Latest articles by David West
"All of the prog-related material goes to Gungfly. Gungfly is changing."How Rikard Sjöblom resurrected Gungfly with On Her Journey Round The Sun
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.
Oliver Wakeman’s Anam Cara: Admirable but flawed attempt to do something new
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
Legendary producer, engineer and musician Alan Parosn tells the story of his fifth solo album The Secret
Trifecta control the fusion in The New Normal
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
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
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
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
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 final album Vier
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
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
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
15 classic cuts from the keyboard genius’ career, as loved by the good and the great of prog rock and beyond
“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
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
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
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
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
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
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…
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
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.
"Legends Of The Shires sounded like a great British prog album to me, and that’s what we wanted to make.” Threshold on double concept albums and reuniting with former singers
Threshold unveiled their returning vocalist GlynnMorgan for 2017's double concept album Legends Of The Shires. Here they tell the album's story
"Purists who hate anything invented after the Mellotron might not like it. But if prog is to have a future beyond legacy acts, it needs fresh ideas": Voyager's Fearless In Love is the most energised music of their career
Voyager's Fearless In Love: They may not have won Eurovision, but the Australian keytar kings (and queen) have delivered the feelgood sound of the summer
11 brilliant albums that aren’t on Spotify
The classic studio albums by Black Sabbath, Neil Young, AC/DC, Judas Priest and more that aren’t on the world’s biggest streaming service
