Jainism’ is taken from the upcoming new album ‘PowerNerd’ by Devin Townsend – ‘
Devin Townsend’s career is one of many distinct eras. He’s been the leader of Strapping Young Lad, the lynchpin of the Devin Townsend Project and the co-architect of country duo Casualties of Cool, all while maintaining his prolific and lauded solo project. Now, the polymath’s newest era starts with PowerNerd: a succinct but still progressive record that pulls from its mastermind’s childhood love of vintage rock.
From the moment the title track ignites the record with a roar of “PowerNerd!”, Devin’s 28th studio project is a gallop of melody, noise and emotion. The opener and “Knuckledragger” are all-out, high-speed rampages, their impact intensified by their central figure’s signature ‘wall of sound’ production style. However, that aggression is far from the only thing to come from Powernerd’s 11 episodic tracks. “Dreams of Light”, by comparison, is an evocative and dynamic four-minute ballad. “Younger Lover” calms down from an explosive opening to lush verses of synths and singing, whereas “Falling Apart” and “Jainism” add texture after texture on top of dulcet, acoustic introductions. With each song also having an irresistible hook at its heart, Devin has undeniably crafted a soulful instant classic of a rock record.
Track listing:
PowerNerd
Falling Apart
Knuckledragger
Gratitude
Dreams of Light
Ubelia
Jainism
Younger Lover
Glacier
Goodbye
Ruby Quaker
‘PowerNerd’ is available as a Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook (incl. bonus tracks, Dolby Atmos & High-Resolution Stereo Mixes), Ltd 2CD Digipak in O-Card (incl. bonus tracks), Standard CD Jewelcase & Gatefold 180g LP + LP-booklet, as well as digitally in stereo & Dolby Atmos.
‘PowerNerd’ will be available in several different formats, including a Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Devin’s first-ever Dolby Atmos mix), Limited 2CD Digipak in O-card, Standard CD, Gatefold 2LP & Digital Album.
PowerNerd’ will be available in several different formats, including a Limited 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook (featuring the album, bonus tracks and Devin’s first-ever Dolby Atmos mix), Limited 2CD Digipak in O-card, Standard CD, Gatefold 2LP & Digital Album.
Progressive, psychedelic rock pioneers Gong have announced a new special edition of their highly praised 2023 release Unending Ascending today. The new release, a CD package with an 8-page booklet, includes 6 previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded live from the band’s superb 2024 show at Edinburgh’s Summerhall as part of the ‘Gong + Ozric Tentacles UK Tour’.
The release coincides with Gong’s extensive late-2024 North American & European tour which will see them play shows across the USA, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Poland, amongst others. “It’s been a long time coming but, following the release of Unending Ascending, Gong are delighted to be playing in the US. No minds left unblown or else” says Kavus Torabi.
“Cosmic rock of the highest order” – PROG
“If Unending Ascending is your first time encountering Gong, this is a spectacular introduction” – LOUDER THAN WAR
GONG UPCOMING SHOWS 15/08 Woodstock Forever ’24, Eisfeld – DE 16/08 The Forum, Tunbridge Wells – UK 17/08 A New Day Festival, Hernhill – UK 24/09 Chapel at Muhlenberg College, Allentown PA – USA 25/09 The Southern Music Hall, Charlottesville VA – USA 26/09 King’s Raleigh, Raleigh NC – USA 27/09 The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC – USA 28/09 Mockingbird Theater, Franklin TN – USA 30/09 The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids MI – USA 01/10 Reggie’s, Chicago IL – USA 02/10 Shank Hall, Milwaukee WI – USA 03/10 Token Lounge, Detroit, Westland MI – USA 04/10 Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati OH – USA 05/10 Irving Theater, Indianapolis IN – USA 06/10 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH – USA 09/10 75 Stutson Street Auditorium Stage, Rochester NY – USA 10/10 Homer Arts Center, Homer NY – USA 14/10 Space Ballroom, Hamden CT – USA 15/10 The Iron Horse, Northampton MA – USA 17/10 The Strand Theater, Hudson Falls NY – USA 19/10 Orion Studios, Baltimore MD – USA 20/10 Progstock Festival @ Williams Center, Rutherford NJ – USA 07/11 O13, Tilburg – NL 08/11 Boerderij, Zoetermeer – NL 10/11 MS Stubnitz, Hamburg – DE 11/11 Hotel Cecil, Copenhagen – DK 12/11 Babel, Malmö – SE 13/11 Musikens Hus, Goteborg – SE 15/11 Debaser, Stockholm – SE 16/11 Rockland, Sala – SE 18/11 Validi Karkia Club, Pori – FI 19/11 Louhisali, Espoo – FI 21/11 Hybrydy, Warsaw – PL 22/11 Kuźnia, Bydgoszcz – PL 23/11 CK Zamek, Poznan – PL 24/11 Rialto, Katowice – PL 26/11 Kofferfabrik, Fürth – DE 27/11 KuBa, Jena – DE 28/11 Akropolis, Prague – CZ 29/11 Kino Ebensee, Ebensee – AT 30/11 Porgy & Bess, Vienna – AT 03/12 Backstage, Munich – DE 04/12 Das Rind, Rüsselsheim – DE 05/12 Jubez, Karlsruhe – DE 06/12 Cafe de la Danse, Paris – FR 07/12 Le Grillen, Colmar – FR 09/12 Harmonie, Bonn – DE
The universe of Gong began in 1969 when visionary Daevid Allen was inspired by a profound psychedelic vision. A founder member of Soft Machine, Allen incorporated his spiritual and metaphysical leanings into an evolving collective. More a mythology than a band in the conventional sense, Gong established itself as one of the most unique, innovative, and experimental rock groups of the seventies, through an exploratory mix of rock, jazz and psychedelia with elements of mysticism and surrealism, unafraid to deliver its messages directly, obliquely or whimsically.
