Randy McStine (Opening for Pineapple Thief)
Photo report: Randy McStine live at Apolo 2, Barcelona, 1 March 2024.
Rock Progressiu
Les novetats, cròniques, entrevistes i concerts de rock progressiu —rock progresivo, en castellà—, en català: des dels grans clàssics fins a les bandes que avui construeixen obres extenses i ambicioses, amb capes de so i estructures que trenquen el format cancó. Tótum Revolútum Press hi dedica seguiment i cobertura des del 2015.
The Chronicles of Father Robin – The Songs and Tales of Airoea – Book III
Norwegian musicians from Wobbler and Jordsjø close their 30-year Airoea trilogy with a warm, retro slice of classic progressive rock.
Steve Hackett – The Circus and the Nightwhale
His thirty-second album is uneven in production but shows Hackett still capable of real guitar magic, especially on “Enter the Ring”.
Metamorfosis, Papallones i Elefants (1982)
A rediscovered gem of Catalan progressive rock: Metamorfosis’s only album, “Papallones i Elefants” (1982), blending symphonic rock and jazz-fusion.
Henry Now
Photo report: Henry Now — former members of Henry Cow reunited — live at Auditori Tete Montoliu, Barcelona, 13 January 2024.
Kristoffer Gildenlöw – Empty
A consistently melancholic solo record from the former Pain of Salvation bassist — beautiful within its narrow emotional range.
The Pineapple Thief – It Leads to This
Bruce Soord and Gavin Harrison deliver a polished, consistently excellent record from one of prog’s most respected working bands.
The Moog Modular Synthesizers
From Wendy Carlos to Keith Emerson: how the Moog modular synthesizer, with its patch-cables and ribbon controller, became the sound of Progressive Rock’s most spectacular solos.
Slift – Ilion (2024)
This Toulouse trio fuses psychedelia, punk and prog into one of 2024’s most demanding, rewarding albums.
Neal Morse – The Restoration – Joseph, Part Two
A warning for die-hard fans only: Morse’s second Joseph instalment recycles every trademark of his 30-year catalogue.
The Fender Stratocaster
From Hendrix to Van Halen’s Frankenstrat: the story of the most famous guitar in rock history, and how it shaped everything from Prog to shredding.
Santacreu – Cançons d’amor, dol i enyorança
A grief-soaked doom-tinged debut from a local band whose quality has nothing to envy internationally known acts.
Rabea Massaad – Grinding Gears, Vol. 4
A multi-instrumentalist guitar virtuoso proves progressive rock doesn’t need long songs — short, punchy tracks packed with technique.
Marco Minnemann – Their Colors Fade
A drummer’s album loaded with stellar guests, but held back by the same drummer’s constant urge to steal the spotlight.
The Hammond Organ
From church pews to Deep Purple: the story of the Hammond organ, its tonewheels and drawbars, and how it became Progressive Rock’s most iconic keyboard.
Art Against Agony – Sound of Inevitability
94 minutes of masked, pseudonymous jazz-metal from Stuttgart — demanding, sprawling, and technically flawless.
Moon Safari – Himlabacken Vol. 2
Sweden’s sweetest AOR sextet returns after a decade with a record that is wonderful in its first half and saccharine overkill in its second.
Chris Squire’s Wal Triple-Neck Bass
How Rick Wakeman commissioned a spectacular triple-neck bass in 1974, and how it ended up in Chris Squire’s hands, becoming the iconic instrument behind Yes’s ‘Awaken’.
Helga – Wrapped in Mist
A Swedish-in-York debut swinging between complex, Indukti-esque prog and softer folk detours — uneven but promising.
Peter Gabriel – i/o
21 years on, Gabriel’s dual-mix comeback record has flashes of brilliance but mostly recycles a formula that technology has hollowed out.
Crack the Sky, “Crack the Sky” (1975)
Crack the Sky’s self-titled 1975 debut deserved a far bigger career than it got: an ambitious, witty, richly orchestrated slice of progressive rock.
Big Bang – Causas naturales
A Badalona rock band’s fifth album deserves more attention than it gets — a solid, varied record with nothing to envy its foreign peers.
Glass Hammer – Arise
A reshuffled line-up sends this concept album into deliberately lo-fi space-rock territory, anchored by the album’s real star: the bass.
The Birotron
The Mellotron’s forgotten rival: how Rick Wakeman poured his own money into the Birotron, and why it became one of the rarest instruments ever built.
D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings – Sophomore
Three prog heavyweights team up again for a sugary, onomatopoeia-heavy record that only really clicks on its rockier tracks.
Steve Hackett to release new studio album «The Circus And The Nightwhale»
Steve Hackett’s 13-track concept album «The Circus And The Nightwhale» arrives 16 February 2024 via InsideOut Music, with Nad Sylvan, Jonas Reingold and Amanda Lehmann among the guests.
John Lönnmyr – Aftonland
A Swedish keyboardist’s instrumental love letter to classic seventies prog, from Canterbury textures to Opeth-adjacent moments.
The Aristocrats
Photo report: Guthrie Govan, Brian Beller and Marco Minnemann’s The Aristocrats, The Defrost Tour 2023, at Salamandra, 20 November 2023.
The Mellotron (Part 2)
Part two of the Mellotron story: the Mk V, the Novatron split, the fall to digital sampling, and the instrument’s revival decades later.
Temic – Terror Management Theory
A prog-metal supergroup debut with an impressive résumé and an even better ear for gentle vocal melodies over punishing instrumentation.
Mariusz Duda – AFR AI D
The Riverside bassist’s electronic solo project leans hard into vintage synth sounds — charming at first, wearing thin by the end.
Colin Edwin & Robert Jürjendal – The Weight Of A Shadow
A Fripp-schooled guitarist and the former Porcupine Tree bassist trade ambient textures long-distance — demanding, uneven, occasionally rewarding.
The Mellotron (Part 1)
The first in a series on progressive rock’s iconic instruments: how the Mellotron was born as an illegal copy of the Chamberlin, and became the defining sound of ’70s Symphonic Rock.
Pattern-Seeking Animals – Spooky Action at a Distance
A record of two halves: an entertaining, melodic first act undone by a saccharine, dated-sounding second one.
Gong – Unending Ascending
53 musicians later, Gong’s current line-up honours Daevid Allen’s legacy with a classicist, meditative record.