LONELY ROBOT – announce new album ‘Feelings Are Good’

Lonely Robot, the project masterminded by producer, guitarist and singer/songwriter John Mitchell (Kino, Frost*, Arena, It Bites), is set to release its fourth album ‘Feelings Are Good’ on July 17th, 2020, a fresh start following the conclusion of the ‘The Astronaut Trilogy’.
 
John comments: “‘Feelings Are Good’ is a bit of a departure from the first three Lonely Robot albums or ‘The Astronaut Trilogy’ as it has now lovingly become known.  On ‘Feelings Are Good’, I wanted to explore more personal themes and the songs are very much about individual experiences and narratives that I believe had been the cornerstones, good and bad, to my life. The long tall and short of it is that we’re back on planet Earth, and I have a personal lyrical axe to grind!”
 
‘Feelings Are Good’ will be available as a Limited Edition CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP+CD and as Digital Album in both 16 & 24 bit versions (all including 2 bonus tracks). The artwork is once again by Paul Tippett / Vitamin P (Black Star Riders, Frost*), and John says of the cover: “The artwork is meant to be a little disturbing. The closed eyes and taped over mouth are supposed to represent how people are very guarded with their emotions and what better way of emoting them than through the windows to the soul and the smile?”
 
The full track-listing is as follows:
1.Feelings Are Good
2.Into The Lo-Fi
3.Spiders
4.Crystalline
5.Life Is A Sine Wave
6.Armour For My Heart
7.Suburbia
8.The Silent Life
9.Keeping People As Pets
10.Army Of One
11.Grief Is The Price Of Love
12.The Silent Life (Orchestral Version)
13.Crystalline (Orchestral Version)
 
Lonely Robot will hit the road in December 2020 for some select headline dates, and you can find a list of those below:
Dec 13th  Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK
Dec 16th  Riff, Bochum, GER
Dec 17th  Das Rind, Rüsselsheim, GER
Dec 18th  Muziekgieterij, Maastricht, NL
Dec 20th  De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, NL
 
During the campaign for their acclaimed previous album ‘Under Stars’, a full animated film was created by Crystal Spotlight and screened at two very special cinema events in the UK. Now the full visual accompaniment is available to stream, and you can watch it now here: https://youtu.be/slyM9ZUzr6U
 
John comments: “It has always been an ambition of mine to have a full length visual accompaniment alongside an album of music I have written. With Under Stars and the help of Miles at Crystal Spotlight, this dream was finally realised last year. I’m very proud of the results and I’d like to thank Miles for all his hard work and patience in bringing this to fruition. I hope you enjoy it.”
 
John Mitchell is a man with a rich musical heritage and history – from musician and vocalist, to songwriter and producer. With bands like Arena, Frost*, Kino, It Bites and Lonely Robot, to name but a few, Mitchell has left his mark on the current progressive rock scene and has been involved in dozens of recordings. He is also a respected producer & mixer, running Outhouse Studios in the UK and working with artists as diverse as You Me At Six, Enter Shikari, Alter Bridge, Asia, Don Broco, Funeral For A Friend, McFly & much more.

Haken launch video for ‘Canary Yellow’ / Second single taken from ‘Virus’

Progressive rockers Haken recently revealed their new studio album ‘Virus’, the follow-up to 2018’s acclaimed album ‘Vector’, will be released 5th June 2020. Now they are pleased to launch the video for the album’s second single ‘Canary Yellow’, a striking animated clip created by Crystal Spotlight. Watch it now here: 

The band comments: “For Canary Yellow, we went in a more alternative direction, since we’re all big fans of bands like Radiohead, Elbow and Peter Gabriel. Those are artists who can portray quite dark subject matter through really beautiful music. Since the ‘Virus’ album is intended to be a metaphor for various negative tropes of society, we wanted to explore this idea in a variety of ways.

Canary Yellow deals with the suppression of physical and mentally abusive relationships; something that can often remain hidden behind a seemingly happy facade. 

