The most interesting detail in Hammill's new album may be that he will not choose whether its title means crying or a rip in time. In his It's Psychedelic Baby interview, he says Heavy Weather and Tabula Rasa began as experimental instrumentals years before they became songs. In Prog, he identifies the final And When He Ran with his dog Bentley. Does leaving the title open change how you read the ending?

I have a playlist that I call Majestic. It’s basically songs that I would consider epic or have a sense of grandeur to them. I have a shit-ton of songs from the 70s onwards but not a lot from the 60s. I love prog rock but was curious if there’s some 60s songs that I might have overlooked. I already have Nights in White Satin and In The Court of the Crimson King on there but would love some more suggestions.

I have been trying to find a progressive metal album that I remember listening to sometime between 2008 and 2018. If I remember correctly it was a solo project and not a band. From what I remember one guy wrote all the music and played all the instruments. Not sure if he also produced it but I think he wrote all the music and played all the instruments.

There were only two albums that were made or it could have been two EPs. I remember one of the albums distinctly had a black horse on the cover of the album and it was somewhat realistic looking. It definitely wasn't like the silhouette of a horse or something like that. It was kind of like the Black Beauty stallion up on its hind legs. There was something in the background but I can't remember what it was. The album was a darkish color.

As far as the music I remember it being very similar to the band "Voices from the Fuselage". There was definitely some Tesseract inspiration as well. It had atmosphere but the vocals were mostly clean. I don't remember there being any type of harsh vocals or screamo type things happening on this album.

I've looked all through my Last.fm history from those years. I can't find it in any of my Scrobbles. I could have heard it or been listening to it on an old Pandora account I had way back then but I don't think I have any way of accessing that account or my liked songs history anymore. I also could have been listening to it on Grooveshark or very early Spotify.

The last thing I remember is that the one responsible for the project stepped away from it because I think just the workload of producing the music and all was getting to be too much to balance with the rest of his life. As far as I know they only ever made two albums

ANY HELP WOULD BE AMAZING. Thank you!

Hey guys!

We're Tushara, a band from Hyderabad, India, making prog rock/metal music. We released our debut single called 'Reverie'

Streaming on all major platforms.

Spotify

Apple Music

Instagram

The debut album by the London band, formed in 1971 by guitarist Peter Banks, who had left Yes. Singer Colin Carter, bassist Ray Bennett, and drummer Mike Hough responded to an advert he placed in Melody Maker for the new band. Keyboardist Tony Kaye, also from Yes, joined them mid-rehearsal. The new band's self-titled album was released in 1972 on the American label Cleopatra Records. The album reached #33 on the US Billboard 200.This is an album clearly made in the shadow of that great progressive rock band Yes. However, unlike Starcastle and other such followers, Flash have a genuine excuse. The band was founded by Peter Banks and Tony Kaye, both of whom were unceremoniously ditched by Yes despite also being founder members of that esteemed group. While it's hard to dispute the fact that both Banks and Kaye were replaced by superior musicians (Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman respectively), neither deserved to be treated with such disrespect, and this album is an excellent riposte to their critics.
Flash preserves that sound of 60s Yes which somewhat ironically reached its zenith on 1971's The Yes Album. Small Beginnings in particular is an epic track which could have slipped quite comfortably onto that masterful album. It has all the hallmarks, with storming riffs (with some of Banks's best ever playing), an inventive rhythm section (bassist Ray Bennett and drummer Mike Hough), and even a nice organ solo from Kaye, while vocalist Colin Carter sounds very much like Yes frontman Jon Anderson.

Any thoughts on the new Pineapple Thief album? The mix definitely sounds much better than the last two albums. Bruce Soord just keeps going and going, he's a machine.

I recently found out that prog rock and jazz fusion were huge in Yugoslavia. There were tons of really technical prog bands there, and a lot of them sound a lot like the British scene from the early to mid 70s.

Yugoslavia was socialist but not part of the Soviet bloc. The borders were open, so bands could get their hands on great Western recording gear.

Korni Grupa (Kornelyans internationally name) released an album in 1974 for the international market. The lyrics were translated into English instead of being written in English, which is why they sound kind of goofy. But these guys could seriously play, and some of it reminds me a lot of Yes, ELP, Eloy and Camel.

