Esoteric Recordings might be my favourite current label. Their attention to detail with regard to each of their reissue series is unmatched, and they fearlessly dive in to the back catalogues and long forgotten titles by artists who weren't always million-sellers (even if some of them deserved to be). Legendary keyboardist Patrick Moraz is one..
Marillion – Afraid Of Sunlight deluxe edition (Warner/Parlophone)
Ask ten Marillion fans what the band's best album is, and it's possible that you'll get ten different answers. By now, I think I've heard every one of their eighteen albums proclaimed to be the height of their mammoth career (even the sometimes maligned marillion.com, once staunchly championed to me in a concert lineup by..
Leprous – Pitfalls (Inside Out Music)
Fans cannot be fooled. Particularly the most loyal fans, who will see right through any insincere motivation behind a band's sudden shift in style or change of direction. Twenty years ago, when Scorpions made the bizarre decision to release a dance pop album titled Eye II Eye, their puzzled fan base collectively groaned and tossed..
The Flower Kings – Waiting For Miracles (Inside Out Music)
Determining who is the busiest musician in modern day progressive rock could prove to be a difficult task, one that might quickly cause debate and arguments - in fact, it probably already has. But nobody would disagree that Roine Stolt's name is near the top of that list. The guitarist and songwriter has been tirelessly..
Mystery – Live In Poznań (Unicorn Digital)
It's been a great five years for Québec-based Mystery and their fans since the release of their previous live album Tales From The Netherlands in 2014. In that time, they've brought formidable vocalist and front man Jean Pageau on board, released two of their strongest studio albums to date, and played numerous Canadian and European..
Bent Knee – You Know What They Mean (Inside Out Music)
Bent Knee are not a band we ever want to lose to a play-it-safe conformity... Have you ever been left breathless and dazed by something that made you feel like you had one of those little rings of cartoon birds chirping around your head? I expect many will feel that way once they've reached the..
Flying Colors – Third Degree (Mascot Label Group)
Had Flying Colors never existed, it would be strange to try and conceive of them. On paper, merging legendary Dixie Dregs heroes Steve Morse and Dave LaRue with prog rock's prolific allies Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy, and then dropping in pop/alt-rock singer and songwriter Casey McPherson might seem an odd match, but it's proven..
The Ballad Of Jethro Tull (Author: Mark Blake, Rocket 88 Books)
Mick got puffed up and aggressive and said, 'you realise I could take you down with one punch.' To which I said, 'OK, Mick, if you have to do this...' So begins the tale of what happened the day in 1968 when Ian Anderson told Mick Abrahams he was out of Jethro Tull. One of..
Opeth – In Cauda Venenum (Nuclear Blast)
There is a kind of divinity in the darkness that has pervaded Opeth's music in the quarter century since their debut album Orchid floated into an unsuspecting world; an unassailable character that somehow prevents it from ever crossing over into the dreaded 'cheesy' territory. It's like an old, chipped stone angel in some forgotten graveyard:..
IQ – Resistance (Giant Electric Pea)
There's been no shortage of releases for IQ fanatics to absorb since the most recent studio album The Road Of Bones came stampeding into their lives five years ago. Two lengthy live sets (including their first ever blu-ray), a jam-packed deluxe anniversary edition of their classic Ever album, the wonderfully charming Tales From A Dark..