Prog Features
Latest Features on Prog

Nine Styx albums you should listen to and one to avoid
By Paul Elliott published
Selling 50 million-plus records over more than five decades, Styx are the kings of pomp rock

“His manager was angry. He cancelled the whole project”: Arjen Lucassen’s lost Bruce Dickinson album
By Rich Wilson published
Dutch composer’s collaborators include James LaBrie, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Floor Jansen and others. He did one song with Dickinson too – but it could have been so much more

Opeth gave their label two albums for the price of one, and it nearly cost them their career
By Dave Everley published
Beset by overwork, listless colleagues and a family tragedy, Mikael Åkerfeldt felt like splitting the Swedish group apart as they worked through 2002’s Deliverance to get to 2003’s Damnation

Big Big Train's Greg Spawton picks the soundtrack of his life
By Polly Glass published
Big Big Train co-founder Gregory Spawton picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance

“Professional pianists are the only ones who say, ‘I understand why he wanted to kill himself’” – Keith Emerson’s partner
By David West published
Mari Kawaguchi remembers hearing his best-ever performance of Tarkus in a Japanese dive bar, where the critics couldn’t hurt him

“I said, ‘For once, can we all get behind the concepts?’” How TesseracT made Sonder
By Alex Lynham published
Taking advantage of a steadied line-up, their 2018 release featured a new approach, plus sonic textures built from recordings sent in by supporters

“You realise the hard way that it sucks when your passion is your job”: How Periphery lost their way
By Phil Weller published
Misha Mansoor explains why people who think his band need advice have misunderstood their entire purpose

Hawkwind’s Magnus Martin isn’t actually a member of Hawkwind. He just never stopped turning up
By Joe Banks published
The guitarist has been a fixture in Dave Brock’s band for nearly a decade, but his history with the space rockers goes much further back. Now he’s released his debut solo album too

“Storm Thorgerson didn’t say the pig on the cover of Animals had been Roger Waters’ idea. Roger was very angry”: Why Pink Floyd didn’t go to their go-to artwork guys for The Wall, and what The Dark Side Of The Moon cover might have looked like
By Mark Blake published
Hipgnosis design house co-founder Aubrey Powell recalls the 70s from their first big success and the inflatable pig incident to destruction at the hands of a young punk artist

Cool new proggy sounds you need to hear from The Anchoress, Matt Berry, Magenta, Soen and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
By Jerry Ewing published
Ace new prog from Blueneck, Prince Of Failure, Million Moons and more in all new Tracks Of The Week

“I said, ‘Let’s fill the pool in. We need a Viking mead hall!’” Clive Nolan built a home venue
By Chris Wheatley published
Best known for his work with Pendragon and Arena, he’s given his passion for prog musicals a new lease of life – with practical assistance from his theatre group

The vinyl rescue kit: 8 budget buys to protect and enhance your Record Store Day finds
By Scott Munro published
I've picked out a variety of accessories for your new record player that'll keep your vinyl in great condition and enhance your listening pleasure

9 stylish and affordable vinyl storage upgrades for your Record Store Day 2026 scores
By Scott Munro published
With options ranging from portable vinyl crates to integrated stands for your records and turntable, there's no excuse not to make room for your RSD26 purchases

How Mikael Åkerfeldt fell in love with prog, even though his friends hated what he was doing
By Dom Lawson published
Making up for childhood poverty, the Opeth mastermind championed classic bands of the 70s when no one else cared – which made him a strange figure on the 90s Swedish metal scene

Jeff Lynne didn’t notice he’d turned ELO into the world’s biggest rock band
By Paul Lester published
He recalls being surprised with his first hit in America, taking five minutes to write another chart-topper, and the inspiration that led to Mr Blue Sky

Ian Anderson explains why he does what he does – and the onstage mistake that sometimes stops him
By Paul Sexton published
The Jethro Tull mastermind reveals who he’s really performing for – and why he never plays as much flute as he planned to on his albums

How Rick Wakeman got his first cape, by Rick Wakeman
By Rick Wakeman published
After reading a live review that described him as a giant comical spider, Rick Wakeman knew he had to take action

“The criticism was there were no epics. With this one we’ve gone overboard!” Yes’ Mirror To The Sky
By Paul Ging published
2023 release marked the fastest turnaround in studio projects since 1971, delivered by a band whose personality clashed were emphatically behind them

Carl Palmer: Keith Emerson’s death wasn’t the worst part of losing him
By Dave Everley published
They met when Palmer stood in with Fleetwood Mac for a show with The Nice. Half a century of amazing music and friendship followed. The drummer reveals what they’d be doing today if Emerson was still alive
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