Martin Lopez of Soen chimes in on new album Imperial
Soen seems like an unstoppable force in the prog metal realm these days. Since their inception in 2010, they have consistently outdone themselves in every album. This time it’s no different: January 29th brought to light the band’s new effort, “Imperial”, a step above its predecessor, 2018’s “Lotus”. Martin Lopez (drums), Joel Ekelöf (vocals), Lars Åhlund […]
Anneke van Giersbergen shares details of her upcoming album, “The Darkest Skies Are The Brightest”
“Anneke van Giersbergen’s 23rd career album will be released on February 26, 2021. Lyrically, and musically, the award-winning Dutch artist lays her soul bare with the most evocative record of her career – captivating song-stories told with acoustic guitars, strings, horns, percussion, and Anneke’s hypnotic vocal harmonies. The 11-track record has all the intimacy of […]
Prog guitarist Roine Stolt reflects on the writing sessions of the upcoming Transatlantic album: “I wanted to put as much Roine in this recording as possible”
Transatlantic are back after many years of hibernation. For their fifth album, the foursome of Neal Morse (keyboards, guitar vocals), Roine Stolt (guitar, vocals), Pete Trewavas (bass, vocals) and Mike Portnoy (drums, vocals) have really gone out to do something a little unusual. The upcoming release “The Absolute Universe” will be featured in three different […]
“It’s surprising how prolific and how fast things were coming together in the writing of the new album” – Dream Theater’s James LaBrie discusses the writing of the new album “Distance Over Time”and more!
A new Dream Theater album is always an event met with much anticipation by the prog metal community. Upon the announcement of their 14th effort “Distance over Time”, the band promised a return to their roots. All five members retreated to a barn studio in the Catskills and worked unstoppably in the writing and recording, and thus a new chapter in the band’s lengthy career was written. With two very short samples having already been shown to the fans, along with the cover […]
“I’m happy with the music I made in the past, and looking forward to the next 25 years of my career” – Anneke van Giersbergen releases “Symphonized”, an orchestral summary of her musical output
In May 2018, Anneke van Giersbergen (VUUR, Devin Townsend Project, The Gathering) performed two career-spanning concerts with orchestral arrangements together with Residentie Orkest The Hague. Fans came from all over the world to see and hear this crossover collaboration, but soon everyone will be able to experience these concerts, as Anneke and the orchestra are set to release a live album. ‘Symphonized’ features 11 tracks and will be released on InsideOut Music on November 1 […]
Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess: “In our new album, we’ll go back to the roots and the core sound of the band”
Just as we wrote when we first interviewed him about a year ago (find the article here), Jordan Rudess never seems to stop. Fresh out of a tour with Al Di Meola, he is about to embark on a solo tour entitled “From Bach to Rock”, with dates scheduled for Asia, Australia and South America. In addition to that, he has just finished recording the new Dream Theater album, which promises a return to the sound that made them one of the most influential bands in the prog metal genre.L […]
Comeback Kid – “The songs find me before I find them” – our interview with Andrew Neufeld
Comeback Kid is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their name comes from a headline in a newspaper about hockey player Mario Lemieux coming back to the NHL. The band was formed in 2000 by Andrew Neufeld and Jeremy Hiebert who were both members of the band Figure Four, which is currently on hiatus. They were joined by their friends Scott Wade and Kyle Profeta. Upon releasing Turn It Around on Facedown Records in 2003, Comeback Kid began tou […]
“Each album is its own fresh start, and you shouldn’t compare it to what we’ve done before” – Charlie Griffiths of Haken talks about their new album, “Vector”
There are very few prog metal bands who can claim to be as innovative, creative and restively dynamic as Haken. Since their formation in 2007, they have shown over four previous studio albums, one EP and a live release that they never stand still, merely satisfied to rely on past triumphs. Rather, Haken always look for ways to challenge themselves as musicians and artists, and also to keep the listeners on their collective toes.Their fifth studio record sees the band going in a heavier di […]
Riverside’s Mariusz Duda: “Piotr’s spirit is above the whole new album”
Losing a pivotal member can mean the death knell to many bands, but not Riverside. The tragedy that befell in February 2016 (co-founder and guitarist of the band, Piotr Grudziński, died suddenly just before his 41st birthday) called into question their very existence as a group. But they decided to carry on, and released “Eye of the Soundscape” later that year – a compilation of ambient and instrumental pieces, dedicated to Piotr’s memory.The year of 2018 sees River […]
Ray Alder’s Interview by Rodrigo Altaf
One of the most important bands for the prog metal scene, Fates Warning has had an extensive career since the mid 80’s, and recently released an all-encompassing live album. “Live Over Europe” was reviewed by Lotsofmuzik’s collaborator Rodrigo Altaf here. In an exclusive interview to Lotsofmuzik, their singer Ray Alder reflects on the state of the band right now, the gap between studio albums and how his voice has changed over time, amongst other interesting topics […]