The current incarnation, who were put together by Daevid for his swansong album with Gong, I See You, honour his intention that Gong do not die with him, urging the band to “carry it on into new unknown heights and depths far beyond anything I could ever imagine myself”.
Photo credit – Layla Burrows
The current lineup of Kavus Torabi, Dave Sturt, Fabio Golfetti, Ian East and Cheb Nettles is the most stable in Gong’s illustrious history, having written, recorded and toured together for eight years since Allen’s passing. A dynamic, powerful and explosive live band, their music draws from the credo of the original Gong while remaining committed to pushing the composition, performances and message into new realms, paying no mind to nostalgia.
The Unending AscendingSpecial Edition will be released on Kscope on 27th September on digipak CD with an 8-page booklet. Pre-order:https://gong.lnk.to/UA_special_edition
UK progressive rockers Frost* recently announced the release of their brand new double concept album ‘Life In The Wires’, due out October 18th, 2024 via InsideOutMusic. “Every prog band worth their salt really should do a double album, shouldn’t they?” asks Frost* frontman Jem Godfrey. “We’ve always kind of had this idea of wanting to do one. So I sat down last summer and thought, well, I’m just gonna have to get my head down and go for it.”
Today sees the launch of the track ‘Moral & Consequence’, a song that appears later in the story, and you can watch it now here:
Jem Godfrey comments: “Moral and Consequence is a song of two halves, you’ll never guess what each section is called… In 2008, on our 2nd album “Experiments In Mass Appeal”, I sang – “The ideal and the innocence, the moral and the consequence. Core desire, it’s a real Livewire, setting my life on fire, oh it’s unreal.” It’s not a sequel to the song from 2008, but at the same time it is. It’s a bit complicated, all will be revealed on the new album.”
*** “It’s actually a continuation from Day and Age” explains Godfrey, “the first track on the new album starts with the end of the last track from that album “Repeat to Fade,” where the static comes up and a voice says “Can you hear me?”. I remember putting that in when we did Day and Age as a possible little hook for the future; a character somewhere out there in Day and Age land trying to be heard. What does he want to say? Can anybody hear him? Day and Age kind of sets up the world that this character lives in and Life In The Wires tells his story”.
The story revolves around the main character Naio, an aimless kid heading for a meaningless future in an A.I. run world. He hears an old DJ talking on the ancient AM radio his mother once gave him and decides to trace the source of the signal and find “Livewire” to see if there’s a better future out there. However, the All Seeing Eye is less than impressed at this bid for independent thought and fights back. Soon Naio finds himself pursued across the country by an outraged mob as he tries to locate the home of Livewire and his freedom. Tune in at www.lifeinthewires.com and see if you can hear Livewire on the radio.
Helping create this parallel world are the “classic” Frost* lineup of guitarist John Mitchell, bassist Nathan King, and returning drummer Craig Blundell.
Fans of the band’s masterful debut album Milliontown (2006) will enjoy the band revisiting the style that made that debut album one of the most successful prog rock albums of the last 20 years, a fact that was not lost on Godfrey as he was writing this new record.
“With Day and Age, we made it a very specific point: we’re not doing any solos, we’ll do clever arrangements. And we enjoyed that discipline, but this time I thought it might be good to row back on that position a bit. Plus, I wanted to have a little bit of a nod to Milliontown with this album, because it’s been nearly 20 years since Milliontown came out and I’m still proud of it. The 15-minute title track has a few of those Milliontown moments in it which were great fun to do again.”