We once again returned to long time visual collaborators ‘Crystal Spotlight’ for this ambitious animation and we’re absolutely thrilled with how well the visuals complement and enhance the atmosphere of the song. The video shows a seemingly idyllic family environment, but with a sense of sadness beneath the surface and absolute devastation looming on the horizon. They go about their day oblivious to the fact that they are mannequins living in a 1950s style ‘Doom Town‘ experiment.”

he video for the album’s first single, ‘Prosthetic’, has reached over 200,000 views so far and the song has over 300,000 streams. You can watch the video now here: 

The band recently started broadcasting from their new Twitch channel, and they will be going in-depth on how ‘Canary Yellow’ was written and produced on the 8th May at 6pm UK time. Watch here: 

https://www.twitch.tv/hakenofficial/

By way of introduction, the band recorded a special video message to give some background to the new record: 

Since releasing ‘Vector’ in October 2018, Haken have completed headline tours the world over, played sold-out shows across Europe and North America as support for Devin Townsend and picked up a Prog award for their efforts too! All the while, they have been quietly, secretly working on the follow-up album, entitled ‘Virus’.

Drummer Ray Hearne reveals, “since releasing ‘The Mountain’ in 2013, one question has been asked of us time and time again, ‘who is the Cockroach King?’. This is something we were interested in exploring more deeply too, so we essentially did that through our music; elaborating and expanding upon the intervallic, harmonic, rhythmic and lyrical themes of that song. The end result is in an arc which spans across two albums: ‘Vector’ and ‘Virus’”.

Once again, Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood has mixed what is perhaps the most eclectic Haken album to date, with the 7 tracks revealing hints of influences from multiple genres, all intertwined with Haken’s own recognisable sound. Guitarist Richard Henshall had this to say about the production, “Using Nolly again was a no-brainer, as we wanted the two albums to be sonically connected. But having just spent a day mixing with him in his studio, it’s obvious that this album will be an evolution of the ‘Vector’ sound. These songs seem to allow a lot more freedom of creativity with the production, so we’re excited to see where it leads”.

Longtime Haken collaborators, Blacklake, have designed the visuals and artwork and the album will be available as a Limited 2CD, Standard CD, Gatefold 2LP + CD & as Digital Album. Pre-order now here: https://haken.lnk.to/Virus

The track-listing is as follows:

1.     Prosthetic

2.     Invasion

3.     Carousel

4.     The Strain

5.     Canary Yellow

6.     Messiah Complex i: Ivory Tower

7.     Messiah Complex ii: A Glutton for Punishment

8.     Messiah Complex iii: Marigold

9.     Messiah Complex iv: The Sect

10.  Messiah Complex v: Ectobius Rex

11.  Only Stars

‘Virus’ is the culmination of a musical thought experiment which started with the ‘Vector’ writing sessions in 2017 and holds intriguing potential for the band’s future, as vocalist Ross Jennings explains, “whilst ‘Virus’ can absolutely be enjoyed as a stand-alone work, it is thematically and conceptually linked with ‘Vector’, so our intention is to perform both albums back to back for a special performance someday”. 

HAKEN are:

Ross Jennings

Richard Henshall

Charlie Griffiths

Diego Tejeida

Conner Green

Ray Hearne

Jakko Jakszyk signs worldwide contract with InsideOutMusic for the release of his next solo album

Jakko Jakszyk is pleased to announce he has signed a worldwide contract with InsideOutMusic for the release of his forthcoming new solo album ‘Secrets & Lies’ in late 2020. 

Jakko comments: “I’m genuinely thrilled to be signing to Inside Out.

I’ve gotten to know Thomas Waber over the last few years and he has continually encouraged me and subsequently given me the confidence to make music for myself again.” 

InsideOut label-head Thomas Waber adds: “I am really happy that Jakko has finally found the time to finish another solo album and that we are going to be working with him on it. We are always looking to work with the best talent in our genre and Jakko is most definitely someone who fits that description!” 

Though best known for his work as a vocalist and guitarist in King Crimson since 2013, with whom he has played sold-out nights at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the ancient Amphi-theatre in Pompeii and three nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Jakszyk has enjoyed a busy and diverse career spanning nearly five decades.

