In 2019 Marillion celebrate their 40th anniversary. And also the second incarnation of the band celebrates a round anniversary: "Seasons End", the first album with the new frontman Steve Hogarth, was released on September 25th, 1989 and was the starting signal for the eventful second life of a band that many had already written off at that time. In addition, an extensive box will be released dedicated to the "Afraid Of Sunlight" album, which in turn is about to celebrate its 25th birthday. So there are enough reasons to dedicate yourself intensively to the history of this unique band.
At the beginning of October the FLYING COLORS released "Third Degree", their third studio album in eight years. Could the output be bigger, or is the motto "quality instead of quantity" exactly the right recipe for the Prog-Supergroup? On the other hand, this may not be such a bad cut considering all the projects the band members are involved in.
Those who have worked together with Kurt Cobain, members of Pearl Jam and Marianne Faithfull or contributed to the milestone "Songs For The Deaf" of the Queens Of The Stone Age, almost inevitably have legendary status themselves - an expression which, however, always has something of the past. MARK LANEGAN, however, is still a highly productive artist who loves to do his own thing and also likes to collaborate across genres.
The King is dead, long live the King. The band Pere Ubu from Cleveland in Ohio was always ahead of their time and at the same time had both legs in the story. She borrowed her name from the grotesque play "King Ubu" by the French writer Alfred Jarry and invented post-punk even before the great explosion of punk. With her new album "The Long Goodbye" she says goodbye. Or is it?
In so-called jazz circles it doesn't happen too often that a band with an unchanged line-up releases six albums over a period of ten years. The Swedish quartet Tonbruket is an exception. On his new album "Masters Of Fog" it's once again about Start. A sound like an icy breeze blowing from the North Polar Circle over to us. An initially straight, then syncopating drum set is added, grounded by a gravitational bass. At the end the star sparkle of a Steel Guitar pedal covers the ambience. Welcome to the world of Tonbruket.
In 1994 the only album of the Southern Rock formation Pride & Glory was released. After Ozzy Osbourne announced his first departure from the rock business after the album "No More Tears" (1991), guitarist Zakk Wylde suddenly had no job. In 1992 he founded the band Lynyrd Skynhead with the White-Lion rhythm team consisting of bassist James LoMenzo and drummer Greg D'Angelo. Some songs of the trio appeared on the sampler "L.A. Blues Authority Vol. 1" (1992), but under the name Zakk Wylde.
On November 2nd, ELP keyboarder Keith Emerson would have celebrated his 75th birthday. For many progrock fans, the Brit, who put an end to his life on 11 March 2016, is regarded as the most brilliant representative of his guild in terms of playing technique. But Emerson also set standards in other areas: as a top-class showman, as a groundbreaking composer and as an ingenious mediator between classical music and rock. Critics liked to accuse him of gigantomania, while his artistic achievements were swept under the carpet.
The fantastic journey of Leprous continues. Since their debut "Tall Poppy Syndrome" the Norwegians have taken a fascinating musical development. Already with "Bilateral" they emancipated themselves from the original approach (Black Metal paired with classical prog rock of the seventies and jazzy passages), with albums like "Coal" and "The Congregation" they then joined the top of a fresh new prog metal generation.
The English singer and guitarist with Ugandan roots took his time. But now Michael Kiwanuka has finished his third studio work. On 25 October the album with the simple title "Kiwanuka" is released. With eclipsed, the 32-year-old artist spoke about creativity in difficult times and the search for oneself.
