Port Mahadia are back after an 8 year absence with a follow up to their debut album “Echoes In Time” (2007). The band was formed in 2004, the core of the band consisted of Erinn Waggoner: Bass & Vocals, Cameron Castle: Guitars, Rusty Clutts: Drums & Percussions and William O’Connell: Keyboards, and featured special guests Damian Wilson (Threshold) and cellist Hugh McDowell (Electric Light Orchestra) and David Ragsdale (Kansas).
The band are ready to unleash both their 2nd offering “Quantum Space” and a new line-up. Returning on the new album, singer, songwriter and bassist Erinn Waggoner joined by Johnny Anderson: Guitars and Justin Emmerson: Drums & Percussions. Like their previous effort, the new album also features many special guests, including: Kerry Shacklett (Presto Ballet) Hugh McDowell (Electric Light Orchestra) Will Shaw (Heir Apparent), among others.
Port Mahadia took a detour into this creative project to fulfill the band’s desire to reinvent some Classic music that they have enjoyed over the years whist working on their new material. Port Mahadia is hard at work and in the throes of writing and recording their new original material. Quantum Space showcases eight Classic songs by such artists as Rush, Emerson Lake & Palmer, U.K. and The Beatles among others. Port Mahadia didn’t want this to be just another covers album and playing each track note for note. They wanted to release a fresh take on the Classic songs, so they revamped the songs with there own heavy signature sound while maintaining the integrity of the original version. The album also features two new tracks, Principle of Disorder and Cannae.
Quantum Space will be available in two formats: CD and High Quality Digital Download with pre-orders going on sale February 8th 2016 and worldwide release on February16th 2016
Pre-order http://melodicrevolutionrecords.com/album/quantum-space Track Listing: Silhouettes In Disguise Rendezvous Principle of Disorder While My Guitar Gently Weeps Working Man South Side Of The Sky I Walk Beside You Cannae Wats Um The Deal A Time And A Place
Port Mahadia is: Johnny Anderson – Guitars Erinn Waggoner – Bass & Vocals Justin Emmerson – Drums & Percussions Special Guests: Rusty Clutts – Drums & Percussions Will Shaw – Vocals Sol Yamil – Vocals Kerry Shacklett – Keyboards Jared Hill – Keyboards Hugh McDowell – Cello Riccardo Bacchi – Steel Guitar Paul Cecchetti additional effect and choir Grant Hill – Keys arrangement on South Side of The Sky
Melodic Revolution Records| Featured Album Review|January/February 2016
|Port Mahadia Quantum Space
Label : Melodic Revolution Records Release Year: 2016 Country : USA Genre: Progressive Metal/Rock
Band Members
Johnny Anderson – Guitars Erinn Waggoner – Bass & Vocals Justin Emmerson – Drums & Percussions
Additional Musicians and Special Guests: Rusty Clutts – Drums & Percussions Will Shaw – Vocals Sol Yamil – Vocals Kerry Shacklett – Keyboards Jared Hill – Keyboards Hugh McDowell – Cello Riccardo Bacchi – Steel Guitar Paul Cecchetti – additional effect and choir Grant Hill – Keys arrangement on South Side of The Sky
Track Listing Silhouettes In Disguise – Original recording by Kansas Rendezvous – Original recording by UK Principle of Disorder – Original recorded by Port Mahadia While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Original recording by The Beatles Working Man – Original recording by Rush South Side Of The Sky – Original recording by Yes I Walk Beside You – Original recording by Dream Theater Canna – Original recorded by Port Mahadia Wats Um The Deal – Original recording by Pink Floyd A Time And A Place – Original recording by Emerson Lake & Palmer
Once again Melodic Revolution Records has released a quality recording that appeals to the entire span of the progressive rock/metal spectrum. One of their recent signings is Paducah, Kentuckys’ very own Port Mahadia. Coming off a eight year absence and the heels of their previous album Echos In Time, Port Mahadia have returned with their sophomore effort Quantum Space which features eight cover tracks from bands such as Rush, Dream Theater, Yes, The Beatles, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Pink Floyd, etc … See tracklisting above.
Quantum Space is such the most appropriate title for this venture considering the progressive span of covers the band undertook during the recording of this album. Port Mahadia have a real uncanny ability of covering some other band’s songs and place their own stamp of flavor of sound on them. The covers are done with the utmost of consideration and respect as to not bore nore offend the listener, meanwhile maintaining the orginal integrity of the band who originally wrote and recorded them.
