Nth Ascension the northwest English Progressive Rockers have looked across the pond for the mixing of their third album. American Progressive Rock multi-instrumentalist Eric Gillette a newcomer with an impressive start. From his beginnings in 2010 with The Swon Brothers (who would later appear on The Voice), as a guitarist and backing vocalist; to working with Neal Morse in 2012 and finally joining The Neal Morse Band as lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter in 2015.
Craig Walker (drums) noticed Eric Gillette’s contributions on The Grand Experiment, The Neal Morse Band’s 2015 release and became an instant fan; seeking out Eric’s solo material soon after.
As the writing of the new Nth Ascension album wound down and the time to enter the studio neared, the band would learn that the mixing engineer and studio (Mat Arnold, Hilltown Studios) of their 2016 release, In Fine Initium wasn’t available for the upcoming album.
Craig had been so impressed with Eric’s work and was aware that he was a mixing engineer in addition to his musical endeavors. Eric had made it known in social media that he was taking on a limited number of projects this fall between his other commitments. Craig contacted Eric to see if he would be interested in providing the mix engineering for Nth’s new project, and the response was positive. Craig then approached his bandmates and they unanimously agreed this was the direction the band would like to pursue their 2019 release.
The new album was completely produced and engineered by the band and is … unmistakably Nth Ascension. This third offering is filled with the signature full rich cinematic soundscapes you have come to expect of them; encompassing dark and light expressed in powerful vocal and lyric structures leading us to a new dimension of consciousness; and certain to capture something just a bit more with the help and talents of Eric Gillette at the mixing board.
The three studio albums by SL Theory are all the work of one man, multi-instrumentalist Sotiris Lagonikas. But on this release, he has restricted himself to just one instrument, drums, and is part of a six-man band, to which he has added an additional four singers on top of lead singer Mike Karasoulis, and a string orchestra. Recorded live on March 3rd2017, the band can be seen to be surrounding the ten-piece string section (conducted by Yiannis Antonopoulos), and with 21 people on the stage, it must have been quite some spectacle.
The vast majority of the material is taken from the three albums, but there were also a few new pieces written which were performed that night. The strings are playing live what was layered keyboards before, adding an additional lightness and quality. Karasoulis has an emotional voice, and here he is able to work either completely solo, duetting or to pitch himself in as part of the harmonies. There are a real confidence and sense of aplomb and achievement with this release, with the band and strings working fully together as one. Obviously, this is not the first time this has been tried, but here it really works as the style of progressive rock/metal definitely fits in well. When the band wants to crunch then they go for it, but when they want to be acoustic and gentle then the string overlay is quite sublime.
Heavy, symphonic, majestic, bombastic, this may be a dark album in many ways, but there are plenty of contrasts and delights over this two-disc, 20 songs, 104-minute long set. ‘Progressively Dark: A Concert For Group & String Orchestra’ is a great introduction to the music of Sotiris Lagonikas, and it will be fascinating to see what comes next. Well worth investigating for all progheads into the heavier side.
HAKEN, one of progressive music’s most exciting bands, released their fifth studio album titled ‘Vector’ recently. The album was produced by the band themselves, and recorded & mixed by Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood (Periphery, Devin Townsend Project), with the artwork once again being handled by Blacklake.
The album has been met with amazing reactions, and has even charted in several countries.
Find the full list below:
#22 – German Album Charts
#24 – Swiss Album Charts
#37 – Austrian Album Charts
#3 – UK Rock Album Charts
#4 – US Billboard New Artist Album Charts
#72 – US Billboard Current Album Charts
#91 – US Billboard Overall Album Charts
Find some of the media reactions below:
“heart-stopping hails of metallic riff bullets, dizzying instrumental and rhythmic complexity, alongside an intriguing lyrical tale.” – Prog Magazine
“Bewildering, impressive and satisfying, all at the same time.” – The Prog Report
“one of the more exciting and engaging prog albums put out so far this year.” – Metal Wani
The band have also announced a vinyl live release titled ‘L+1VE’ for 7thDecember 2018, which sees the four tracks that were originally only available as a bonus on the DVD, now available on a single LP + CD. Pre-order now here: https://haken.lnk.to/L1VE
The track-listing is as follows:
1. Falling Back to Earth
2. Pareidolia
3. Earthrise
4. Crystallised
HAKEN are in the midst of a North American co-headline tour alongside Leprous, with label-mates Bent Knee along for the ride too.
