FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
Static Impulse was definitely crafted very carefully; there is an attention to detail that many bands these days (and more so artists putting out solo records to stretch from their band a little) just don’t get. Again, the album sounds like it was recorded by a band, the song writing is excellent and all the musicians put in a terrific performance. Labrie and Guillory have definitely outdone themselves this time.
Hybrid Child is effervescent and fun, a mostly harmless romp through progressive rock territory. District 97’s edge can be found in the way vocalist Leslie Hunt carries the melodies and the staccato riffing that anchors most of the tracks—you can sorta tell that a drummer composed them.
“Saturday’s show was a real Iron Maiden show, done with passion and vigour and integrity. It was a show made for their die hard, long-supporting fans. This was no greatest hits run-through, this was a band celebrating the fact that, after more than thirty years as a professional band, some of their greatest musical achievements have been on their past three studio albums.”
Natalie Zed and Sean Palmerston team up to give you two separate viewpoints on Saturday night`s Toronto performance by Iron Maiden and Dream Theater at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
I am totally blown away. Haken is the best thing to happen to progressive metal in many, many years. Hailing from England, this relatively young band has unleashed a masterpiece.
“I like the situation I’m in now with the solo thing. With this last album in the trilogy, it’s kind of a natural development from angL and The Adversary. I think they all kind of tie in together, but After is not the most logical step from the two other albums. It’s so different that it points in another direction and leaves the next one a little open ended.”
On the eve of the release of his new album After, Jonathan Smith speaks to former Emperor front man Ihsahn about his burgeoning solo career, the progressive nature it has taken and the surprising use of saxophone on his latest solo effort.
It’s hard to think of any other contemporary progressive rock band that combines complexity, discipline, and catchiness better than 3. The upstate New York band has been steadily improving with each record, but it was their fifth album, 2007’s The End is Begun, that established them as one of the more promising prog acts today, the kind of band that could easily make the jump from King Crimson-esque dexterity to the kind of sweeping melodic hooks and economical beats that Rush excelled at back in the mid-’80s. Led by the smooth tenor voice of guitarist/singer Joey Eppard, 3 brings an element that bands like Coheed and Cambria, Porcupine Tree, and the gawd-awful Dream Theater (‘scuse the blasphemy, prog geeks) never quite had: enormous crossover appeal.
Adrien Begrand reviews the new, upcoming 3 album set for release on Metal Blade on October 27th.
This past Friday marked the Toronto stop of this year’s Progressive Nation tour, the now-annual summer festival curated by and starring Dream Theater as headliners – basically their chance to take out some of their favourite bands on tour with them across North America playing outdoor amphitheaters.
Sean Palmerston reviews the recent Toronto stop of this year’s traveling Progressive Nation festival.