2018 was certainly not a year in which there were great musical innovations. Instead, the anniversary year of 1968 cast its long shadows, which was extensively acknowledged by all major daily newspapers and music gazettes. The fact that some of the old heroes are still active is very pleasing, whereby various opulent Reissues (Jethro Tull, Procol Harum, The Rolling Stones, Spirit, Wishbone Ash) contributed to keep the memory of the rock and prog pioneers alive.

Year after year, Steve Hackett manages to keep the Genesis traditionalists at his side by regularly roaming the country with retro programs. On the other hand, he finds the inspiration and the time to record new studio productions again and again and to put them on the market. All of them solid to brilliant works. The latest recording is called "At The Edge Of Light" and definitely falls into the second category.

The wild animal on the cover of their latest album "Feral Roots" is shot. Will the Rival Sons - until now hungry saviours of the retro wave - now jump through the music world with friendly little deer eyes? No, luckily not, even if Scott Holiday doesn't want the wildness of reality to spread in the world of his band. No politics!

Scott Holiday is lolling on the freshly moved double bed as we enter his hotel room. "I'm gonna lie here, okay? Come here to me," he whispers. Uh, okay. But the guitarist has no sensual ulterior motives, he is just tired because of a cancelled flight. All right, let's just talk lying down..

eclipsed: Since the first album you have been working with producer Dave Cobb. Recently you've also been signed to his label. What makes the collaboration so special is that you kept it up and even deepened it for so long instead of changing producers more often like other bands?

Pavlov's Dog are back. "Prodigal Dreamer" is the band's first album with new studio material in eight years. It's a strong sign of life. Although David Surkamp is only one of the founding members, it sounds like a lost work from the seventies. But unlike "The Pekin Tapes" from 2014, which surprisingly presented songs from the time before the band's famous debut album, the 13 tracks of "Prodigal Dreamer" are all fresh. And a song with a woman's name in the title also exists again.

He's got a little old. Joe Jackson was an artist from the beginning who didn't care much about youthfulness. On his new studio work "Fool", the British stylist looks back on his career, which began forty years ago with the album "Look Sharp!", and on a good century of classical songwriting from George Gershwin to the Beatles and Kinks to the present day.

When we face Joe Jackson in a Berlin hotel in December, he has visibly aged compared to the last interview we did with him. He seems exhausted and moves sluggishly (he had slept badly the night before, we learn afterwards). Thus the snapshot of his appearance stands in stark contrast to the power and vitality that his new album "Fool" exudes.

eclipsed: You went to the studio right after the last tour. That's more like making jazz records. Is "Fool" a pop album in a jazz suit?

In the course of the worldwide interview marathon for their fourteenth studio album "Distance Over Time", Dream Theater will also make stops in several European capitals. Their promotion day in Berlin is meticulously clocked, John Petrucci and James LaBrie provide information every half hour until late in the evening. Thirty years after their debut with "When Dream And Day Unite" the band presents itself as a reinvigorated unit. She evokes camaraderie and creativity and reports on a new way of dealing with label managers.

eclipsed: John, please imagine the following scenario: It is 1988, Dream Theater are currently working in the Victory Studios on their debut "When Dream And Day Unite". Suddenly the DeLorean from "Back to the Future" appears, Marty McFly gets out and hands you "Distance Over Time". How would John Petrucci from 1988 have judged the album?

The Norwegian art rock scene has already produced a number of internationally renowned bands. Gazpacho and Airbag have been attracting attention for some time now; in 2017 Soup presented a brilliant work with their album "Remedies". Now the Oslo band Oak released their second album "False Memory Archive", which was just as masterly and yet of a completely different nature. Regarding their position in Norwegian art rock, the group states in a joint e-mail: "We are already noticing that the attention for this kind of music is growing and the number of bands is increasing. We know the guys from Airbag and some from Soup, so we are integrated into the scene. It would be nice if she could evolve. However, this is difficult here in Norway. We must rather try our luck outside."

He has no resolutions for the new year, Martín López explains to us on New Year's Eve afternoon. He mainly wanted to maintain his love for music, only in this way could Soen continue to exist. To work full-time as a musician again is out of the question for the former Opeth drummer. But Soen are still far away from a pure fun project. In several interviews López emphasizes how important the value of a band is to him.

eclipsed: With "Lykaia Revisited" you wanted to close a chapter of the band. How has your perspective on Lotus changed?

Martín López: Above all in terms of sound technology. Previously we had always produced ourselves, now we were ready to allow help from outside, through David Castillo. At the same time, we really followed our vision and didn't let anyone stop us.

eclipsed: "Lykaia" was produced by your then guitarist Marcus Jidell. Does the changed process also result from his departure?