Encompassing late 1970s art-rock outfit, 64 Spoons, once memorably described as ‘Stravinsky meets the Barron Knights,’ he’s been signed to the legendary Stiff record label, toured with Canterbury Scene legends Dave Stewart and Pip Pyle as a member of Rapid Eye Movement. Along with numerous studio sessions both as player and producer, including becoming a member of The Kinks for a week, Jakko’s musical career has been nothing if not eclectic.

Named by Guitarist Magazine as one of the top guitarists in the 1980s, his playing caught attention the Mark King who brought him in to replace the legendary guitarist Allan Holdsworth, in Level 42 with whom Jakko recorded and played live with for four years in the early 1990s. 

A talented multi-instrumentalist, his ability to work within the rigours of avant-garde rock through to sleek, intelligent pop have seen him work with a wide and diverse array of artists that includes Golden Palimino’s Anton Fier, Mica Paris, Tom Robinson, Peter Blegvad, Henry Cow’s John Greaves, Japan’s Mick Karn, and Richard Barbieri, Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin, Steve Hackett and Steven Wilson.

A recipient of the ‘Chris Squire Virtuoso award’ at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, Jakszyk has also earned a reputation as an in-demand remixing engineer and producer. In this role, he has been commissioned to remix several classic progressive rock albums in stereo and 5.1 surround sound including ELP’s Trilogy and Brain Salad Surgery, Chris Squire’s Fish Out Of Water, King Crimson’s THRAK, The Moody Blues’ In Search Of The Lost Chord and several in-concert performances of Jethro Tull included on the multi-disc reissues for Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses, Minstrel In The Gallery and others. 

Look out for more information on his forthcoming new solo album in the near future. 

PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS release second track “Raining Hard in Heaven” off forthcoming studio album “Prehensile Tales”

PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS, the California-based band featuring Ted Leonard (lead vocals & guitars), Jimmy Keegan (drums & vocals), Dave Meros (bass) and John Boegehold (keyboards), 

is set to release its second opus, “Prehensile Tales”, to be released through InsideOutMusic on May 15th, 2020.

Now the second single and album opener “Raining Hard In Heaven” has been released.

Listen to the track here:

For the six songs on the album (the longest clocking in at over 17 minutes), the band introduced violin, flute, trumpet, cello, sax and pedal steel to the sound palette that was once again recorded & mixed by Rich Mouser at The Mouse House.

The track-listing reads as follows:

1. Raining Hard In Heaven

2. Here In My Autumn

3. Elegant Vampires

4. Why Don’t We Run

5. Lifeboat

6. Soon But Not Today

Watch the clip for the first single ‘Here In My Autumn’ here: https://youtu.be/m5mgpcOgFws

The album, featuring cover art by Polish artist Mirek (https://www.facebook.com/mirekis7/), will be released as Gatefold 2LP plus CD, Limited Edition CD, and on all digital platforms. Presales are now available! 

To pre-order, stream, download “Prehensile Tales”, just click https://patternseekinganimals.lnk.to/PrehensileTalesID

PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS online:

http://PSAnimals1.com

http://Facebook.com/psanimals1

https://www.instagram.com/psanimals1/

LONG DISTANCE CALLING – ask ‘How Do We Want To Live?’

Launch new single ‘Hazard’

LONG DISTANCE CALLING, Germany’s most internationally successful instrumental rock act, have announced the release of their seventh studio album ‘How Do We Want To Live?’ for the 26th June 2020. 