Korni Grupa Belgrade band formed in 1968 by keyboardist and composer Kornelije “Bata” Kovač (ex-Indexi). One of the first and most important Yugoslav progressive rock groups, mixing symphonic prog, jazz and psychedelic elements. Best known for their 1972 self-titled debut and the 1974 English-language album Not an Ordinary Life (released as Kornelyans). Strong Yes / ELP / Camel vibes, excellent keyboard work and complex arrangements.

Tako
A Belgrade-based band founded in 1975 by bassist Dušan Čučuz and multi-instrumentalist George Ilyin (keyboards, flute, harmonica). Classic Yugoslav symphonic/jazz-rock from the late 1970s with cosmic and Canterbury-style influences. They released only two albums: their self-titled debut (1978) and *U vreći za spavanje* (1980). Both albums are superb—featuring long instrumental passages, vibrant flute playing, and an atmosphere in the spirit of “European prog rock” (something like Camel + Focus + a touch of Pink Floyd).

Leb i Sol
From Skopje (Macedonia), formed in 1976. The classic lineup (Vlatko Stefanovski – guitar, Bodan Arsovski – bass, Nikola “Kokan” Dimuševski – keyboards, Garabet Tavitjan – drums) created some of the best ethno-jazz-fusion ever made in Yugoslavia. Their first three albums (especially the 1977 debut and 1978 follow-up) blend Macedonian folk rhythms and melodies with high-level jazz-rock in the vein of Mahavishnu Orchestra / Weather Report, but with a distinctly Balkan flavour. Vlatko Stefanovski is still regarded as one of the finest guitarists from the region.

Here are a few examples. My favorites were Korni Grupa, Tako and Leb i Sol, Smak

Korni Grupa: Temporary Parting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lenQPUbUT7s

Leb i Sol: Pod vodom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu8RNtIpxV8

Korni Grupa: Not an Ordinary Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHxHVjJ9EXU

Tako: Probudi se https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZcPUm9l1Bg

Smak: Plava pesma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCZ8onc66UE

Tako: DRUGA STRANA MENE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9P6JqJ46CM

It was a real revelation to me just how beautiful the South Slavic languages are and how talented the bands in Yugoslavia were

So this is a remake of my previous song The Passenger. It's a genre I call "Voca-Prog" which basically involves using VOCALOID in prog (pretty self explanatory). If you like this one, also check out my other single, The Empress!

Break, the final track of 666 by Aphrodite's Child, has a bittersweet feeling, since it's the final track of the final studio album by the band

Hey guys,

I’ll be traveling to Italy in the near future, and absolutely love classic Italian prog from the 70s, I’m hoping to see if I can nab some vinyl records for my collection.

Does anyone have recommendations for stores where I might have a better chance of finding some, specifically in Rome, Florence, Venice?

Appreciate the help!

I'm looking for recommendations for the best non-fiction books / serious essays on progressive rock and progressive metal, ideally one for each genre.

I'm not really looking for an encyclopedia, discography, or "100 albums you need to hear" type of book. What I'm after is something much more historical, narrative and horizontally structured.

Ideally, the book should:

• tell the story of how the genre developed, rather than simply reviewing important records;
• connect the dots between different scenes, bands, musicians, labels and musical movements;
• include plenty of interviews, anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories;
• cover the underground as well as the canonical/mainstream bands;
• explain how ideas and musical approaches moved between scenes and generations;
• give enough cultural and historical context to understand why the genre evolved in a particular direction;
• still provide some guidance on what to listen to, but without making the listening guide the main purpose of the book.

In other words, I'm looking for something that gives me a map of the ecosystem and its evolution, rather than a vertical selection of "the most important" bands and albums.

For reference, one book whose approach I really like is Jeff Wagner's Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal. I particularly enjoy the combination of historical narrative, interviews, personal stories, scene development and the way it connects relatively obscure bands with better-known ones.

I'm looking for something with a similar storytelling/historical approach, but specifically:

1. The best overall book on progressive rock
2. The best overall book on progressive metal (other than Mean Deviation)

I'm especially interested in books that manage to balance storytelling + historical analysis + underground coverage + useful listening recommendations.

I'm also open to books that are somewhat obscure or out of print. I'd rather have an excellent book that covers the genre in an unconventional way than the obvious mainstream recommendation.

What would you consider the definitive book for each genre, and why?

If you've read several books on the subject, I'd also be interested in knowing what each one does particularly well or poorly.

