Progressive rock
Robin Trower and Derek Sherinian on Mastering Their Instruments and Famous Collaborations
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Two legendary artists, prog keyboardist Derek Sherinian and guitarist Robin Trower, join the Kyle Meredith With… podcast for a special two-part episodes. Advertisement Related Video First, Sherinian — recently voted the Greatest Keyboard Player of the 21st Century by MusicRadar — discusses his new album Vortex; working with Steve Lukather, Zakk Wylde, and Nuno Bettencourt; and future plans to team back up with frequent collaborator David Coverdale. Then, Trower joins Kyle to talk about No More Worlds to Conquer, an album that at times finds him railing against world leadership and lying p...
The Mars Volta Announce New Self-Titled Album, Share “Vigil”: Stream
After sharing a pair of comeback singles, The Mars Volta are finally ready to release their first proper album in 10 years. Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López have announced a new self-titled album, due out on September 16th via Cloud Hill. In anticipation, a new song called “Vigil” is out now. The Mars Volta released their most recent album Noctourniquet in 2012 before Bixler-Zavala and Rodríguez-López went their separate ways. Earlier this year, the duo returned with the Caribbean-tinged “Blacklight Shine” and the plusing electronic number “Graveyard Love.” Both songs will appear on The Mars Volta, a 14-track LP which will be available on CD, vinyl, and cassette. Pre-orders are available now. On latest single “Vigil,” the El Paso band once again switches up their sou...
R.I.P. Massimo Morante, Goblin Co-Founder Dead at 69
Massimo Morante, the Italian guitarist and co-founder of the band Goblin, has died. He was 69 years old. The musician’s passing was confirmed by his bandmates, who shared a post on their official Facebook page reading, “Goblin announce with a heavy heart and in total disbelief the passing of founder and guitar master Massimo Morante.” On her own Facebook page, Morante’s daughter Valerie added, “It is with indescribable pain, a pain that trumps words, that breaks the breath and hammer the heart, that I announce the death of my father, Massimo Morante.” Advertisement Related Video Morante and his co-founder, keyboardist Claudio Simonetti, launched the Italian prog rock band as Cherry Five in 1973, eventually recruiting bassist Fabio Pignatelli, vocalist Tony Tartarini, and drummer Carlo Bord...
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson Attend Primus’ Rush Tribute Show in Toronto: “They Did Us Proud”
Primus had a couple of potentially intimidating fans on Friday (May 14th) at Toronto’s Massey Hall, where Rush members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were in attendance. After all, Primus are paying tribute to Rush during this tour, but it appears they didn’t disappoint the prog-rock legends. Primus have been playing Rush’s A Farewell to Kings in its entirety, along with select Primus cuts, on the ongoing tribute run. When the route passed through Rush’s native Canada, it only made sense for Lee and Lifeson to drop by and check it out (Lee had previously given Primus’ Les Claypool some in-person tips prior to the tour). “On Friday night we had the joyful experience of reuniting with our grand pals from Primus… Les, Ler, Herb and their gang…” wrote Lee on Instagram. “We sat side stage as they i...
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Releases Debut Solo EP Portals: Stream
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has released the Portals EP — his debut solo release. He also unveiled the video for the song “High Plains Drifter.” The instrumental four-song offering marks the first time a core member of Metallica has pursued a solo project while remaining in the band. Hammett recently told Rolling Stone that he was “shocked” he got the band’s blessing to release the EP, alluding to the conflict that partially led to the exit of former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted. Hammett even worked with personnel close to the Metallica camp, including Edwin Outwater — the conductor of the S&M2 concerts — and veteran producer Bob Rock. That said, the music on Portals is a far cry from the thrash metal of Hammett’s full-time gig. Advertisement Related Video As we remar...
Kirk Hammett on Discovering Prog Rock and Having the First Metallica Solo Release
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Metallica’s Kirk Hammett gives Kyle Meredith a call to talk about his debut solo EP, Portals, and how it was birthed from his horror movie exhibition and when Metallica did S&M 2. Related Video The guitarist tells us about just discovering prog rock bands like Genesis, Yes, and Jethro Tull, as well as not being much of a fan of The Beatles. He also talks about what it means to have his EP be the first Metallica solo release, and the possibility of eventually playing these songs live. Advertisement Hammett also discusses if he would do a guest-packed solo album in the vein of Tom Morello’s recent releases, future pl...