Today also sees the launch of the album’s first single ‘Hazard’. Watch the video now here:

The band comments on the new album:  

“We are all going through crazy times right now and we were thinking about postponing this news for a couple of months. But we have the feeling that our new album, “How Do We Want To Live?”, is a great companion for the current situation and our lives. We started recordings back in February and finished it during the lockdown. This alone makes it a special chapter for us, but we also expanded our musical cosmos without neglecting our well known trademarks.  The album deals with the coexistence of man and machine, shining light on some currently (frightening) relevant aspects. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved and we say thank you to everyone involved on this journey. Many of you have already asked how you can support us. We have a pretty simple answer: get the new album! We put a lot of love and effort into this baby and can´t wait to finally share it with you. Stay healthy! Peace LDC”

‘How Do We Want To Live?’ sees the band forging a sharply defined & artistically tight exploration of the relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence, and the state of digital progress. Comprised of 10 tracks which contain all the classic LDC-trademarks whilst also bringing something completely fresh and unexpected to the table with their ambitious use of electronic sounds, a perfect symbiosis between man and machine. 

‘How Do We Want To Live?’ will be available as a Limited Edition CD, Gatefold Black 2LP + CD & as Digital Album. A limited deluxe box-set will also be released, containing a special coloured edition of the album, an exclusive 7inch featuring two remixes, a beautiful poster featuring the albums stunning artwork by Max Löffler, and 4 individually signed art-cards all contained in a lift-off box. Pre-order now here https://longdistancecalling.lnk.to/HowDoWeWantToLive

The full track-listing is as follows:

1.     Curiosity (Part 1)

2.     Curiosity (Part 2)

3.     Hazard

4.     Voices

5.    Fail/Opportunity

6.    Immunity

7.     Sharing Thoughts

8.     Beyond Your Limits

9.     True/Negative

10.  Ashes

The track ‘Beyond Your Limits’ continues the band´s tradition of having one track with a vocalist, and features the talents of Eric A. Pulverich of the band Kyles Tolone. As the band comments: “We got to know him over our producer Arne Neurand. We were instantly fascinated by his voice and we wanted to show the quality of his voice and melodies.”

It was recently announced that the band have been nominated for the GEMA Musikautorenpreis 2020. This is an integral part of the German music landscape and unique in its focus on music writers. GEMA has been honoring composers and lyricists for their musical work in this way for 12 years, and is representative of the great diversity and the enormous range of fascinating works across genres.

LONG DISTANCE CALLING will return to the ‘Seats & Sounds’ format for a German tour in September 2020. 

08.09.20 Hamburg kleine Elbphilharmonie – SOLD OUT

09.09.20 Hannover Pavillon

10.09.20 Bochum Christuskirche

11.09.20 Dresden Alter Schlachthof

12.09.20 Leipzig Parkbühne

13.09.20 Berlin Passionskirche

15.09.20 Köln E-Werk

16.09.20 Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle Club

17.09.20 Mannheim Capitol

18.09.20 München St. Matthäus

19.09.20 Stuttgart Mozartsaal

The band recently released their first ever live album ‘STUMMFILM – Live from Hamburg (A Seats & Sounds Show)’. Filmed during a special run of dates in early 2019, it saw the band performing seated shows in some very special locations for a stunning audio-visual experience.

Caligula’s Horse launch video for ‘Slow Violence’, second single taken from ‘Rise Radiant’

Caligula’s Horse, hailing from Brisbane, Australia, a leading light in contemporary progressive metal worldwide, recently announced their fifth studio album ‘Rise Radiant’ for release on the 22nd May 2020. Produced by the group’s Sam Vallen, and mixed by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend Project, Leprous), the record is their most focussed and potent artistic statement to date. 

Today the band are proud to launch the video for the awe-inspiring second single ‘Slow Violence’, directed and produced by the band’s own Adrian Goleby & Dale Prinsse respectively. Watch the video now here:

Vocalist Jim Grey comments: “Our goal with Slow Violence was to create something more stripped back and minimal musically speaking, letting the guy’s performances speak for themselves. The result was something full of energy and with a powerful message that we’re all really proud of, and the hectic music video ended up capturing that explosive vibe perfectly. The idea for the themes in Slow Violence came out of my own frustrations with very visible hypocrisy in the face of a desperate need for change, and a youth that is crying out for unity in crisis. Slow Violence expresses that frustration along with the unifying message that one way or another, all are inevitably made equal.”