‘Life In The Wires’ will be available as a Limited 2CD, Gatefold 180g 2LP & as Digital Album, with subtle difference across the 3 formats for added interest. The album features artwork design by Carl Glover, who also designed the cover of ‘Day And Age’. The full track listing is as follows:
CD1:
1. Skywaving 1:57 2. Life in the Wires, Part 1 5:30 3. This House Of Winter 6:10 4. The Solid State Orchestra 6:35 5. Evaporator 8:09 6. Strange World 5:09 7. Idiot Box 4:59 8. Absent Friends 3:58
CD2:
1. School (Introducing The All Seeing Eye) 3:12 2. Propergander 5:34 3. Sign Of Life 5:44 4. Moral And Consequence 8:13 5. Life in the Wires, Part 2 15:51 Starting Fires 4:40
UK underground progressive champions Dawnwalker unveil their latest opus The Unknowing. Helmed by mastermind and songwriter Mark Norgate, The Unknowing features an exciting new cast of players including Luke Fabian (ex-Pupil Slicer), Sofia Sourianou (Deathbloom, Lure In), Chris J Allan (ex-Malefice) and flautist Bella Band. Conceived across three studio albums, The Unknowing promises a sharply tuned focus on songwriting, harmony and sonic finesse through a new found foray into heavy, art-rock flavoured songs.
Main songwriter Mark Norgate hints that “T he album deals with grand themes that we’ve been reaching for throughout our whole discography; a conscious move away from post-metal towards something spacier and more progressive; and probably more pop too.” The Unknowing promises to challenge fans and listeners as a concept album meditating on grand themes concerning our shared search for belonging, and our desire to know our place in this vast, hostile and unknowable universe.
Following their widely acclaimed fifth album House Of Sand, Dawnwalker continue to build their legacy independently and will self-release The Unknowing on October 18th in-house on classic black Vinyl, plus a limited blue marbled vinyl variant, making The Unknowing is a relic for record collectors. In late 2023, Dawnwalker completed a short double-headlining UK tour with HealthyLiving, initiating some of this new recording line-up ahead of the album writing and studio process. The band have also shared stages with the likes of <Bruit, Sacred Son, Bodies On Everest, Sugar Horse, Novere, and more.
Progressive rock band Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius spent six years making their sixth album, “Impostor!” due on 7d Media (City Hall Distribution) on October 11, 2024. The songs share stories of emotional battles Joe has observed in his life and the outside world.
“Sometimes you write a bunch of songs and don’t see the thread that binds them together until they are all on one album.”
“Impostor!” is being released on Trey Gunn’s 7d Media and features Joe (electric 7-string violin, acoustic violin, viola, chin cello, lead and background vocals, and producer), Michelangelo Quirinale-(Guitars), Paul Ranieri (bass), Jason Gianni (drums), and Bill Hubauer (keyboards). “Impostor!” is mixed and mastered by Rich Mouser (Tears for Fears, Dream Theater, Weezer).
Now the band are pleased to share the video for the new single “Outrage Olympics”. Watch the video here:
“‘Outrage Olympics’ criticizes cancel culture. It shows both the world at large and his band being spied upon by drones and cameras in a present-day dystopia.”
‘Impostor!’ features many outstanding guests and tackles a number of topics. “Cognitive Dissonance” features guest vocals from Randy McStine (Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree) explores how religious intolerance destroys childhood friendships. “Storm Surge” explores anxiety and features some legends in the prog world, including pianist/flautist Rachel Flowers, guitarist Fernando Perdomo (“Echo in the Canyon,” Jacob Dylan, Carmine Appice), and Saga vocalist Michael Sadler, who co-wrote the song with Joe and the group’s drummer Jason Gianni. Inspired by Friedrich Burgmuller’s 19th century piano piece, “L’Orage (the Storm).”
The title track addresses impostor syndrome and the epic “Chasing the Dragon” about “ unrealized dreams and expectations, ‘Are we ever satisfied?’ The dragon represents that elusive goal, always just out of reach.” The song features guest vocalist Chloe Lowery (Trans-Siberian Orchestra).
The album also includes the Jean Luc Ponty/Jerry Goodman-inspired instrumentals “Voodoo Vortex Part I & II.” The song title, “Tripping the Merry-Go-Round” is taken from Bruce Springsteen’s lyric in “Blinded by the Light.” Joe performs most of the acoustic strings and describes the song; “If Gentle Giant wrote ‘Eleanor Rigby.’ It’s a snapshot of a long relationship where the ‘merry-go-round’ of life keeps people from making adequate time for each other.”
Stratospheerius also covers King Crimson’s “Frame by Frame” with backup vocals from Val Vigoda (Groovelilly).
Joe’s music’s been compared to Rush, Muse, Dream Theater, and Kansas, who welcomed Joe into the band in May 2023. “While Kansas became my main gig, it was my work with Stratospheerius that got their attention.” Looks like all that “dragon chasing” paid off for Joe and his bandmates!
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