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Review – Solstice Live at the Dome 20/4/25 – by John Wenlock-Smith
Tufnell Park’s Dome is a new venue to me, if not to Londoners who like progressive rock music. It is very conveniently located across the road from Tufnell Park underground station and adjacent to the Boston Arms public house. Well, last night it hosted quite a remarkable, spectacular and effusive end of tour show and…
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Review – Red Bazar – Blood Moon – by John Wenlock-Smith
Red Bazar are the band that Peter Jones uses when playing band shows as Tiger Moth Tales, in return for which he adds keyboards and vocals to their songs and elevating them in the process with his excellent voice and his deft keyboards. It’s a symbiotic relationship as both parties gain significantly from it’s existence.…
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Review – Solstice – Clann – by John Wenlock-Smith
Solstice are currently on a noticeably upward trajectory and this new album from the veteran proggers certainly agrees with that statement as it isa most uplifting and positive album of some very fine music indeed. The album has a mere six tracks (if you include the bonus), all around the 5 or 6 minute duration,…
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SWALLOW THE SUN – STREAM AND WATCH THEIR NEW LIVE OFFERING ‘INNOCENCE WAS LONG FORGOTTEN (LIVE AT HELLSINKI METAL FESTIVAL 2024)’
SHINING OVER EUROPE TOUR STARTS NOW TICKETS ON SALE NOW Finnish doom metal icons SWALLOW THE SUN are dropping their digital-only SHINING DARK DELUXE today, along with a new live release, Innocence Was Long Forgotten (Live At Hellsinki Metal Festival 2024) . This exclusive edition offers fans an immersive, atmospheric experience, featuring fresh renditions of selected studio tracks that…
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Review – Nova Cascade – Box Man – by John Wenlock-Smith
This, sadly, will be the final album for Nova Cascade, the group that came to be from conversations arising out of an internet chat room back in 2010. It became a series of collaborations which resulted in the making of five excellent albums, including this latest and final instalment, ‘Box Man’. The new album sees…
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Review – Oak – The Third Sleep
With their highly anticipated fourth album, ‘The Third Sleep’, Norwegian progressive rock band OAK delivers a striking exploration of societal complacency and the struggle of the individual. The album contrasts light and darkness, both thematically and musically, seamlessly blending folk-inspired acoustic passages with the raw intensity of progressive metal, evoking echoes of Opeth and beyond.…
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Review – CIRCU5 – Clockwork Tulpa
Clockwork Tulpa is CIRCU5’s first album release as a full band, with Tin Spirits frontman Mark Kilminster and drummer Lee Moulding joining founder Steve Tilling. “Apart from a few guest spots, the debut album was a solo effort – and quite a lonely experience,” says Steve. “With Mark and Lee in the band, CIRCU5 can…
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Review – Pattern Seeking Animals – Friend Of All Creatures – by John Wenlock-Smith
Pattern Seeking Animals have recently released ‘Friend of All Creatures’, their fifth album in five years. They have also changed the label from InsideOut to G.E.P but, otherwise, it’s pretty much the same as earlier releases, i.e. this is a band that, in tandem with excellent writer John Boegehold, take the core of Spock’s Beard…
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Review – Random Option – One – by John Wenlock-Smith
David Jones (bassist for both The Swan Chorus and Mama) is a very productive man indeed. This new release following on from his own solo album of 2022, he excellent, almost art rock influenced, prog album which saw him join forces once again with Brian Hulse and Peter Goddard, who were both involved with an…