David West

Surrounded by genre-breakers from an early age, the Mahivshnu Orchestra mastermind learned quickly about ignoring critics – but never stops reminding himself of his own incapabilities and ignorance

He planned three records based on his space traveller concept, but wound up making six. Strangely, he still thinks of it as a trilogy

While the band asked their audience, ‘Who are you?’ via their fifth album, they were also asking themselves, ‘Who are we?’ And they admitted doing it in a geeky fashion

When their second album arrived alongside Star Wars in 1977, the dream-come-true coincidence changed their career path

The story of the Norwegian prog metallers’ 2023 album Heimdal includes a mysterious Norse god, a line from Blackadder Goes Forth, cross-country skiing and childhood pop influences

It may sound risky to put Dani Filth, Chad Smith, Marko Hietala on a record that explores tango, flamenco and Japanese folk – but she’s very happy with the very heavy results

15 classic cuts from the keyboard genius’ career, as loved by the good and the great of prog rock and beyond

M Shadows explains how, after rejecting pressure to be the next Metallica, they embraced their prog tendencies more than ever before on their most recent album to date

Fool’s Overture, from 1977’s Even In The Quietest Moments, came together after a few years of stewing. It still takes its writer on a journey when he hears it

Ghosts In The Park contains songs he’d never take to The Pineapple Thief, or talk about in coffee shops. He explains how he found the collection of stories in hotel rooms

They collaborated on Bowness’ 2017 album Lost In The Ghost Light, but his appreciation for the rock flute icon goes back to Tull’s early trilogies

Second solo album Vox Occulta sees him enjoying melancholy, finding better ways of using an orchestra, fighting through the flu and aiming to look like a mafioso, rather than James Bond

His fourth solo album Ghosts In The Park explores emotions that followed the loss of both his parents

Norwegian proggers (with an Icelandic singer) Magic Pie dialled up the heavy rock quota on 2025's Maestro, their first new album for six years

He wants to use a large band to tour his boredom-beating second album – and thinks he’s come up with a way to keep it in budget this time

Mari Kawaguchi remembers hearing his best-ever performance of Tarkus in a Japanese dive bar, where the critics couldn’t hurt him

American quintet are more inspired by Billy Joel than Jethro Tull – except their keyboardist – practice a non-virtuoso style of prog, and limit themselves to one 19-minute song per decade

Guitarist reveals what he learned from one of his band’s opening acts, names a guitarist who’s a “real yardstick” of brilliance – and touches on what he misses about being in Ian Anderson’s band

Their musical partnership finally ended after 43 years – but the guitarist says he wanted to break it up decades earlier

His world changed when he realised that playing in bands meant he’d never have to dance

Marillion's Steve Hogarth discusses embracing artistic tension, avoiding the well-trodden path, escaping his narcissism, and what really went wrong with the record industry

The Anchoress, Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel, Auri’s Johanna Kurkela, The Blackheart Orchestra’s Chrissy Mostyn and Exploring Birdsong’s Lynsey Ward celebrate the 1985 album’s enduring magic and influence

Does the only album with four entries suggest there’s a definitive record from the neo-prog giants? Does the split between the Fish and Steve Hogarth eras reveal a preferred vocalist?