The band comments: “We are 1 week in to the tour now and thrilled how the US and Canada have welcomed us and our new material with open arms yet again. It is incredible to see how many people already know all the lyrics to songs that are only about 10 days old! With a handful of sold-out shows already under our belt, this Bent Knee/Leprous/Haken tour package is proving to be a hot ticket.”
Find the full list of upcoming dates below:
Haken & Leprous with Bent Knee:
November – 9th Revolution, Fort Lauderdale, FL
November 10th – The Plaza Live, Orlando, FL
November 11th – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
November 13th – Gas Monkey, Dallas, TX
November 14th – Barracuda, Austin, TX
November 16th – Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
November 17th – Glasshouse, Pomona, CA
November 18th – August Hall, San Francisco, CA
November 19th – Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
November 20th – The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
November 21st – Rickshaw Theater, Vancouver, BC
November 23rd – Metro Music Hall, Salt Lake City, UT
November 24th – Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO
November 25th – Granada Theater, Lawrence, KS
November 26th – Delmar Hall, St Louis, MO
November 27th – Exit/In, Nashville, TN
November 29th – Rex Theater, Pittsburgh, PA
November 30th – Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
December 1st – Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
Latin America 2019
26th January – Teatro Teleton, Santiago, Chile
27th January – Groove, Buenos Aires, Argentina
29th January – Caricoa Club, Sao Paolo, Brazil
30th January – Auditorio Centro De La Amistad Peruano China, Lima, Peru
1st February – Lunar, Mexico City, Mexico
Europe 2019
15th February – Academy 3, Manchester, UK
16th February – St Luke’s, Glasgow, UK
17th February – The Fleece, Bristol, UK
19th February – Essigfabrik, Cologne, Germany
20th February – Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany
21st February – Übel & Gefährlich, Hamburg, Germany
22nd February – Lille Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark
23rd February – John Dee, Oslo, Norway
24th February – Debaser Strand, Stockholm, Sweden
26th February – Columbia Theater, Berlin, Germany
27th February – Kwadrat, Krakow, Poland
28th February – A38, Budapest, Hungary
2nd March – Szene, Vienna, Austria
3rd March – Futurum, Prague, Czech Republic
4th March – Conne Island, Leipzig, Germany
6th March – Im Wizemann, Stuttgart, Germany
7th March – Backstage Halle, Munich, Germany
8th March – Kiff, Aarau, Switzerland
9th March – Magazzini Generali, Milan, Italy
10th March – Transbordeur, Lyon, France
12th March – Mon Live, Madrid, Spain
13th March – Kafe Antzokia, Bilbao, Spain
14th March – La Maroquinerie, Paris, France
15th March – De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
16th March – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK
23rd March – Tavastia, Helsinki, Finland
‘Vector’ is available as Limited edition 2CD Mediabook (including instrumental versions of the album tracks), as Gatefold vinyl 2LP + CD, as Standard CD Jewelcase & as digital download.
Order now here: www.insideoutmusicshop.com
Watch promo videos for 3 singles taken from the album below:
Since their inception in 2007, Haken have shown over four previous studio albums, one EP and a live release that they never stand still, merely satisfied to rely on past triumphs. Rather, Haken always look for ways to challenge themselves as musicians and artists, and also to keep the listeners on their collective toes. “We don’t like to make simple music,” laughs vocalist Ross Jennings. “We always aim to defy expectations, and I believe we’ve surpassed what we aimed to achieve with our new album.”
HAKEN are:
Ross Jenning
Richard Henshall
Charlie Griffiths
Diego Tejeida
Conner Green
Ray Hearne
Devin Townsend is pleased to announce a very special European ‘An Evening With’ solo acoustic tour, beginning at the end of March 2019 and running through April. The intimate evenings will feature Devin performing tracks from across his catalogue, as well as taking part in a Q&A where fans will get to know more about what Devin is up to at this stage in his career and the forthcoming new album ‘Empath’. This will prove to be a unique & special experience for all in attendance.
