Prog Features

Embrace Biffy Clyro’s Infinity Land as a prog album

By Emma Johnston published 10 February 26

The trio’s 2004 release is driven by a bullish, bloody-minded determination to challenge the listener

How to beat fate by scrapping an album, relating to a suicidal pilot and feeling for flat Earthers

By Johnny Sharp published 9 February 26

Norwegian artist makes music for commercials and knows how to hook someone in 30 seconds. That’s why he doesn’t want his band’s songs to be catchy

“I didn’t realise just how prog Genesis were”: When Rivers Meet’s Aaron Bond came late to the prog party

By Julian Marszalek published 8 February 26

Blues guitarist discusses his passion for Phil Collins and co’s latterday work

Jordan Rudess would have been a classical pianist if he hadn’t discovered this prog icon

By Grant Moon published 7 February 26

Dream Theater genius’ musical world includes Steven Wilson, Van der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant, Leprous, Rick Rubin and Neil Young

Great new prog you must hear from Green Carnation, Magenta, Exploring Birdsong, A.A. Williams and more in Prog's Tracks Of The Week

By Jerry Ewing published 6 February 26

Cool new proggy sounds from Chris Braide & Dean Johnson, HeKz, EchoVerse and more in this week's Tracks Of The Week

If Death is a rabbit and you're on TV as a Womble, you’re probably Mike Batt

By Jo Kendall published 6 February 26

He recalls the chain reaction from the advert that got Elton John signed through missing a Family credit, a fluke Top Of The Pops slot, working with Steeleye Span and Art Garfunkel, to temporarily joining Hawkwind

When Queen pressganged Steve Howe into appearing on Innuendo

By Dave Everley published 4 February 26

Yes guitarist was minding his own business in Switzerland, then found himself in a studio being handed a guitar and told to record for 1991 hit single

“The email said, ‘John is looking for you.’ I thought I was in trouble!” How John Cale voiced a song for Cate Le Bon

By Julian Marszalek published 4 February 26

Michelangelo Dying, which she says is more of an exorcism than an album, was nearly released without Cale performing on the track Ride, because she was too afraid to ask him

“The lyrics were for people on the fringes”: A song that inspired the man who killed John Lennon

By Paul Lester published 4 February 26

1974 album was a deliberate change of approach from a pop-tinged artist known for taking left turns. No one could have predicted how one listener would take it

Steve Morse endured school woes, dodgy gear and jazz snobbery, but knew he could make it as a guitarist

By Nick Shilton published 3 February 26

The ex Deep Purple member recalls how he got started in music, and beginning to write Kansas-style songs – long before he accidentally joined them

Think Men Without Hats were all new wave and no prog? Think again

By Jerry Ewing published 2 February 26

The classically-trained Canadians were wearing their influences with pride by fifth album Sideways. And they were making a concept album about UFOs when their label dropped them

Peter Gabriel’s exit could have finished Genesis. Instead Phil Collins stepped up

By Mark Blake published 2 February 26

The quartet attempted to continue as an instrumental group, then sorted through hundreds of audition tapes, before realising they already had their new vocalist

“I wrote it on a piece of paper and thought, ‘That’s an album!’” How Ian Anderson creates Jethro Tull lyrics

By Johnny Sharp published 1 February 26

He recalled the spark that ignited Thick As A Brick when he decided to publish a lyric book – which he admitted nobody needed, and feared would be a cringe experience

Tears For Fears sneaked prog into a run of hit singles in 1984 and 85. So why weren’t they at Live Aid?

By Paul Lester published 1 February 26

As they tried to outdo Trevor Horn, with influences including Genesis and Yes, their second album hit No.1 in the US and No.2 in the UK. But they didn’t contribute to Bob Geldof’s world-changing charity extravaganza

Cool new proggy sounds from Arcane Roots, Karnivool, Crippled Black Phoenix and more in Prog's new Tracks Of The Week

By Jerry Ewing published 30 January 26

Great new prog you must hear from Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns, plantoid, Maebe and more in this week's Tracks Of The Week

“Ghosts, rustling, scraping at the window… happening every full moon”: The creepy tale of Camel’s Moonmadness

By Dom Lawson published 30 January 26

Charged with matching The Snow Goose’s surprise success, Andy Latimer’s band wrote a record about themselves – disguising their vocals because they’d been told they couldn’t sing

“He wrote, ‘Eat more shit – 100,000 flies can’t be wrong”: German prog icon ignored haters to scale the charts

By Rob Hughes published 29 January 26

Accused of being a European “knob-turner,” he faced the music establishment’s rejection attitude with a lesson learned from Salvador Dali, and defied expectations by scaling the charts

Steven Wilson tried to forget his shamelessly commercial song, but met it again in a strip club

By Dave Everley published 28 January 26

The band leader learned a valuable lesson about himself after an attempt to do his record label’s bidding

Ian Anderson on Jethro Tull, the right kind of guitarist, and forgetting what he's done

By James McNair published 28 January 26

Ian Anderson talks about Jethro Tull’s latest album Curious Ruminant and ponders the itch to make another