enough, but this just doesn’t shine the way it should. Some of that is down to the arrangements which feel a little clunky at times, and the production which often pushes the snare drum over the top of the guitar. The use of acoustic guitar as an additional rhythm works well, but I can’t get nearly as excited over this as many others seem to be.
Tom’s last releases was as part of Murder and Parliament and their rather superb instrumental album. Here we find him back to his more usual state of affairs, blackmailing Gareth Cole (electric guitars) and Jordan Brown (acoustic bass, keyboards) to appear with him while he himself provides acoustic guitar and vocals. He describes this set as a collection of four murder ballads, and we get to meet some interesting characters during its 23 minutes. I have long felt that Tom was born in the wrong century, as I can imagine him sat in a dark corner of a pub somewhere as a traveling musician, singing and telling his stories to the brave souls willing to hear it (a bit like his gigs to be fair).
Tom has an incredible sense of humor, and if you don’t believe me then just follow some of his posts on Facebook, and he often portrays a steampunk image but what this all belies is that he is a very English musician and writer who deserves close attention. I haven’t heard all that he has released by any stretch, but everything I have come across has been quite superb. He has a way of telling stories which drag in the listener to sample the wares, with an incredibly complex acoustic guitar. He has become associated with the progressive scene, but he has as much in common with the folk crowd, and I would imagine him going down a storm at the Cropredy Festival. If you have heard any of his material already then I am sure you have lined up to purchase this, but if you are new to his style of English folk prog crossover then you owe it to your ears to find out more. https://tomslatter.bandcamp.com/album/spirit-box
How to order tickets.
Step 1. Call George at 484.432.7357 to select your seats.
Step 2. Pay by credit card or by check.
The credit card prompt will be available through square on the website.
Checks should be made out to Roldan Entertainment and mailed to the following address.
George Roldan
P.O.Box 35234
Sarasota, Florida
34242
RoSfest is in its 16th year and will be taking place on May 3rd, 4th & 5th, 2019.
RoSfest 2019 will take place on May 3rd through 5th, 2019 at the Sarasota Opera House, Florida.
Scheduled bands to play:
Friday, May 3rd – Cryptic Vision and Von Hertzen Brothers.
Saturday, May 4th – Entransient, Mile Marker Zero, Karmamoi, Phideaux and Jethro Tull 50th Anniversary Tour with Martin Barre, Clive Bunker and Jonathan Noyce.
Sunday, May 5th – Edge of Reality, Traverser, Flor de Loto, and Riverside.
The complete schedule with times will be posted shortly on the RoSfest website. http://rosfest.com
We love this 2019 lineup and think that you will too! Hope to see everyone in Sarasota next May!
Casey McPherson, the vocalist for prog rock supergroups Flying Colors and The Sea Within, is pleased to announce the release of a new Alpha Rev album entitled ‘Alpha Rev presents Cas.e Sessions, Volume 1.’ Alpha Rev is the singer/songwriters own project that he has spearheaded since 2005. The album is a collection of songs written over the course of the last two years as part of the singer’s monthly fan-subscription service, The Cas.e Sessions.
You can see the lyric video for the track “My Evolution” here:
After recording and performing with bands for most of his career, Casey McPherson wanted to do something outside the box, a more in-depth artistic look into life for him… so, he started a music and video experience called the Cas.e Sessions. The Cas.e Sessions explores creating songs around a relevant topic or experience and documents the whole process. Every month, the members of the Cas.e Sessions get a new song, a short documentary around the song, and an online live show, which has allowed McPherson to make a record completely independent, fully funded by the members.
Casey had this to say about the song and album:
“’My Evolution’ captures a lot of what I’ve learned from Flying Colors. I also ended up playing every instrument on the recording so that was a fun challenge. You won’t know what you’re capable of until you try!
I didn’t intend to release the Cas.e Sessions Volume 1 to the general public, just to the Cas.e Sessions members, mostly because I recorded each song in a day and wasn’t thinking about how it would be received. Maybe that was a good thing? Looking back, I’m very proud of the journey it takes you on!”
Tracklisting:
1.Changeling
2.My Evolution
3.I’m a Refugee
4.White Matter Recess
5.Everyone’s Charade
6.You Are the Peacemakers
7.Song of Aleppo
8.Write Your Name
9.Help Me
10.Stillness for Humans
Casey McPherson is a singer/songwriter who began his recording career with the band Endochine in 2004. A year later he formed Alpha Rev and found success in the pop/alternative world with that band’s second album New Morning and that album’s title track. “New Morning” was added on VH1, and it became a top 10 hit on the AAA radio charts, as did “Sing Loud” from the 3rd record “Bloom.”