Instead of a track by track analysis due to the nature of the tracks, I will focus more on highlighting the two originals on Quantum Space , Principle of Disorder and Canna .
Principle of Disorder on the surface is heavily prog. However to dig deeper into the track there is so much more going on here. It is written with elements of doom and stoner rock and metal. In a era where time signatures have defined most of the prog community, Port Mahadia even incorporates well crafted guitar solos and even spoken word section. The intro begins with a huge thunderous rhythm section that seem to define the bands signature sound even more so than virtuosity. Principle of Disorder has elements of 1970’s rock and metal with a modern 21st century sensibility.
Canna begins with a dynamic drum intro that is soon joined in rhythmic harmony by the bass and rhythm guitar. Port Mahadia seem to be a very heavily rhythm section induced band. Canna opens up just as heavily as Principle of Disorder. Canna eventually levels out into a very avant garde atmospheric track with subtle time changes. At the 1:20 mark it is a straight away driven track in the vein of Bad Company meets Deep Purple. At the 2:20 mark it truly blisters almost into a part heavy metal part heavy progressive AOR track. Like Principle of Disorder, Canna has a little bit for every audio pallet whether progressive or straight away rock and metal.
I appreciated the adventure of Quantum Space. The multiple covers where done with integrity while the band gave them its own fresh and crisp flavor and stamp on them. The two original tracks leave the listener wanting more. Melodic Revolution Records definitely has a good sign in Port Mahadia. This gets a 4/5 for the very well written originals and the carefully recorded covers.
As the hype of Christmas holidays and New Year’s subsides, as most of you,Ireturnto the routine, as well as coming back to the rails of the public space. The pervious year has just finished, and a lot of gloomy and dark news have come with the loss of too many genius artists at the same short period, but even withtheburdens of theseevents, retrospectively, 2015 was full of musical and artistic, dark and light – peaks for many. Now, when the year has just finished, Iconsiderto be a right time to give you some insight to what was going on in the narrow spotlight surronding my persona to those who care, and share some of the plans for the nearest future.
There are quite a bunch, some of which for those of you who prefer keeping eyes open for the new musicalexperiencesmightbeinteresting to follow. But before going down with the expanded descriptions of the blissful domain of ideas and plans, I would love to thank youfor yourdirect or indirect support.Ithasbrought Transport Aerian to the point which I, despite secretely aiming for, neverimaginedto reallyachieve. Our most recent studio album Darkblue has obtained overwhelmingly positive critical response, and was featured in various Year’s Top lists, including Top 2015 by Progarchives. This would not have happened without your help.
I, however, prefer to look forward, rather than backwards, so let me share some news of the incoming projects I’m involved in.
Besides onerelatively globalproject that is currently on the early stages of development and that I shall keep under the hat until the late spring 2016, there are two other musicaljourneysin which I’m takinga part.
First – and very excitingone–is theproject is under the leading of our label brother, italian multi-instrumentalist Marco Ragni. I’ve beenfollowinghis works for a whileand liked them a lot, sowhen the idea of a collaboration with him has been brought up, I didn’t think twice. For his incoming album “Land of Blue Echoes” Marco teamed up with a group of other musical free thinkers, including Peter Matuchniak, Colin Tench, Jeff Mack, Vance Gloster, myself and the vocal goddess Durga McBroom, who was one of the original female vocalists featured on many Pink Floyd albums and live shows. The album is scheduled to be released by MRR on 16 March 2016 and I am really looking forward to it, as most of Marco works are marked by inpecable quality and musicantship.
The second majorinvolvementthat particularly kept me busyduring thelast half of 2015 is Fabulae Dramatis. With their new work,this rather exotic avant-metal projecthas stepped from once a small home-grown curiosity to the full-band extravaganza with the productionof a very considerable size. Withtheshards of the international line up and a core based in the same country as I’m andimpressiveresources invested, this project have managed togive a birth toquite an curiousalbum, in which I played thehumblerole of a bass-player and a singer – alongside with 3 other vocalists. I’ve also written 2 songs for them. The release date has not yet been made public and I, being but a guest musician can only know so much about their further plans, but I’ll definitely announce it once I know more myself.
The year has been full of exciting work, lows and highs – just like any art should be. And I assume the best I could wish for is to keep this new year in the same active pace.
