CATEGORIES

Vital organist

Anna Lapwood has built a huge fanbase through her performances of music from Bach to Disney and her enthusiastic social media presence. Richard Morrison catches up with her as she records her debut album for Sony

Leoš Janáček - Sinfonietta

Terry Williams enjoys a musical city tour in the company of the Czech composer as he explores the nooks and crannies of the best recordings

Joseph Haydn

The father of the symphony and the string quartet deserves to be remembered for his still underappreciated operas too, says George Hall

THE GRASS IS ALWAYS BLUER

SIX BLAZING BLUEGRASS GUITARISTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT (BESIDES BILLY STRINGS AND MOLLY TUTTLE!)

Stoking that Fire

In Flames reignite the death metal fire with Foregone, an album that marks ex-Megadeth master Chris Broderick’s recording debut with the band

STEVE BARTEK

The former Oingo Boingo guitarist talks “Dead Man’s Party,” his early days with future Skynyrd guitarist Ed King, upcoming shows with Danny Elfman and a lifetime of scoring films

Opera Heroines

Despite being perpetually overlooked, women have been writing superb and challenging operas since the 17th century, as Rebecca Franks discovers

In the Eye of the Hurricane

WITH A NEW SOLO ALBUM SHAKING UP THE AIRWAVES, NITA STRAUSS DISCUSSES THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING RISKS. STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND NEVER SETTLING

IHLO

Studio project-turned-band proper deliver dark, poppy and synth-infused prog metal.

The Music Begins Here

Canterbury mainstays Soft Machine are back! As the group herald a new era without their longtime drummer John Marshall and bassist Roy Babbington, the current line-up tell Prog all about their latest studio album, Other Doors, and we find out more about their new drummer, Asaf Sirkis.

The Voyage Beyond Eurovision

Many artists would follow a mainstream moment with the most accessible music of their career. However, weeks after finishing in the Top 10 at the Eurovision Song Contest, Voyager have doubled down on their heavy synth-prog with new album Fearless In Love. Singer Danny Estrin, guitarist Simone Dow and bassist Alex Canion tell Prog about life after playing to more than 160 million people.

Stories To Thrill And terrify

A ghost train, aliens, Captain Nemo's famous submarine and much more besides inhabit I Am The Manic Whale's Bumper Book Of Mystery Stories. Frontman and founder Michael Whiteman talks to Prog about giving voice to his lifelong love of the uncanny and the inexplicable.

Far Beyond The Lighted Stage

One of metal’s biggest bands has thrown caution to the wind, embracing psychedelics, absurdity and a wilful disregard for the limits of genre. Avenged Sevenfold’s frontman M Shadows gives Prog an insight into the philosophy, sound and pursuit of discomfort that all shaped Life Is But A Dream…

Read All About It!

The Fierce And The Dead haven't had it easy in recent years, but they're ready to put all that behind them with their fourth album, News From The Invisible World. It's striking in many ways - not least that, for the first time, they've recorded with vocals. Guitarist Matt Stevens and bassist Kevin Feażey join Prog to lift the lid on how the quartet are enjoying a new lease of life.

Filling The Empty Spaces - EIGHT YEARS THAT CHANGED PINK FLOYD FOREVER

The two shows Pink Floyd played at London’s Earls Court in May 1973 marked a quantum leap for the group out of the ballrooms and theatre circuit into the arenas, stadiums and fields, where their concerts would remain for the rest of their career. Thanks to the worldwide allure of their eighth album, The Dark Side Of The Moon, their controls seemed to be set; any intimacy and direct connection with the audience – never something highest on Floyd’s priority list – was over. Prog explores those shows and their impact on the group in the following years.

EVERYONE'S A WINNER

Almost 15 years into their career, Godsticks are still winning new fans with their blend of dark and complex music. Bandleader Darran Charles talks through the highs and lows of making their sixth studio album, This Is What A Winner Looks Like, and tells us why he doesn’t mind if you call them ‘prog metal’.

Mystery Lessons

Montreal-based Mystery put their planned ninth studio album, Redemption, on hold in 2020. The ensuing break enabled Michel St-Père, who founded the band 37 years ago as a studio project, to write some of its more grandiose tracks. He explains how a heroic Canadian soldier found his way onto the album and why coming to the UK has always been a costly business for the Mysterons.

MONG TONG

Taiwanese brothers mix up their native culture with western electronics and global psychedelia to blur genres.

OSYRON

Queensrÿche-inspired Canadians take prog metal to darker realms.

THEY WATCH US FROM THE MOON

Spaced-out US collective reach new heights with their debut album.

THE ANCHORET

A stranger ina strange land spins a tale of loneliness with help from some new friends.

Dance To The Music

Norway’s self-proclaimed “retro-prog” trio are back with an album inspired by an abstract dance performance! Ring Van Möbius reveal why they jumped at the chance to move away from their comfort zone with the project that led to Commissioned Works Pt II – Six Drops Of Poison, and their plans for future releases – which could even include a recording of the soundtrack to the horror flick Suspiria.

Q&A RAY ALDER

The Fates Warning vocalist discusses his complex second solo album, the future of his main band and playing live without his ‘brothers’.

Rebel Rousers

After the seriousness of Ayreon and Star One, Arjen Lucassen is ready to let his hair down with Supersonic Revolution. The Dutch polymath is shaking things up and heading back to the 70s for some serious fun, and he's gathered together a fantastic group of musicians to help him.

THE PROG INTERVIEW - IVAR BJØRNSON

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Ivar Bjørnson. Enslaved’s guitarist and synth player discovered Pink Floyd at an early age and found an unlikely prog mentor in one of the founders of Bergen’s controversial black metal scene. His first group was a brass band, but he quickly moved from more traditional to extreme sounds, eventually finding his place as one of the pioneers of modern progressive metal. In 2015, he and Wardruna’s Einar Selvik reignited the Nordic flame with their By Norse label, and more recently Enslaved celebrated their 30th anniversary with the even proggier Heimdal. Here, the multiinstrumentalist takes a break from touring to recount his curious and unexpected musical journey so far.

HAPPY OLD WORLD...

In 1970, Barclay James Harvest caught the critics' attention when they experimented with rock and orchestra on their bold self-titled debut. Half a century later, John Lees' Barclay James Harvest are preparing for their final live shows before the bandleader retires, including a special orchestral concert in Huddersfield in September. John Lees discusses the band's incredible career and the tracks that made up their recently reissued second album, Once Again.

"I'm on a journey as a guitarist to achieve perfection"

Heavy rock heroes Greta Van Fleet are on a mission to explore new territory. For guitarist Jake Kiszka, this means different techniques, random guitars and all-improvised solos. "Stagnation," he says, "Is a form of death."

"The strat sound is the most inspiring”

The Lemon Twigs' power-pop has a new sense of refinement - plus some classic guitar heroics

"It sounds like a cyborg hungover and vomiting!"

Inside the 'sonic craziness' of punkmetal project Mutoid Man

MITCH DALTON

The studio guitarist's guide to happiness and personal fulfilment, as related by our resident session ace. This month: Forgive Me Father, For I Have Sinned.