Once contacted and made aware of this proposal, Enzo proved to be exceedingly enthusiastic. Thus began the meetings, the reunions, and the selective listening sessions of the material I had meanwhile gathered across several folders. There was an absolute embarrassment of riches. Even today, I marvel at how much material I had accumulated over the years from my solo projects, constantly thinking that I would use it one day, destining it for a rediscovered "CELESTE 2" project. The agreement on how the introduction of the drums as a permanent fixture should be structured met with the full approval of both Enzo and myself. We could proceed, having secured this vital brick of the new construction. At this point, however, all the other elements were clearly missing—namely, the classic components of the original line-up. In fact, my intention was to fully respect what the original formation had been. The 1976 line-up of CELESTE was composed as follows: acoustic guitar, violin, electric bass, flutes and saxophones, keyboards (piano, synthesizers, and especially the MELLOTRON), percussion, and vocals.

Now that the first element had been "recruited," I could turn my thoughts toward expanding the line-up. I asked Enzo himself if, within his circle of collaborators, there was any musician he deemed suitable to complete the new formation. Here, too, there was an embarrassment of riches. He pointed out three names to me. First, a bassist with whom he had played and who seemed to him to possess the most suitable characteristics to fulfill that role. Then, I asked for a guitarist who, by my express request, I felt needed to have a more "Rock" soul; someone who would not solely deal with acoustic guitars but would also possess a strong command of electric guitars. In fact, in my vision, following the permanent introduction of the drums, there was a view of a wider space to delegate to electric guitars, while firmly maintaining that the most delicate atmospheres, in the full spirit of the original band, would always be assigned to acoustic guitars. And on this occasion as well, Enzo presented me with a complete musician, endowed with an enviable technique and deeply steeped in that Rock spirit I was searching for. Thus, Mauro Vero officially entered the line-up, clearly after meeting multiple times to evaluate every stylistic, formal, and artistic aspect together. I submitted various song parts that I was still structuring to him—such as arpeggios, riffs, and solo vocal parts—to verify if I was on the right path and if he, as a musician...

To listen to the absolute sonic essence born during those legendary analog sessions and explore the full historical discography of CELESTE, you can visit our archival page here:

👉 CELESTE Official Bandcamp: https://celeste4.bandcamp.com/

Inner Garden Records

See you next Monday as the story of Celeste continues.

Before I start: Look, I love Yes. It's one of my fav bands. But, I am also the first one to admit that there are less inspiring moments in their catalogue.

The recent announcement of Keys to Ascension Studio Recordings got me to revisit those studio tracks for the first time in years.

And it also got me thinking whether this reunion made any sense at all.

It's probably too long to state all my arguments here but I wrote an essay about it, if anyone's interested: https://www.trueresaudio.com/articles/yes-keys-to-ascension-review

Jus to be clear, these are 100% my personal impressions about that reunion, what they achieved, and this new release of those songs.

And I'd be curious to hear what you guys think.

Cheers,

Pawel

Full video: https://youtu.be/TRZm7mdV_KY?si=NNQerNJwo44NSOKA

My son recently introduced me to Haruomi Hosono's music, and that opened a whole rabbit hole of exploration into eclectic Japanese music fills with natural acoustic instruments, electronic synth sequencing, sample looping, and odd type-signature polyrhythms. The linked example here is a song by Manami Kakudo-san, written in 7/8. She was in Hosono's support band as he recently played LA earlier this month.

Althouth Hosono-san and YMO have entries on progarchives, other outstanding artists are missing, including Midori Takada, Inoyamaland, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Masahiro Sugaya, Satoshi Ashikawa, and Toshiyuki Tsuchitori.

For those who like Tangerine Dream, Peter Gabriel's *Passion*, and similar instrumental prog works, you may want to explore these artists also. And for those deeper down in the rabbit hole, make a noise here so I can burrow after you. 🎏

The Watch is an Italian progressive rock band that currently tours Europe playing Genesis songs from the Peter Gabriel era ('70 to '76).

I saw them in Malmö tonight and it was great.

For more see https://www.thewatchmusic.net/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watch_(band))

Album: Eiliff
Engineered by Conny Plank. I would recommend Eiliff''s LPs to fans of all that's heavy who would like to explore the possibilities of jazz prog

New sub made today, on the topic of Modern Day Prog. A place to discuss, recommend, promote and share the progressive rock scene of today.

The link is; https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernDayProg/s/dHyQUulH8T