Louder AAA
Latest Features on Prog
Mikael Åkerfleldt still doesn’t know what Storm Corrosion is about, and won’t ask Steven Wilson
When the Porcupine Tree and Opeth leaders got together in 2012, they were prepared to defy fans. And Åkerfleldt only wanted one thing out of the collaboration: a copy of their record
“They each rented castles within sight and waged magic war on one another”: A real-life prog version of The Two Towers
Did band leader Christian Vander really manifest serious chest wounds upon his bandmate? Does he really believe we must leave Earth to survive? Does he mind other bands joining the genre he created?
“He cannot do that – it’s criminal!”: Orchestral players were horrified by Keith Emerson
Terje Mikkelsen was once told to avoid the ELP icon’s material. He ignored that advice, and went on to collaborate with Emerson himself
“I used Steven Wilson’s Mellotron in exchange for me guesting at his show!” Soft Machine’s efforts to make Thirteen
Theo Travis on tempting fate, revisiting a tradition, being the best-tempered line-up since the beginning in 1966, and adding a posthumous appearance by co-founder Daevid Allen
Rick Wakeman’s sales award for Journey To The Centre Of The Earth came with a warning
The keyboard wizard recalls accepting a presentation disc from the suit who’d made his 1974 project difficult – and the advice from David Bowie that had kept him fighting for it
Radiohead’s Philip Selway put his solo ambitions on hold for 20 years to focus on the band. Does he regret it?
The drummer decided to focus on his “day job” band in 1991, and finally released his first solo album in 2010 – after finding influence in King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Can and other prog giants
Pop icon’s label wanted a pop solo album. He gave them a prog record. They suppressed it for three years
Maybe the fact that King Crimson’s Robert Fripp had been hired to produce and play on the 1977 project was enough to scare the suits
The global hit inspired by LEGO and Simon & Garfunkel that soundtracked a Martian invasion
A decade in the making, the classic ballad featuring Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward was a standout on Jeff Wayne’s epic prog sci-fi album The War Of The Worlds
Colin Blunstone on The Zombies and looking after his "just plain sexy" voice
It’s that time of the season - Zombies singer Colin Blunstone is touring the UK this month
The roots of the “barbarians with electronics” accused of stealing Paul McCartney’s bass
Dave Brock’s band didn’t steal the Beatle’s instrument – but in their early days they were involved in a wide range of nefarious incidents some distance from the world of “peace and love”
Why you shouldn’t ask Tony Banks about Genesis’ live album Seconds Out
Why did he miss out an entire piano solo? Why did Steve Hackett leave during mixing sessions? Did the band sound better on stage than in the studio? Did early fans stop liking them because they became popular? The keyboard master speaks out
“Time is short. I have things I need to make before I die”: The darkness that led Ulver to Neverland
Norwegian chameleon rejected the nation’s controversial black metal scene, then rejected his record label, and recently rejected synthpop. Now he’s rejected the tragedy of the band’s past – and partying too – to embrace freedom instead
Keith Emerson’s manager wanted to ditch plans for a flying piano. Emerson proved him wrong
Backstage boss Stewart Young took one look at the prototype in 1974 and decided to walk away – but the keyboard maestro wouldn’t have it
What happened when Be-Bop Deluxe founder Bill Nelson formed an improv trio with Soft Machine and Gong members
The prog polymath felt Orchestra Futura’s performances should be left as one-off experiences. But Theo Travis and Dave Sturt persuaded him to release Live At Nelsonica & Clothworkers Hall
Marillion’s Steve Hogarth started to write songs that made him cry. He can’t stop now
The singer names the track where he and his colleagues matched perfectly – even though it hurt to create it
“It’s 5 days since they released new music – was starting to think we’d never hear from them again”: King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard’s 24 albums in 11 years? It’s like taking out the trash
Stu Mackenzie, leader of the Australian sextet behind a total of 27 studio records to date, finds the fun in a massive back-catalogue, and lives by the advice his mother-in-law gave him
“I was just crap. I couldn’t pull it off”: It Bites ex Francis Dunnery on abandoning Asia after one show
Robert Plant and Santana collaborator reveals complaints about his recent DVDs, the possibility of revisiting his 80s heyday, and why it was time to explore his difficult childhood on new album England’s Tales Of The Council House Kid
Great new proggy sounds you need to hear from Crown Lands, A.A. Williams, Devin Townsend, Tarja and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
Top new prog from VMBRA, Kristoffer Gildenlöw, Lost In Kyiv and more in all new Tracks Of The Week
“Even when I got pretty good fees, I lost money on everything. I was thinking so idealistically”: Leprous’ Einar Solberg releases Vox Occulta, with hard lessons learned from the past
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
