It’s good to be back, I’ve spent nearly eighteen months in the wilderness, unable to focus on anything to do with music, apart from listening to it. The previous Progradar site was no more and I didn’t have the energy to do anything about it!
Thankfully, music saved the day. New albums from The Tangent and my old friends in The Fierce And The Dead got the creative juices flowing again and when Steve Babb informed the world that there would be a new Glass Hammer album on the horizon, I knew I had to do something about it.
With the technical assistance of my son, Progradar has risen from the ashes and the first review you will read on the new site is of the magical new album from Steve Babb and Glass Hammer.
“The story idea was pre-brain tumor. The music came 4 months after my craniotomy. Quirky lyrics and story set to very serious music! So this one is kinda crazy. But I’m very proud of it. New players and singers mostly, and a whole new sound than any other GH album (IMHO), though it still sounds like Glass Hammer to me! Not sure how that works.”
A lot of chatting to and fro between Steve and me gave me the backdrop to the new album.
“It was supposed to be a little cheesy! And I hope a little nostalgic too. I assume a lot of other guys my age had those black light posters up on the wall.”
Centered around a quirky, surreal story of a young prog-rocker drawn into a 1970s black-light poster, the album explores themes of nostalgia, longing, and the dual worlds of artistic inspiration.
Black Light marks one of the most personal and stylistically distinct entries in Glass Hammer’s long catalog. The album will be released on 6th November and available on CD and digital platforms.
This new Glass Hammer release is a big change for Steve, the earlier albums had the Yes influence and the more recent releases (especially the Skallagrim trilogy) were very Rush influenced (I mean both of those references in the most positive way). Black Light seems to really be Steve putting those early influences behind him and just making the very best album he can. The storyline is especially good and really helps with the appreciation of the album. I was smiling from start to finish to be honest!
The cover art shouts ‘Stranger Things‘ at me and I really like it. To my ears it is the band’s most joyous and fun album yet. It shouts the 1970’s at me sonically, especially the opening and closing tracks and I absolutely love the journey through GH’s storied history. It’s a lyrically impressive album as well as a hugely enjoyable one.
The album opens with the one-two smash of I Stared At It Too Long and Lost Horizons, the latter being the the name of a black light poster from the 70’s that was very popular. Steve had it when he was a teenager, and then bought it again a couple of years ago and that’s what kicked off the whole idea for the new album. This opening salvo is is just a grin fest and makes me smile so much as well as being extremely catchy and funky, a real wild ride of 70’s influences with Tom Scholz style guitar, swirling keyboards and thunderous bass. The guitar is particularly exciting and Steve admitted to really getting into Boston‘s first album last year and you can really hear it in the music.
Evermore is a wondrous piece of music that literally flows over you with its style and smoothness, a polished creation of beauty and class that oozes sophistication. Tom Scholz returns (not literally!) on the energetic rocker that is Return To the Shadowlands. A gloriously over the top ten minutes of perfectly fused prog and hard rock that just gets better and better as it dances along.
Do you remember those 70’s Sci-Fi shows that always had the coolest theme tunes? Well be prepared to head back to those times with the Stanger Things funk and psychedelia of Neon-Wizard – The Battle, a stomping, stonking noise-fest of epic proportions that sounds like an explosion of colours going off in your brain. It’s a chaotic and rabid piece of music that is fired along by the visceral guitar, epic drums and soaring keys. The second of a trio of great instrumentals is the short but brooding The Forest Of Forgetting, more of that 70’s Sci-Fi but with more of a funky groove to it, delivered by some rather cool keyboards. The trio is completed by The Persistence Of Memory, more of a straight up rocking instrumental with staccato guitar and vibrant bass adding some heft to the music.
We go completely laid back with the delightfully psychedelic Mercury Rain, a free-flowing, relaxed meander down a river of wonder and awakening. The mellifluous vocals of Olivia Tharpe add to the uplifting atmosphere and leave you in a state of surreal grace.
“Remember, Mercury Rain falls upside down”, declares the radio-like voice before we segue into the final power punch of It Falls Upside Down and Kaleidoscope Skies, the final two tracks of the album. We move through 70’s tinged hard rock to some elegant, frantic and utterly magnificent Gentle Giant and Focus infused progressive rock and it almost feels like Keith Emerson makes an appearance on the room-filling organ. It’s here that guitarist Ferran Ligero really cuts loose and it is a joy to hear. Steve told me that he told Ferran exactly what to play and exactly how he wanted it to sound and he completely nailed it! This section of the piece is just something incredible to behold and quite possible the best section of music that Steve has ever composed and the way that it comes to a close ends the album perfectly.
I asked Steve to sum up what Black Light meant to him and what the future holds for Glass Hammer,
“In my way of thinking, Black Light is half tongue-in-cheek. It’s a crazy story told with psychedelic-influenced lyrics set to some very serious music. And its underlying theme is equally as serious. Taken as a whole, maybe it makes as much sense as a “glass hammer”? But I went where the muse led on this one and hope very much that listeners can appreciate its nostalgic intent, its themes, and the work that went into it. I’ve certainly enjoyed making this album more than any other! I’ve even got a new project percolating in my head that would take the Black Light “vibe” and push it even farther.
Glass Hammer has always changed and re-invented itself every few years. Recent, significant changes in lineup are proof of that. Since the inception of Glass Hammer decades ago, many talented players have come and gone. It’s been an honor to play and record with every one of them. But I’m still here! I still enjoy doing this very much, and made the decision to keep the Glass Hammer name alive and well as long as I’m able.”
And my thoughts on the new album?
As a long time fan of Glass Hammer, I’ve seen the seminal US prog titans’ sound develop and grow to become something of a signature and with Black Light, Steve Babb has delivered his most accomplished and sonically brilliant piece of work yet. Glass Hammer continue to evolve into one of the best progressive acts around.
Released 6th November, 2026
Pre-order from the official GH store soon…