The band previously launched the track ‘The Tempest’, which Guitar World described as a “time signature-shifting guitar masterclass”. Listen now here: 

Guitarist Sam Vallen comments: “Rise Radiant is the album we’ve been working towards for almost a decade. It represents everything we love about Caligula’s Horse – the colour, the ferocity, the introspection, the extremes – all tied up together in a way we could never have managed until now. As a band, we’ve never felt tighter, more inspired, or more driven than in the creation of this record. We’re tremendously proud of Rise Radiant, and we can’t wait for you to hear it!”‘Rise Radiant’ is an uncompromising exploration of the human experience dressed in vivid musical colour and virtuosic performances. It is an anthem for the regeneration of self-belief, an exploration of the themes of legacy, and a rallying cry for survival. Comprised of 8 tracks, ‘Rise Radiant’ will be available as a limited CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP + CD & as digital download. The formats also include 2 bonus tracks, covers of the Split Enz track ‘Message To My Girl’ & Peter Gabriel’s ‘Don’t Give Up’, which also features a guest appearance by Lynsey Ward of Exploring Birdsong. You can find the full track-listing below and pre-orders are available here: https://caligulashorse.lnk.to/RiseRadiant 

1.    The Tempest

2.     Slow Violence

3.     Salt

4.     Resonate

5.     Oceanrise

6.    Valkyrie

7.     Autumn

8.     The Ascent

Caligula’s Horse had previously announced their first ever North American tour, which has unfortunately had to be postponed to January-February 2021. Look out for more details on that soon. 

Haken announce new album ‘Virus’ / Launch first single ‘Prosthetic’

Progressive rockers Haken are excited to reveal their new studio album ‘Virus’, the follow-up to 2018’s acclaimed album ‘Vector’, will be released 5th June 2020. By way of introduction, the band have recorded a special video message to give some background to the record: 

Today also sees the launch of the album’s first single and opening track ‘Prosthetic’, with a video directed by Vicente Cordero. Watch & listen to this punchy opening salvo here: 

The band comments: “Prosthetic was the first song we completed during the ‘Virus’ writing sessions and we always felt it would be the perfect opener for the album. It’s a very guitar heavy track with its roots in 80s thrash riffing, but with the unconventional rhythmic twists and turns we often like to explore in Haken. We sadly never had a Jeff Hanneman and Robert Fripp collaboration, but this song at least draws on inspiration from them both!

Lyrically the song is a bridge between our two albums Vector and Virus. The message was brilliantly brought to life by video director Vicente Cordero, who also beautifully captured the live energy of the band in a way that both enhances the song, and perfectly sets the scene for what’s to come.” 

Since releasing ‘Vector’ in October 2018, Haken have completed headline tours the world over, played sold-out shows across Europe and North America as support for Devin Townsend and picked up a Prog award for their efforts too! All the while, they have been quietly, secretly working on the follow-up album, entitled ‘Virus’.

Drummer Ray Hearne reveals, “since releasing ‘The Mountain’ in 2013, one question has been asked of us time and time again, ‘who is the Cockroach King?’. This is something we were interested in exploring more deeply too, so we essentially did that through our music; elaborating and expanding upon the intervallic, harmonic, rhythmic and lyrical themes of that song. The end result is in an arc which spans across two albums: ‘Vector’ and ‘Virus’”. 

Once again, Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood has mixed what is perhaps the most eclectic Haken album to date, with the 7 tracks revealing hints of influences from multiple genres, all intertwined with Haken’s own recognisable sound. Guitarist Richard Henshall had this to say about the production, “Using Nolly again was a no-brainer, as we wanted the two albums to be sonically connected. But having just spent a day mixing with him in his studio, it’s obvious that this album will be an evolution of the ‘Vector’ sound. These songs seem to allow a lot more freedom of creativity with the production, so we’re excited to see where it leads”.

