Ed’s Letter

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INTRO

IF IT’S OUT THERE, IT’S IN HERE

RANDY McSTINE

Q&A

THE OROG INTEERVIEW DAVID JACKSON

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s David Jackson. As Van der Graaf Generator’s on/off saxophonist, he played a key role in the band’s sound during their heyday on albums that include Pawn Hearts and H To He, Who Am The Only One. Here, he reminisces about the Six-Bob Tour, hitting No.1 in the Italian charts, the events that led to the creation of 2005’s Present, and explains why he decided to update Pioneers Over c on his latest release with Dutch percussionist René van Commenée.

THE MUSICAL BOX

To infinity and beyond! The space rock icons’ late-career renaissance continues on their 36th studio album.

ECHOES old turns...

CARL PALMER Fanfare For The Common Man BMG

RICK WAKEMAN

Lee Pomeroy adds heft to proceedings. VENUE THEATRE

SLIFT

VENUE ELECTRIC BALLROOM, LONDON DATE 28/02/2024 N ormality

BIG BIG TRAIN

Big Big Train focus on the oldies (but

ENSLAVED

VENUE ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL, LONDON DATE 06/03/2024 Integrity

WOBBLER

On a late winter’s night in Oslo, a

TESSERACT

VENUE O2 RITZ, MANCHESTER DATE 24/02/2024 SUPPORT UNPROCESSED

FRANCK CARDUCCI & THE FANTASTIC SQUAD

VENUE THE 1865, SOUTHAMPTON DATE 03/03/2024 SUPPORT RUBY

DISTRICT 97

VENUE REGGIE’S MUSIC JOINT, CHICAGO, IL, USA DATE

FUSION FESTIVAL

MARC AUGER VENUE CIVIC CENTRE, STOURPORT DATE 02/03/2024

LEPROUS

VENUE PROJECT HOUSE, LEEDS DATE 02/03/2024 SUPPORT NORDIC

CYNIC

VENUE THE UNDERWORLD, LONDON DATE 14/03/2024 Three decades

THE PINEAPPLE THIEF

The Pineapple Thief focus on giving a top

THE SMILE

VENUE EVENTIM APOLLO, LONDON DATE 10/03/2024 When Thom

CHRISSY MOSTYN (THE BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA)

The great and good of progressive music give us a glimpse into their prog worlds. As told to Grant Moon.

Bursting Out!

How Jethro Tull Conquered The US

Curve The Learning

In 1998, Devin Townsend released Infinity : his first album under his own name. The record refined his immense yet melodic prog and became one of his most celebrated releases. It also pulled the polymath back from a crisis of ego that had put him in hospital. Three decades on, to coincide with the groundbreaking record’s 25th-anniversary reissue, Townsend looks back on its troubled creation and admits, “I couldn’t have done any better.”

Piece Be With You

For many, it was Gentle Giant’s last truly great record, but The Missing Piece came out at a challenging time for progressive rock and didn’t get the recognition it perhaps deserved. Forty-seven years on, the band’s ninth album has been refreshed and reissued, much to the joy of old and new fans alike. Guitarist Gary Green, drummer John Weathers and keyboard player Kerry Minnear take Prog on a time jump back to the original record’s creation and reveal how it got its cryptic title

Ebb and Flow

Scottish art-rockers EBB burst onto the prog scene with their dynamic, edgy sound and hypnotic live shows. Such was their impact, Prog readers voted them Best New Band in last year’s Readers’ Poll. We catch up with Erin Bennett and Anna Fraser to discuss supermassive black holes, interpretative dancing and their future plans.

High Time

They’ve been around since the late 90s, but Elbow have come of (prog) age on their 10th album, Audio Vertigo. Guy Garvey and Craig Potter map their evolution from a bunch of rock fans with lofty musical ambitions to award-winning, chart-topping art-rockers whose fans include Peter Gabriel.

The Division Bell

Her last three albums have blended her love of fusion, prog and metal, but with Division World Jane Getter has redefined her songwriting with her Premonition band. On her fourth LP, zigzagging instrumental turns and elongated solos remain, but only when needed. This time around, Getter tells us she let her ears, rather than her indulgences, write what has proved to be a far more convincing blending of the musical worlds she loves so dearly.

Swept Away

The creative engines behind Fates Warning switch gears as they shapeshift into North Sea Echoes. Ray Alder talks about the excitement of reconnecting with Jim Matheos, the joy of singing quietly, and the torture of writing lyrics for Really Good Terrible Things.

MISERY LOVES COMPANY

Hold onto your pants, Midas Fall are back, sounding bigger and heavier than ever. The making of Cold Waves Divide Us is a tale of stalking Buddhist monks online, something called a Bottom Master, frightening audience members, and, um, misery prog. Colour us intrigued! We caught up with the trio to find out more.

My Way!

There’s no holding Mike Vennart back. The former Oceansize frontman returns with his fourth solo album, Forgiveness & The Grain, which is packed with mindexpanding grooves, angry licks and touches of psychedelia. But don’t be fooled by the title: he’s not in a forgiving mood. He shares his fears about the future and the unforgiving nature of contemporary society, and details the eclectic influences that are fuelling his creativity.

Whatever Happened To The Teenage DREAM?

What’s 30 years between friends? Norwegian supergroup The Chronicles Of Father Robin, which includes members of Wobbler, Tusmørke, and Jordsjø, have spent the best part of three decades sculpting their debut album, The Songs & Tales Of Airoea. The three-part affair was inspired by prog’s golden age and, as multiinstrumentalist Andreas Prestmo reveals, there was no better time to share its atmospheric grooves

Back From The DEAD

After two pandemic-era releases, Zombi have finally reconvened in the same room to make the improvisational and dynamic Direct Inject. Synth player/bassist Steve Moore and drummer Antony Paterra tell Prog how Goblin, Rush and John Carpenter still shape their sound, seven LPs in.