The prog year 1971 - A genre takes off
1971 marks a caesura in the history of progressive rock music: in that year, many of the bands that today are counted among the essential founders of this musical genre found their musical vision. At the beginning of a decade in which progressive rock was to play a prominent role, numerous albums were released that are today not only considered classics of the genre, but also laid the foundation for the careers of some of its central protagonists ...
Canterbury lives! - CARAVAN put the listener with their new album into a comfortable time loop
The year is 1968: A young band from the British county of Kent called Caravan co-founded the so-called "Canterbury Sound", musically somewhere between folk, jazz, pop, rock and psychedelic. The self-titled first album is released. At least a commercial success. More than 50 years later the quintet still exists. And with "It's None Of Your Business" they present a studio work that seamlessly recalls the peaceful and joyful times of yore
MARILLION - This world is totally fugazi...
The long-awaited sixth installment of the Marillion reissue series presents the album that many fans consider the band's best work: "Fugazi". However, this masterpiece, released in 1984, was also characterized by its less dynamic, clanking-cold sound, which was somewhat corrected by the remaster in the 1990s, but still did not sound appropriate to the strong songs. This has now been corrected in stunning fashion. Reason enough to talk to both frontman Fish and guitarist Steve Rothery about "Fugazi"
CARLOS SANTANA - The hippie with the guitar
"Love & peace" - something else has never interested the Mexican-American guitarist and songwriter Carlos Santana. With this hippie message, which is as simple as it is universally applicable, he has reached an audience of millions - and it is of course also the linchpin of "Blessings And Miracles", the 26th studio album by his band Santana. On the occasion of the release, eclipsed had a conversation with him about self-realization, space tourism, LSD trips, police violence and the power of music.
DREAM THEATER - Higher and higher, further and further...
Dream Theater are one of the few bands that have occupied the pinnacle of prog metal for what feels like an eternity. Only rarely did they run out of steam - instead, they always managed to move the bar of the genre a bit higher. Also on "A View From The Top Of The World" they enjoy the view from their throne, which no one will deny them so quickly, even in view of 15 million albums sold
JOE BONAMASSA - "You can't get along in New York unless you have an open mind"
As already announced last year, JOE BONAMASSA and his team moved to New York City after the album "Royal Tea" was recorded in London's Abbey Road Studios. Actually native terrain for the blues rock superstar born in the state of New York, he has succeeded again there with "Time Clocks" a special album. We chatted with the exceptional guitarist about this, as well as his eagerly awaited return to the world's stages and the future activities of some of his side projects.
ROGER TAYLOR - Deeply Relaxed Melancholic
Roger Taylor used the Corona pandemic to finish his first solo album in eight years. The surprising thing: "Outsider" comes up with some unusual brooding, but partly also political songs. Enough material for an interview with the Queen drummer
GOV'T MULE - "Howlin' Wolf was a real pioneer"
Warren Haynes, one of the most successful representatives of modern Southern Rock, has recorded a pure blues album for the first time with his band Gov't Mule, which will be released on November 12. In the interview, the 61-year-old guitarist and singer talks about the genesis of "Heavy Load Blues" and encounters with his idols.
GROBSCHNITT - 50 Years Party
Legendary rock bands often prove to be extremely long-lived. This is also true for the German krautrock-prog-anarchist troupe Grobschnitt. Not only did they resurrect as a trio in 2019 under the name Grobschnitt Acoustic Party after their second breakup in 2012 - now they're also celebrating a whopping five decades of band history with a big exhibition in their hometown of Hagen and three birthday videos on their homepage
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE - Electro Avatar in Notre-Dame
On New Year's Eve 2020, French electronic pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre performed as an avatar in a virtual version of the world-famous Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral - a VR experience that set the stage for a concert broadcast live from a studio. 75 million viewers watched the live broadcast of the multimedia event, which was unprecedented in this form. With the album "Live In Notre-Dame VR - Welcome To The Other Side", the spectacle can now be relived purely acoustically on CD or visually on Blu-ray
MANDOKI has made a visual album to "Hungarian Pictures" with his SOULMATES
On the album "Hungarian Pictures" (2019) music producer Leslie Mandoki realized the original ideas of the two ex-soulmates Jon Lord (Deep Purple) and Greg Lake (ELP) to create an ambitious fusion of prog and jazz after the classical example of the Hungarian Béla Bartók (instead of the Russian Modest Mussorgski - we remember ELP's "Pictures At An Exhibition" from 1971). For this purpose he has now made "Utopia For Realists", a so-called "visual album" ...
The "Highland Warrior" is the title character of the opulent concept work by the band ABACUS
It's no wonder that the Abacus of 2021 sound musically different from those of the early 70s, when the band from Hamm in North Rhine-Westphalia gained a certain degree of popularity in the German rock scene. While the sound was once characterized by Kraut, Folk, Jazz and Rock, now the more opulent sounds in the style of Magnum and Kansas prevail ...
PARQUET COURTS follow in the footsteps of Primal Scream on their new album
With their vital post-punk, the Parquet Courts from Brooklyn are placeholders for that unmistakable New York sound associated with bands like The Velvet Underground, the Modern Lovers, Television, Talking Heads or Sonic Youth. Their new album "Sympathy For Life" is rebellion and party at the same time. A cheerfully biting commentary on the current situation, the disc at the same time makes you long for the sounds of the past
The gardeners of MY MORNING JACKET breed divine creatures for their album
The artistic curve of most successful bands goes steeply upwards at first, only to flatten slowly but noticeably over the years and finally get lost in the delta of endless repetition. Not so with the American band My Morning Jacket. 23 years after their foundation they present their strongest album so far, which for this reason is simply titled "My Morning Jacket"
(Mark) TREMONTI's new album reflects his feelings during the pandemic
The stop of all live concerts last year also affected the guitarist and songwriter of the US band Alter Bridge. Like many of his colleagues, however, he knew how to use it creatively. After "Walk The Sky" was released, a tour was actually scheduled. "But it had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. For a few months we were slowed down. It was a good time to work on a new Tremonti album." So bandmate Eric Friedman flew from the West Coast to join him in Florida to work together on demos for studio album No. 5
Almost 50 years after their dissolution PARZIVAL present a brilliant concept album
They don't spill the beans here, but rather make a massive splash: The Bremen formation Parzival presents 23 songs on the double CD "David - The Hymn", 130 participants from 23 countries are on board. But who is Parzival anyway, many will rightly ask themselves. Because the career of the band was only short-lived, the group existed for just over two years, between the end of 1970 and the beginning of 1973.
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