Longtime Haken collaborators, Blacklake, have designed the visuals and artwork and the album will be available as a Limited 2CD, Standard CD, Gatefold 2LP + CD & as Digital Album. Pre-order now here: https://haken.lnk.to/Virus

The track-listing is as follows:

1.     Prosthetic

2.     Invasion

3.     Carousel

4.     The Strain

5.     Canary Yellow

6.     Messiah Complex i: Ivory Tower

7.     Messiah Complex ii: A Glutton for Punishment

8.     Messiah Complex iii: Marigold

9.     Messiah Complex iv: The Sect

10.  Messiah Complex v: Ectobius Rex

11.  Only Stars

‘Virus’ is the culmination of a musical thought experiment which started with the ‘Vector’ writing sessions in 2017 and holds intriguing potential for the band’s future, as vocalist Ross Jennings explains, “whilst ‘Virus’ can absolutely be enjoyed as a stand-alone work, it is thematically and conceptually linked with ‘Vector’, so our intention is to perform both albums back to back for a special performance someday”. 

HAKEN are:

Ross Jennings

Richard Henshall

Charlie Griffiths

Diego Tejeida

Conner Green

Ray Hearne

DEVIN TOWNSEND – Empath – The Ultimate Edition announced for release 5th June 2020

Devin Townsend is pleased to announce the release of ‘Empath – The Ultimate Edition’ on 5th June 2020. This comprehensive version of 2019’s acclaimed album contains the original record and bonus discs across 2 CDs, plus 2 Blu-Ray discs. The first blu-ray contains the 5.1 Surround Sound mix by Devin, with visuals for the full record, plus a stereo visualiser. The second blu-ray contains a raft of bonus material, including ‘Acoustically Inclined – Live in Leeds’, a recording from his April 2019 acoustic tour where he performed tracks including ‘Love?’, ‘Deadhead’, ‘Thing Beyond Things’ & more.

It also features the full Empath Documentary, a ‘Genesis 5.1 Mixing Lesson’, a full album commentary & more. The four discs sit inside a beautiful art-book that contains new liner notes and images from the making of the album.

Devin comments of the new 5.1 surround sound mix: 

“On a technical level, I guess I have always been dissatisfied with the basic ‘stereo’ format in which the type of music I make gets presented in. Whether its headphones, computer speakers, stereos (or basically anything currently), I have had to figure out ways to get the work to function through TWO speakers. I hear things in a particularly orchestrated way, and with the amount of information that typically gets recorded per song, the result has been the dubious ‘wall of sound’ that I keep ending up with. But my intention has never been to make an oppressive experience, but rather something that is immersive and vast.

Making it work in two speakers just simply doesn’t quite work for the vision. Although I’ve managed to get the point across, (to varying degrees), things always have to compromise to make it all fit. Making the drums speak at the same time as orchestra, cymbals, guitars, choirs, synths etc.…all with my voice on top, ends up with every conceivable frequency fighting for breathing space between those two speakers.

Therefore, I asked the powers that be in my business world, to tolerate one more ‘kick at the can’ when it came to Empath. I wanted to attempt a surround mix and follow the original vision of it being an immersive, multimedia experience for people in the ways I could best achieve at this stage. And although it’s still pretty ‘dense’, with four more sources for the sound to come from, I feel its significantly closer to the original vision here.”

Pre-orders are now available here: 

https://www.omerch.eu/shop/devintownsend/

https://Devin-Townsend.lnk.to/Empath-TheUltimateEdition

Devin will head out on a Summer festival run mixed with club shows in Europe, which includes a headline appearance at Bloodstock Festival in the UK.

04.06.2020 Sweden Rock Festival – Solvesborg (SE)

05.-07.06.2020 Rock Im Park  – Nürnberg (DE)

05.-07.06.2020 Rock Am Ring – Mendig (DE)