He comments:
Hello everyone, Devin here. I have been busy making my newest recording, EMPATH over the past year. It has been a complicated and enlightening experience in that I have gone back to my roots in terms of what my motivations are for making music, in hopes that I am able to move forward as a musician being as true as I possibly can to my motivations. The result is an album that I am exceptionally proud of, one that is uncompromised and diverse in ways that accurately represent where I’m at now at the age of 46. The past decade of relentless touring with DTP had been something that caught up with me in a big way, and as a result I felt I needed to step back from that world and analyse myself and make this music before stepping onto a stage again. The time has come however for me to take the next step in my career, and when asked about how I would like to do so, I decided the first thing I would do was a very intimate run of shows that allows me to play my music stripped back to just me and a guitar. The shows are at nice venues, and includes a spoken word element with questions from the audience as well as aspects of my entire career represented in this one show.
Before I tour with a band again, I wanted to have the opportunity to play for you, and meet up with the people who not only have made my work possible, but inspire me to continue. In a world of computers and social media, to be stripped of all the bells and whistles is a very important step for my reintroduction to the live concert world. I truly hope you’ll join me and I look forward to being the most honest I can be with you at these special shows.
Thank you to Andy Farrow and Northern Music, Thomas Waber and Inside Out records, as well as all who have supported me during this period. I have not been as proud of an album as I am of Empath in many years, and I really needed to get this out of my system.
7th March – Piano Man Jazz Club, Delhi, India
8th March – Levi’s Lounge, Mumbai, India
30th March – Savoy-teatteri, Helsinki, Finland
31st March – Sodra Teatern, Stockholm, Sweden
1st April – Edderkoppen, Oslo, Norway
2nd April – Bremen Theater, Copenhagen, Denmark
4th April – PassionsKirche, Berlin, Germany
5th April – Stodola, Warsaw, Poland
6th April – La Fabrica, Prague, Czech Republic
7th April – Freiheiz, Munich, Germany
9th April – Kulturkirche, Cologne, Germany
10th April – Grunspan, Hamburg, Germany
11th April – St-Bavokerk, Haarlem, The Netherlands
24th April – Bush Hall, London, UK
25th April – Bush Hall, London, UK
26th April – St George’s, Bristol, UK
27th April – City Varieties, Leeds, UK
29th April – Jam House, Edinburgh, UK
30th April – Glee Club, Birmingham, UK
Devin recently announced that he had signed a brand new contract with InsideOutMusic on the eve of their 20 year anniversary of working together, for the release of new albums including the forthcoming ‘Empath’ in 2019.
Devin comments: “In an Industry that is tenuous at best, we need to make alliances. In opposition to the old ideas of ‘us against them’ when the discussions turn to art vs commerce, we need allies. I have been an independent artist for many years, and 20 of those years have been with INSIDE OUT MUSIC. When others were afraid to really put effort into packaging, product, and the actual recordings, due in large part to a dwindling industry, INSIDE OUT has championed my work since the turn of the century.
Because throughout it all, more than anything, I want the art and the music to be done correctly. I want to learn from my missteps and I want a group of business partners I can rely on to go to bat for unconventional music in ways I simply could not do on my own. I’m proud to say I’ve been with INSIDE OUT for many of those years that have defined me as an artist. It’s a pleasure to re-sign with them for my newest works. Thank you.”
In what has been a rare quiet year for Devin when it comes to touring, there has still been plenty of activity. On September 22nd, 2017, Devin Townsend Projectplayed 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 recently saw its release as ‘Ocean Machine – Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv’.
‘Ocean Machine – Live at the Ancient Roman Theatre Plovdiv’ is available as a limited deluxe 3CD/2DVD/Blu-Ray artbook (with liner notes from Devin and a special documentary on the second DVD & Blu-Ray), Special Edition 3CD/DVD Digipak, standalone Blu-Ray and as digital audio download. Order now here: https://devintownsendproject.lnk.to/OceanMachineLive
“epic, swelling bombast worthy of the old stone” – Metal Hammer “a bold document from an incredibly ambitious artist.” – Prog Magazine “an incredible evening of music performed with precision and passion and captured for all of us in a nearly perfect fashion.” – Metal Wani
Devin’s varied back catalogue is also being celebrated with lavish vinyl box-sets under the name of ERAS. Having already released parts 1 and 2 earlier this year, December 7th will see the release of part 3, which features some of his most recent work with Devin Townsend Project, including the albums ‘Accelerated Evolution’, ‘Epicloud’, ‘Sky Blue’, ‘Transcendence’ & the first ever vinyl release of the second part of the DTP’s now legendary Royal Albert Hall show. Pre-order your copy of this deluxe 10 LP box-set here: https://devintownsendproject.lnk.to/ErasIII
Roine Stolt, known as the guitarist, singer, writer and at times band leader of the groups The Flower Kings, Transatlantic, Agents of Mercy, Kaipa DC, as well as from his work with prog icon Jon Anderson and the new super-group The Sea Within, is releasing a new album on November 23rd, 2018. Under the moniker ROINE STOLT’S THE FLOWER KING, ’Manifesto Of An Alchemist’ offers 10 songs and almost 70 minutes of playing time celebrating the style Roine is most revered for: progressive rock, richly orchestrated with all the trademark elements from four decades of the genre.
