The Hirsch Effekt to release socially distanced concept EP Solitaer this summer

Hirsch Effekt portrait in black and white — (Image credit: Christoph Eisenmenger)

German progressive metal trio The Hirsch Effekt are to release their socially distanced concept EP, Solitaer, on August 26 via Long Branch Records

The four-track, which includes their math metal single Nares, takes the idea of social distancing during the pandemic and turns it into an art form. Each band member has written one track completely on their own and there's also a full band version of Gregaer, originally released on last year's orchestral EP of the same name, to wrap things up.

The EP will be released as a limited edition, numbered black vinyl as well as coloured vinyl, CD and digital download. All formats are available to pre-order.

The Hirsch Effekt will be showcasing the new material on the UK festival circuit this summer. They'll be playing at UK Tech-Fest in Newark-on-Trent (June 30-July 04) and Bristol's ArcTanGent on August 20.

Check out the video for Nares below.

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.