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Indulges Classical and Prog Tendencies on His Excellent Debut Solo EP Portals: Review
For a band with a such a storied career as Metallica, it is rather surprising that the longtime active members haven’t ventured off into various solo projects. That said, if we were to have wagered which member was most likely to go it alone, our best bet would’ve been Kirk Hammett. For years we’ve been hearing about the guitarist stockpiling hundreds, if not thousands of riffs on his phone. Considering Metallica’s deliberate workflow, only so many of these riffs and melodies, if any, will actually make it onto one of their records. Kirk needed an outlet, and he found it with his debut solo EP, Portals. No, this isn’t Kirk’s foray into becoming a singer-songwriter. Rather, the four-song release is entirely instrumental and contains minimal traces of heavy metal. Hammett said he took a “Aud...
Greta Van Fleet’s Josh Kiszka Acknowledges Appropriation of Indigenous Culture
Greta Van Fleet singer Josh Kiszka has acknowledged that he appropriated Indigenous culture in the past. The vocalist was the target of a recent hashtag campaign (#SpeakUpGVF) calling for him to address and remove a series of photos on his Instagram page showing him and his friends wearing Indigenous garments back in 2017. The mission statement of the #SpeakUpGVF campaign read, in part, “Indigenous fans and those practicing allyship have tried to contact Josh and ask him to remove the photos and address the cultural appropriation, but he continues to stay silent and the photos continue to stay up. Remaining silent on this is upsetting and is ignorant as it upholds racist ideologies that Indigenous cultures are simply a costume, when they are sacred, and not open for appropriation. Fans cre...
Elder to Embark on Summer 2022 North American Tour
Elder have announced a summer North American tour, marking the heavy prog-psych rockers’ first extensive outing on the continent in roughly three years. They’ll be joined by Ruby the Hatchet, Belzebong, and Dreadnought on select dates. The trek kicks off August 3rd in Brooklyn, New York, and runs through September 10th in Boston (Ruby the Hatchet and Dreadnought will open the first leg, with Belzebong replacing the former for the second leg). An appearance at the Psycho Las Vegas Thursday pool party on August 18th highlights the run for Elder. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased via Ticketmaster. Related Video “For a band like Elder that normally spends about half of every year on the road, the past few years have been hard on us — but have far from broken our spirit,” commen...
Les Claypool on Covering Rush, New Primus and Delirium, and His Thoughts on Maynard’s Wine
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Les Claypool catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about Primus’ upcoming continuation of their A Tribute to Kings tour, where they play the 1977 Rush album A Farewell to Kings in full (get your tickets here). Related Video The legendary singer/bassist goes on to discuss his fandom for Peter Gabriel, XTC, and Jerry Reed before giving us an update on the next Primus release (an EP that will feature a 13-minute song), a project with Sean Lennon that has something to do with animation, “a twang thing” with Billy Strings, and the possibility of another Oysterhead album. Advertisement Claypool then heads back to 2002 to talk about ...
Kirk Hammett: Cliff Burton “Freaked Out” When Rush’s Geddy Lee Came to See Metallica Play a Show
Metallica have often cited the music of Rush as an inspiration for epic songs such as “Master of Puppets” and “Orion.” Late Metallica legend Cliff Burton especially idolized the progressive rock band, particularly fellow bassist Geddy Lee. During a recent Q&A session alongside photographer Ross Halfin and Metallica fanclub magazine editor Steffan Chirazi, guitarist Kirk Hammett reflected on the time when Lee came to see Metallica play. “Geddy Lee showed up at one of our shows on the Ride the Lightning tour,” Hammett told the audience at the San Francisco Elk Lodge as part of the Q&A for Metallica’s 40th anniversary celebration last month. “We played Toronto, and all of a sudden we got a message backstage that Geddy Lee was in the audience. And Cliff Burton just freaked out.” Advert...
Rush Pinball Machines Officially Unveiled: Watch Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson Record Dialogue
Stern Pinball has unveiled its new Rush machines, including three cabinet variants. Last week, we reported that Stern’s first pinball machine of 2022 would be themed after the iconic progressive rock band. At the time, only a short teaser trailer was available featuring a list of songs and a CGI version of the Fly By Night owl. Now, Stern has given fans a first full glimpse at the Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition Rush cabinets as well as detailing gameplay and the revolutionary Insider Connected feature. Related Video The company set out to “reflect the energy, excitement, and experience of a live Rush concert” as players “travel with Rush through time.” The game will be guided by exclusive concert footage and custom dialogue from Rush members Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, along with fellow...