10.06.2020 Majestic Music Club – Bratislava (SVK)

10.06.2020 Mystic Festival – Krakow (PL)

11.06.2020 Nova Rock – Nickelsdorf, (AT)

13.06.2020 The Roman Arenas -Bucharest (ROU)

14.06.2020 Mixtape 5 -Sofia (BGR)

15.06.2020 A38 – Budapest (HU)

18.06.2020 Copenhell – Copenhagen (DK)

20.06.2020 Graspop Metal Meeting – Dessel (BE)

21.06.2020 Hellfest – Clisson (FR)

23.06.2020 Rockhal – Esch-sur-alzette (LUX) Co-Headline with Meshuggah

24.06.2020 Xtra – Zurich (CHE) Co-Headline with Meshuggah

26.06.2020 Rock The Night Festival – Rivas-Vaciamadrid (ES) – CANCELLED

28.06.2020 Tuska – Helsinki (FI)

29.07.2020 MetalDays, Tolmin (SLO)

30.07.2020 Wacken Open Air – Wacken (DE)

05.08.2020 Brutal Assault Festival – Jaromer (CZE)

07.08.2020 Bloodstock Open Air – Walton-On-Trent (UK)

09.08.2020 Into The Grave – Leeuwarden (NL)

12.08.2020 Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbuhl (DE)

Find the full list of upcoming dates here: https://www.hevydevy.com/tourdates/

Review – Pure Reason Revolution – Eupnea – by John Wenlock-Smith

Well this is certainly different for me. Yes, I’d heard of Pure Reason Revolution but somehow never actually listened to their modern day take on Progressive Rock. I know that they are well regarded in certain circles and they have quite a history. Several albums, a split and, more recently, a return to action, albeit in an altered form and with a slightly different line up, so this was new territory for me. I admit it did take me a while to get to a place of understanding with this album but, as always, continued listening finally gave way to understanding and then to acceptance and admiration even. 

Well this is my review of this their fourth album, ‘Eupnea’, their first since 2010.  It is pretty topical in content in that it speaks of the experiences of Jon Courtney and his wife surrounding the birth of their baby girl, Jessie. Born prematurely at 32 weeks and weighing just 3lbs, this album records her battle for survival, which thankfully she won.

It is Jon’s tribute to his wife and daughter Jessie and has this theme woven throughout the tracks, which really helps you understand the music properly once you are aware of its back story.

‘Eupnea’ consists of just Six tracks of varying length ranging from over four minutes to the epic title track that is nearly fourteen minutes in length. That said, there are no wasted moments on these tracks as everything is of relevance and worthy of their place. Let’s have a look at this in a bit more detail.

The music opens with New Obsession which includes the sounds of hospital apparatus monitoring heartbeat, pulse and breathing. This sets the scene for much of what is to follow; great vocal harmonies from Jon and Chloe Alper and some furious guitar work from Jon that really rocks out with a wonderful melodic solo at the 3.55-minute point. It really delivers a punch, along with that fabulous chorus of “It’s you, a child, a lover you’re dead calm and the choir is so soft tonight”. Very emotional, heartfelt and a simply fabulous opener.

This is followed by the first of the longer tracks, Silent Genesis, with its atmospheric keyboards and samples. A Pink Floyd type guitar line from Jon and an insistent bass line that works to anchor everything together. This track also features original PRR guitarist Greg Jong who was bought in to create this powerful emotional feeling.

Third track Maelstrom is so called because it marked the turning point in Jessie’s struggle for life when she began steadily breathing and her parents’ anxieties were lifted. This is a song of hope that the storm has started to pass over, deeply significant and with Jon and his wife being very grateful for this positive change, an end to the uncertainty. Again, this song has more wonderful harmonies from Jon and Chloe.

Ghosts and Typhoons follows and at over 8 minutes fits between the shorter and longer pieces like a bridge. It has blistering drum patterns to it and raucous guitar throughout, featuring lovely vocals from Chloe alongside some fine support from Jon resulting in more great harmonies. This is quite a powerfully propelled piece that shows PRR’s strengths and imagination at play.

Beyond Our Bodies is a celebratory song about the fragility of life and the body’s ability to overcome incredible difficulties and to come through the other side. This is another compelling song.

Which leads us to the title track and longest song, Eupnea, which is about normal unlaboured or quiet breathing, without volition. This is a song that brings everything together in a 13 odd minute piece of contrasts, in which heavy passages sit next to lighter more gentle ones in a juxtaposition of light and shade that accentuate the emotional roller coaster that this music takes you through.

