Articles by David West

After starting his writing career covering the unforgiving world of MMA, David moved into music journalism at Rhythm magazine, interviewing legends of the drum kit including Ginger Baker and Neil Peart. A regular contributor to Prog, he’s written for Metal Hammer, The Blues, Country Music Magazine and more. The author of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction To The Martial Arts Film, David shares his thoughts on kung fu movies in essays and videos for 88 Films, Arrow Films, and Eureka Entertainment. He firmly believes Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In The Years is the tuniest tune ever tuned.

Articles by: David West

“I remember dissecting YYZ and learning all his different techniques… I use that stuff all the time with Dream Theater”: John Petrucci wouldn’t be John Petrucci without Rush’s Alex Lifeson

By David West published 27 August 24

Future prog metal master discovered his Canadian counterpart at just the right time in his life – and he soon had friends including John Myung joining in

I thought they’d drop us… the daft stuff made the label think it was viable”: Trifecta’s new album features Alex Lifeson, didgeridoo and Zappa nods – but Nick Beggs insists he’s no prog musician

By David West published 30 July 24

The New Normal is the surprise second helping from Steven Wilson bandmates Beggs, Holzman and Blundell. Among the silliness there’s also deep love and sincere cynicism

“When the mood took them, the prog legends of the 70s could write simple but catchy music with aplomb”: The 40 greatest Yes songs ever

By Jerry Ewing, Grant Moon, Chris Roberts, Johnny Sharp, David West published 25 July 24

When 50,000 Prog magazine readers voted on the band’s catalogue, the resulting chart contained a few surprises

“Nobody was more surprised than I was when we started doing it, and today it’s my main activity”: Perfect but unplanned timing sent the Alan Parsons Project touring galaxies far, far away with I Robot

By David West published 8 July 24

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

“It may not possess the distorted riffs of their earlier work, but the sense of drama and dynamics remains intact”: Maybeshewill’s remix of Fair Youth is bright and articulate

By David West published 22 May 24

Their fourth album returns, wrapped in bassist Jamie Ward’s ambition to make the music hit harder – although that’s not what the music itself suggests

"All of the prog-related material goes to Gungfly. Gungfly is changing."How Rikard Sjöblom resurrected Gungfly with On Her Journey Round The Sun

By David West published 18 May 24

Beardfish may have departed this mortal coil as a band, but their former frontman is setting forth on a new musical voyage with his rebranded, ever-evolving Rikard Sjöblom’s Gungfly, heading straight for the heart of the solar system.

“Instead of conjuring the spirit of good craic, the pervading mood is overwhelmingly maudlin”: Oliver Wakeman’s Anam Cara is an admirable attempt to do something new

By David West published 16 May 24

Power ballads overburden a collection of Celtic-infused songs, although there’s no faulting the performances

“Concept albums are considered old hat these days, but I made a career out of it and I don’t see why I should stop now.” Alan Parsons and The Secret

By David West published 26 April 24

Legendary producer, engineer and musician Alan Parosn tells the story of his fifth solo album The Secret

“The humorous interludes may prove divisive; it’s strongest when they dig hard into a groove”: Trifecta control the fusion in The New Normal

By David West published 16 April 24

Steven Wilson band veterans Nick Beggs, Adam Holzman and Craig Blundell build on their 2021 debut

“It might be downbeat, but emotions run strong in its slowly churning depths”: Fates Warning offshoot North Sea Echoes’ Really Good Terrible Things

By David West published 10 March 24

It’s no busman’s holiday for Ray Alder and Jim Matheos, who pursue gloomier themes than fans are used to on their debut release

“I watched a video of them in a small room and my mouth just dropped. Listen to the fluidly, how easily these guys play this: seamless, and that’s impressive”: why Dave Lombardo loves The Fall of Troy

By David West published 16 February 24

Ex Slayer rhythm master was blown away when he discovered the trio’s ability to record live, avoid too much computer contribution and inject emotion into their music

“We’ll die because the sun will burn out, or there will be no drinking water, and we’ll ask AI to help… it will only be another tool”: In Mariusz Duda’s own Marvel Universe, his album AFR AI D is about taming nightmares

By David West published 8 February 24

Riverside and Lunatic Soul mastermind on his investigations of emerging technology, the early demos he’s kept but no one wants to hear, and selfishly releasing music that wouldn’t last the test of time

“There’s bravery in their willingness to express deep, often dark emotions. The subject matter may be confounding for some… but they sound completely assured of their direction”: Caligula’s Horse return with Charcoal Grace

By David West published 26 January 24

It’s a sombre, reflective counterpoint to 2021’s Rise Radiant, which hopefully offers the band some catharsis

"For me, the challenge in doing this long-form concept is for people to not tune out." How Perfect Beings made their fnal album Vier

By David West published 18 January 24

US prog rockers Perfect Beings created an epic conceptual affair for their third album, Vier. Sadly, it owuld prove to be the band's final offering

“He never set out to please or comfort, so we often end up with his brilliant musical mind at its best… For that, we can forgive the physical abuse of a few Hammond L-100s”: King Crimson, Marillion, Tangent members and more pay tribute to Keith Emerson

By David West published 10 January 24

15 more examples of his best work, as described by Jakko Jakszyk, Mark Kelly, Andy Tillison, Jem Godfrey, Arjen Lucassen and musicians who worked with the late keyboard genius

“It’s not until I’ve finished a record that I think, ‘Oh my God, I have to go out onstage in front of all these relative strangers, singing my heart out about all these personal, private things”: Bruce Soord’s struggle to deliver Luminescence

By David West published 29 December 23

Bruce Soord’s third solo album was 18 months in the making - then his son told him something that meant he had to go round again

“For all his showmanship, he was first and foremost a composer and musician, making music for the head and the heart”: Rick Wakeman, Ian Anderson, Geoff Downes and others pay homage to Keith Emerson

By David West published 28 December 23

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

A portrait of Michael Astley Brown holding a guitar on a purple background

“I want it to be a celebration of instrumental guitar in all its forms”: Meet Maebe, the British guitarist mashing up prog genres to build his ultimate wall of sound

By David West published 22 December 23

Combining post-rock soundscapes, wonky math-rock riffs and melodic shred, Maebe’s Michael Astley-Brown is blazing a new instrumental trail

“I don’t even know where you’d put us. I guess ‘American symphonic art-prog-pop’?” The sound of Pattern-Seeking Animals

By David West published 18 November 23

With their third studio album Only Passing Through, Pattern-Seeking Animals' John Boegehold finally feels the band are escapong the 'Spock's Beard spin-off' tag and estabishing their real identity

”It could have made for a disconcerting experience, but her ethereal vocal presence binds it all together”: Myrkur’s Spine

By David West published 10 November 23

Blend of genres results in a morbidly compelling work that can’t be contained by the ‘Viking’ tag

“A lot of the things we see within our genre are all setting and no story… we’re more like Star Trek – all story and no real setting. I’ve just outed myself as a proper geek!” TesseracT on pushing technological and musical boundaries

By David West published 10 November 23

Daniel Tompkins and Amos Williams explain the ambition that drove latest album War Of Being

“A remarkable legacy that’s celebrated in this impressive collection, warts and all”: Keith Emerson’s Variations

By David West published 13 October 23

20-CD set offers deep dive into late maestro’s career, focusing mainly on his solo work

“There was an interruption to a news broadcast with the voice of this alien… I thought, ‘What if it were real?’” I Am The Manic Whale bring an old storybook to life

By David West published 6 October 23

A ghost train, aliens, Captain Nemo’s famous submarine and much more besides inhabit Bumper Book Of Mystery Stories

“It was either this or nothing - when you get to that point, there’s no fear to have”: Avenged Sevenfold needed to make divisive album Life Is But A Dream…

By David West published 5 October 23

M Shadows explains why they pushed themselves even further out of their comfort zone, even if fans weren’t going to like it

“The best prog albums are the ones that take a long time to get into." How Gazpacho made Fireworker

By David West published 18 September 23

Gazpacho's eleventh studio album, 2020's Fireworker, was yet another intriguing conceptual affair exploring the idea that there’s something within human beings that steers our behaviour without our control or consent.

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David West

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