Latest articles by David West
”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
The return of Liquid Tension Experiment
After Mike Portnoy left Dream Theater few people thought they'd see prog supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment again. But in 2021 that's exactly what happened!
“They’ve created a musical realm of their own”: Why the prog world loves Tool
From BTBAM to Iamthemorning, prog musicians tell us what they love about Tool
The story behind Tool’s Lateralus: "A real moment of experiment and risk”
Tool bassist Justin Chancellor looks back on the making of the band's 2001 release Lateralus: the album that proved progressive music could resonate with the public.
The story of Tim Bowness' Lost In The Ghost Light
Tim Bowness examines the changing nature of the music industry and popular culture through his fictional rock star who has fallen from grace
Transatlantic and The Absolute Universe
The Absolute Universe was Transatlantic's first studio album for seven years. And it might also be their last. This is the story...
Devin Townsend - Lightwork: "Glorious!"
Not yet ratedCanadian maverick swaps heavy riffs for synths and strings
Mostly Autumn: the emotional story behind Graveyard Star
Mostly Autumn's Bryan Josh and Olivia Sparnenn-Josh reveal how the emotional and personal challenges of the pandemic led to the creation of their 2021 album, Graveyard Star
Queensryche - Digital Noise Alliance: "They remain in rude health"
Not yet ratedSweet 16 for prog metal pioneers.
In Bloom: the making of Rachel Flowers' Bigger On The Inside
Prog sat down with multi-instrumentalist Rachel Flowers to talk about her fourth solo album Bigger On The Inside
Watch Pink Floyd calmly carry themselves through this spiky interview with a snooty classical music critic
“Why has it got to be so loud?"
Andrew Wild - Pink Floyd Song By Song book review
Not yet ratedA trainspotter's guide to Pink Floyd
The making of Neal Morse's Sola Gratia
“I wouldn’t say it was comfortable," says Neal Morse of having to create his 11th solo album under lockdown...
Watch a group of young kids totally own Dream Theater's Pull Me Under
The O’Keefe Music Foundation is training the rock stars of the future - as this brilliant video proves!
Revisiting the car-crash moment Yes inadvertently performed as a power trio on live TV
It also featured Bill Bruford and Steve Howe taking part in an excruciating interview
