The quintet LAZULI from the south of France is a guarantor for emotional music based on the progressive rock and art rock of the 1970s, yet sounding completely independent - as on "Le Fantastique Envol de Dieter Böhm" (Engl: The Fantastic Flight of Dieter Böhm), their first concept work. This is intended as a bow to the band's loyal fans and focuses on the special interaction between the band and its listeners
The Beatles are a constant in a turbulent year, the rock scene shows itself to be stable, the prog fans are spoiled, and an album polarizes as rarely.
At the beginning of December a very impressive boxing set of the prog legend Gentle Giant was released. On 30 CDs "Unburied Treasure" not only collects all (remixed) regular albums of the band, but also numerous (partly unreleased) live concerts from all phases of their ten-year history. We talked to frontman Derek Shulman about this unique Christmas present for prog fans.
THE WHO are just experiencing their third spring at the age of 70. Because their current album "Who" has become a convincing collection of eleven tracks. One is reluctant to attribute the album to "late work" because the protagonists Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend on the record sound more like mid-twenties than mid-seventies
For two decades Magnum have been releasing great albums with almost uncanny consistency. "The Serpent Rings", their 21st studio album since their debut in 1978, is no exception. Although no one who has spurned the music of the Middle English so far can be disabused, songwriter and guitarist Tony Clarkin and his colleagues make sure that the band does not get bogged down in routine.
After Sons Of Apollo released their debut "Psychotic Symphony" two years ago, they went on a world tour with over 100 live shows in 28 countries. This has brought the band together, as you can clearly hear on the second album, as drummer Mike Portnoy and keyboarder Derek Sherinian never tire of emphasizing
The self-imposed retirement did not last long. In January 2017, the Canadian prog institution SAGA officially announced that after the upcoming "The Final Chapter" tour, the band will return to the concert arenas in spring 2020 under the motto "Out Of The Shadows", but without bassist Jim Crichton. And there are also some news concerning the music.
eclipsed: It was just a quick goodbye to live performances. Why do you return so quickly, Michael?
The Dutch trio DeWolff is known for psychedelic and blues rock with a lot of retro charm, often reminiscent of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Hammond sound and vintage equipment were a must for recordings and live shows. With the "Tascam Tapes" the band now reduces itself to an old four-track recorder, a battery-powered synthesizer, guitar, a vocal microphone and drum samples - and presents itself in this way from its soulful disco side.
eclipsed: How did you come up with the idea to record this way?