One of progressive rock and metal’s most ambitious undertakings in modern memory has been happening since 2012, this being the Docker’s Guild. In middle 2013 a friend of mine told me about a project that included Tony Franklin – Blue Murder, Greg Bissonette – David Lee Roth and SteveVai and Amanda Sommerville. At hat point my curiosity was too wet not to pursue this. I found a place to buy Docker’s Guild – The Mystic Technocracy – Season 1: The Age of Ignorance. The front cover art was provocative and the song titles thought provoking. I opened it up and finally listened to it and was mind blown as far as the mind can imagine. This time Douglas Docker returns with probably the first solid ALL female cast for a project of this kind.
What I heard was one of prog’s and AOR’s best kept secret genius’ in Douglas Docker its creator. The best way I can describe the sound is Dream Theater and Ayreon meets Survivor and Journey. Both heavy on the progressive rock/metal and heavy on the AOR just as equally. Like Ayreon it carries a heavy science fiction element. This is no different with with his 2016 offering Docker’s Guild – The Heisenberg Diaries – Book A: Sounds Of Future Past. This is the second in a planned nine albums of the project called Docker’s Guild.
Returning home with his wife from Jerusalem after the events that happened in Season 1 of The Mystic Technocracy, Dr. Heisenberg decides to indulge himself into a self imposed TV marathon full of science fiction. Some of the tracks on The Heisenberg Diaries – Book A: Sounds Of Future Past represent the television programs he and his wife are watching. It is a more personal reflection of the main character throughout the seasons of The Mystic Technocracy.
Some of the tracks on The Heisenberg Diaries – Book A: Sounds Of Future Past serve as period pieces that transport the listener back in time on a pop culture science fiction perspective. A song like Flash Gordon Suite represents a era where disco was almost at its end and just about everything in the late 1970’s – early 1980’s still carried a disco sensibility in music. For 15:20 the track explores every dimension of progressive AOR with heavy doses of disco. The returning Amanda Sommerville provides a lot of soul and depth in the vocals. Douglas Docker has a soundtrack approach on Flash Gordon Suite as well.
Another period piece is Barbarella with a late 1960’s vibe that reminds me of shows such as Laugh In or The Monkees. Although it has a heavy pop sensibility, Barbarella is still very progressive. Douglas Docker brings shades of Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys to his vocals. The rest of The Heisenberg Diaries – Book A: Sounds Of Future Past continues to give you a quality space rock opera experience that contains science fictional pop cultural elements.
Douglas Docker has certainly made vintage science fiction totally relevant again. With a modern and fresh sound he has arrived with another step in the evolution of great science fiction based rock opera’s. The Heisenberg Diaries – Book A: Sounds Of Future Past leaves your thirst for seasons 2 through 5 of The Mystic Technocracy and The Heisenberg Diaries – Books B through D . DouglasDocker has managed to forge his own distinct sound while maintaining the integrity of the music for both fans of progressive rock and metal and even AOR purists. All you have to do is look at the talent he recruits and manages to bring all their styles in harmony with his musical vision. I give The Heisenberg Diaries – Book A: Sounds Of Future Past a 4/5.
Heart Of Steel Records is proud to announce that the argentinian Prog Metal band PRAELUDIUM has just signed for our label that will release their debut EP. The EP titled “Birth” contains 3 songs influenced by Progressive Metal meet Melodic Death Metal with Symphonic arrangements. The digital release is now available on every worldwide webstores, iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, Google Music, Nokia, Emusic… Praeludium is a band from Buenos Aires, Argentina, founded in 2014, earlier this summer they recorded their first EP ‘Birth’ with three compositions. The leader of the band Gustavo Scholz is well known to have formed early 2000 the band called Alma Prisma (progressive metal genre) with whom he has played around for his country and as the opening for some international groups like Angra. In 2007 he recorded a full album, titled “All the Gates of a new dream”. Currently Praeludium are recording new songs for the full-length album, scheduled for 2016.
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Port Mahadia are back after an 8 year absence with a follow up to their debut album “Echoes In Time” (2007). The band was formed in 2004, the core of the band consisted of Erinn Waggoner: Bass & Vocals, Cameron Castle: Guitars, Rusty Clutts: Drums & Percussions and William O’Connell: Keyboards, and featured special guests Damian Wilson (Threshold) and cellist Hugh McDowell (Electric Light Orchestra) and David Ragsdale (Kansas).
Track Listing: 