Watch Stolt discuss how the album together in this brand new interview video here:
A lyric video for the track ‘Lost America’ was released recently. Watch it now here: https://youtu.be/y919myxnMAc
Roine comments: “Lost America is one of the longer tracks on my new album – it goes through a series of melodic themes and riffs – most of them familiar in style from the vast Flower Kings catalogue of course. The song, and much of the album, is interesting in the way it has fragments drawn from different periods of the last 25 years – song ideas that were never fully developed or utilized – even if parts may have been already on the table for both The Flower Kings and Transatlantic. This particular song is kind of two songs – the first a melodic prog jigsaw – while the latter is a more straight riff-based tune – I do the lead vocal but both my brother Michael and Hammond dude Max Lorentz do quite a bit of backing me up with hairy vocals – Marco Minnemann on drums and Jonas Reingold on bass.
The lyrics are kind of touching upon the idea that we’ve lost our souls to the golden calf again. Profit, pride and profanity rule over soul, serenity and the sacred. Despite the song title, this is NOT a dig at the American people or culture, but rather a general global observation. We are all at risk.”
‘Manifesto Of An Alchemist’ is a celebration of all the styles that have been part of the colourful, daring and dynamic songwriting and arrangements that Roine masters like no other, yet also offers a more immediate, more hands on approach. “Like that first TFK album, I’m the main lead vocalist here again – it works as these lyrics are important to me and resonate with my view of the world. A lot of the guitar work is actually my spontaneous ‘demo’ guitars” and that goes for much of the synth work, too. I didn’t want to ‘process’ ideas too much as there is much power in the initial creation – I wanted to keep it that way.”
The album features a host of other musicians, including long-time collaborators Jones Reingold, Hans Froberg & Michael Stolt, as well as fellow The Sea Within member Marco Minnemann, Max Lorentz, Zach Kamins, Rob Townsend & Nad Sylvan.
‘Manifesto Of An Alchemist’ features stunning artwork from Shaun Beyond (https://www.instagram.com/shaunbeyond/), and will arrive as a limited edition CD digipak, Gatefold 180g 2LP + CD & as digital download.
As previously announced, Roine will take The Flower Kings catalogue on tour later this year, as well as playing tracks from this new album. He comments: “I am excited that the album will be released in November this year and at the same time will be in South America playing The Flower Kings music with a band that also includes Hasse Froberg & Jonas Reingold and also introduces two younger friends; Zach Kamins on keyboards and Mirko DiMaio on drums – both fabulous musicians. We will also bring this to Europe where we join forces with legends Spock’s Beard.”
South America 2018
16th November – Carioca Club, Sao Paolo, Brazil
18th November – El Teatrito, Buenos Aires, Argentina
19th November – Teatro Nescafe, Santiago, Chile
21st November – Teatro Del Patronato Peruano Chino, Lima, Peru
23rd November – C3 Stage, Guadalajara, Mexico
24th November – Auditoria Blackberry, Mexico City, Mexico
InsideOutMusic 25th Anniversary European Tour feat. Spock’s Beard & Roine Stolt’s The Flower King
30th November – Cosmopolite, Oslo, Norway
1st December – Kulturhuset Studion, Stockholm, Sweden
2nd December – KB, Malmo, Sweden
4th December – Zeche, Bochum, Germany
5th December – Z7, Pratteln, Switzerland
6th December – La Machine, Paris, France
7th December – De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
8th December – Hedon, Zwolle, Netherlands
9th December – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK
10th December – Academy Club, Manchester, UK
CANADA – North America 2019
28th February – Club Soda, Montreal, Canada
1st March – Salle Jean – Paul Tardif, Quebec City, Canada
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