For the majority of their career, Gentle Giant was that rarest of breeds: uniquely challenging, singularly unlike any other rock band, with no hit singles or radio airplay, or anything approaching 'danceable'. Yet they garnered and cultivated a fiercely loyal, almost ravenous core of fans and admirers. These listeners weren't content to settle for standard..
Watch Ian Anderson unveil the new Ballad Of Jethro Tull book
It’s Ian Anderson unveiling the marvelous Ballad of Jethro Tull, the official illustrated history of one of rock’s most influential acts. All 500 ‘Signature Edition’ copies are sold-out but fans can still order the ‘Classic Edition’ (£40 / $50) which features: 200+ page hardback Fully illustrated throughout More than 200 photographs MP4 download of two..
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 prevents it from ever crossing into 'cheesy' territory. It's like an old, mossy stone angel in some forgotten graveyard: otherworldly and foreboding, but..