In 2012, he was approached by Flying Colors manager Bill Evans at the suggestion of drummer Mike Portnoy, who was a fan of McPherson’s band Endochine. The singer joined Portnoy, Neal Morse, Dave LaRue and Steve Morse in Flying Colors, who released their debut album in 2012 and the follow-up Second Nature in 2014. This unexpected entry into the world of progressive rock introduced McPherson to a whole new audience. In 2018, he recorded a few tracks on the debut self-titled album by new prog supergroup The Sea Within, featuring Roine Stolt, Marco Minnemann, Jonas Reingold, Tom Brislin and Pain of Salvation vocalist Daniel Gildenlöw. McPherson has since replaced Gildenlöw as the group’s full-time singer. The Sea Within are set to appear on the upcoming Cruise to the Edge, Feb, 4th-9th in Tampa, Florida.
Currently, McPherson is working with Flying Colors on the group’s 3rd studio album. He is planning an upcoming solo progressive rock album and will continue to release albums under Alpha Rev and as a solo artist.
Following the release of 2017’s Prog Award-winning album ‘Lost In The Ghost Light’, Tim Bowness returns with his fifth solo album ‘Flowers At The Scene’ on March 1st, 2019. Produced by no-man, the album is a vibrant collection of 11 strikingly diverse songs.
Tim comments: “’Lost In The Ghost Light – which was always intended as a one-off – felt like a perfect conclusion to a particular way of writing and working. In the wake of that, Flowers At The Scene very much feels like a press reset.
It was an exciting project to put together and it was great working closely with old sparring partners, Brian Hulse, and Steven Wilson. Steven was initially brought in to mix the album, but very quickly he was doing far more and developing production ideas alongside Brian and I. Listening to pieces such as Not Married Anymore, Borderline and The War On Me, we both felt that the project had more than a hint of the spirit of no-man and it became obvious that this was a no-man co-production rather than a Bowness/Wilson one.
Elsewhere, the likes of Fates Warning’s Jim Matheos, Colin Edwin, Dylan Howe, and Tom Atherton delivered some incredible performances and it was a delight to get Peter Hammill, Kevin Godley, Andy Partridge and David Longdon involved.
Peter and Kevin were two of my favorite singers growing up and I’ve been a long-term fan of XTC, so it was genuinely a thrill to hear their excellent contributions.”
Representing the duo of Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson’s first joint production in over a decade, the album features performances from an extraordinary cast of players including Peter Hammill (Van Der Graaf Generator), Andy Partridge (XTC), Kevin Godley (10cc), Colin Edwin(Porcupine Tree), Jim Matheos (Fates Warning/OSI), David Longdon (Big Big Train), co-producer Brian Hulse (Plenty), Australian trumpeter Ian Dixon, and drummers Tom Atherton and Dylan Howe. The Curator, David K Jones, violinist Fran Broady, and Charles Grimsdale also guest.
Mixed by Steven Wilson and mastered by Steve Kitch (The Pineapple Thief), the album’s artwork is once again by Jarrod Gosling. ‘Flowers At The Scene’ will be available as CD, LP + CD & as a digital album.
The full track-listing is as follows:
1) I Go Deeper (4.15)
2) The Train That Pulled Away (4.04)
3) Rainmark (4.15)
4) Not Married Anymore (3.30)
5) Flowers At The Scene (3.04)
6) It’s The World (3.03)
7) Borderline (3.45)
8) Ghostlike (5.08)
9) The War On Me (3.47)
10) Killing To Survive (3.59)
11) What Lies Here (4.00)
Tim Bowness is primarily known as vocalist/co-writer with no-man, a long-running collaboration with Steven Wilson.
In addition to releasing six studio albums and a documentary DVD with no-man, Tim has worked with popular Italian artist Alice, Mercury Prize-nominated Banco De Gaia, Robert Fripp, Peter Hammill and Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera (amongst many others).
Tim recorded the album Flame (1994) with Richard Barbieri (Porcupine Tree/ex-Japan), and co-produced/co-wrote Talking With Strangers (2009) for Judy Dyble (ex-Fairport Convention).
Tim Bowness released his fourth solo album, ‘Lost In The Ghost Light’ last year through InsideOutMusic, garnering the best solo reviews he has ever received and reaching #5 in the official UK rock chart. It also picked up Best Cover Artwork at the prestigious annual Progressive Music Awards 2017.
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