January is definitely not a month for water sports in England. A perfect time for hobby surfer Nick Barrett to promote the new Pendragon album "Love Over Fear". It took about six years to complete, and it represents a new turnaround in the band's history: away from the somewhat harder pace taken in 2005, back towards neo-prog.

eclipsed: Your new album is finished. How does it feel?

Nick Barrett: It's the very rare case where you think: Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to do! I am really very happy with the album. It was also a lot of fun to record it. It was much less stressful than usual. Maybe that's because I've been living in Cornwall for a while now, not far from the sea.

eclipsed: What took you so long?

Founded in October 1969 by Martin Turner and Steve Upton and guitarists Ted Turner and Andy Powell, who had joined them through an advertisement, WISHBONE ASH became one of the driving forces of the British rock scene in the early 70s. Their trademark, the double lead guitar sound, rarely encountered at the time, quickly made them a live attraction. In the 51st year of their existence, eclipsed spoke with the only remaining original member Andy Powell about the band's history and the new album "Coat Of Arms".

The Night Flight Orchestra once again offers classic rock board service of the upper class. Always on the lookout for the perfect song, the Swedes on their fifth album "Aeromantic" walk more and more in the musical footsteps of their home country's most famous band - and not only because their recording studio contained the drums of their studio drummer Per Lindvall.

Al Di Meola can look back on a successful career, in which he not only catapulted acoustic guitar playing to a new level, but also enriched jazz with numerous dimensions. On March 13th his new album "Across The Universe" will be released. After "All Your Life (A Tribute To The Beatles)" from 2013, this is already the second work in which he interprets the songs of the Fab Four. Has Al Di Meola's source of inspiration dried up, or are there other reasons for editing foreign compositions?

eclipsed: How did you get the idea for the first Tribute?

The two masterminds of RPWL, Kalle Wallner and Yogi Lang, traditionally take creative time out between albums of their main band, which they each fill with solo projects. Guitarist Wallner does this with Blind Ego, who first appeared in 2007 with the album "Mirror". After the last tour for the studio album "Liquid" (2016), the band underwent a line-up change, and this line-up is now also active on the brand new album "Preaching To The Choir". Besides vocalist Scott Balaban it includes drummer Michael Christoph and additionally on guitar and bass Julian Kellner and Sebastian Harnack respectively.

eclipsed: The tour for "Liquid" has apparently stabilized the current formation with singer Scott Balaban. How does the status quo look like with you?

The Swedish retro-rockers have been quite successful in recent years, for example they were allowed to provide tour support for Deep Purple, whose sound was also the inspiration for their chart album "A Dream Of Lasting Peace" in 2017. Now they are back with "The Secret Of Our Time". It is well known that they are convinced advocates of analogue equipment and recordings. But now, in the face of current global crises regarding ecology and digitalisation, they are also thematically mobile thanks to analogue intellect. Siena Root are demanding their listeners. But the high standards of the concept album are sweetened by two new female front singers, because Samuel Björö, the last singer, is already passé again. Founding member and bassist Sam Riffer gives information.

eclipsed: What does the cryptic album title "The Secret Of Our Time" stand for?

Virgil Donati is one of the great percussion luminaries in the prog metal/fusion genre. In 2011 the Australian, who has been living in the USA since 1996, applied to Dream Theater as Mike Portnoy's successor, but had to admit defeat to Mike Mangini at a casting with high media impact. However, he might not have been able to make full use of his abilities with the American prog metal legends - at least not as he did with his fabulous new album "Ruination".

eclipsed: "Ruination" is already your seventh album. In comparison to the previous album "The Dawn Of Time - Orchestral Works" you did without the classical elements this time and used more metal and dent influences

Patterson Hood is angry. Very angry. Because as an American and passionate Southerner, he has a president who has been in office for three years and who is constantly throwing around slogans like "America First" or "Make America Great Again". Which in the eyes of Donald Trump, of course, only works if he is elected again in November. What Hood, the 55-year-old singer, guitarist and lyricist of the Drive-By Truckers, wants to prevent at all costs ...

eclipsed: Why are you so angry with the president?