This entire album is certainly a very moving journey, and one that I urge you to join, partly as at the time of writing this review the world is struggling to cope with the Covid 19 (Coronavirus). This album follows a different scenario with, thankfully, a positive outcome.

A simply marvellous album that will be on many ‘best of’ 2020 lists I’m sure.  A fine album indeed, very emotionally raw, it rocks hard too.

If, like me, you are unaware of the music of Pure Reason Revolution, then this album is a fine introduction and will hopefully whet your appetite to discover more from this fine outfit. Jon and Chloe have produced an album of depth and intelligence here that really deserves to be widely heard. Highly recommended indeed.

Released 3/4/2020

Order from InsideOut Music here:

http://www.insideoutshop.de/Item/Pure_Reason_Revolution_-_Eupnea_-Ltd-_CD_Digipak-/16622

Caligula’s Horse announce new album ‘Rise Radiant’ / Launch first single ‘The Tempest’

Caligula’s Horse, hailing from Brisbane, Australia, a leading light in contemporary progressive metal worldwide, are pleased to announce their fifth studio album ‘Rise Radiant’ for release on the 22nd May 2020. Produced by the group’s Sam Vallen, and mixed by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend Project, Leprous), the record is their most focussed and potent artistic statement to date. 

The band are also excited to launch the first single from the album, and you can listen to the albums’ opening track ‘The Tempest’ now:

Lead guitarist Sam Vallen comments: “‘Rise Radiant’ is the album we’ve been working towards for almost a decade. It represents everything we love about Caligula’s Horse – the colour, the ferocity, the introspection, the extremes – all tied up together in a way we could never have managed until now. As a band, we’ve never felt tighter, more inspired, or more driven than in the creation of this record. We’re tremendously proud of ‘Rise Radiant’, and we can’t wait for you to hear it!”

‘Rise Radiant’ is an uncompromising exploration of the human experience dressed in vivid musical colour and virtuosic performances. It is an anthem for the regeneration of self-belief, an exploration of the themes of legacy, and a rallying cry for survival. Comprised of 8 tracks, ‘Rise Radiant’ will be available as a limited CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP + CD & as digital download. The formats also include 2 bonus tracks, covers of the Split Enz track ‘Message To My Girl’ & Peter Gabriel’s ‘Don’t Give Up’, which also features a guest appearance by Lynsey Ward of Exploring Birdsong. You can find the full track-listing below and pre-orders are available here: https://caligulashorse.lnk.to/RiseRadiant

1.    The Tempest

2.     Slow Violence

3.     Salt

4.     Resonate

5.     Oceanrise

6.    Valkyrie

7.     Autumn

8.     The Ascent

Caligula’s Horse will embark on first ever North American headline tour starting in May, following their one-off appearance at ProgPower USA last year. The band will bring their eclectic and energetic live show to American audiences, hitting the road with Long Island heavy rock juggernaut Moon Tooth, as well as fellow countrymen prog prodigies Ebonivory.

You can find the full list of dates below:

Tickets From caligulashorse.com/tour

May 2020:

22 Chicago, IL  – Reggie’s Rock Club

23 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom

24 Toronto, ON – Mod Club

25 Montreal, QC – Petit Campus

26 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall

27 New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre

28 Philadelphia, PA – The Foundry

29 Washington, DC – Union Stage

30 Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre

June 2020:

1 Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Bar & Grill

2 Austin, TX – Come And Take It Live

4 Phoenix, AZ – The Rebel Lounge

5 Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy Theatre

6 San Francisco, CA – Slim’s

7 Portland, OR – Hawthorn Theatre

8 Seattle, WA -El Corazon

9 Vancouver, BC – The Biltmore

11 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge

12 Denver, CO – Marquis Theater

13 Kansas City, MO – Riot Room

14 Minneapolis, MN – Amsterdam Hall

16 St Louis, MO – Red Flag

17 Nashville, TN – Exit/In

18 Atlanta, GA – Purgatory @ The Masquerade

19 West Palm Beach, FL – Respectable Street

20 Orlando, FL – Soundbar

Look out for further world tour dates in the near future.

CALIGULA’S HORSE online: