Progressive Rock

3: Revisions

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.

Knight Area: Realm Of Shadows

Realm of Shadows has reached a different ground than their previous albums and that makes for a smooth and pleasant album to listen too. If you’re the sort who likes Dream Theater, Ayreon and Solis then this cd is going to hit the spot. If someone had told me this was an early Dream Theater release, I wouldn’t doubt them. And that’s a good thing.

Astra: The Weirding

Originally forming in San Diego, California during 2001 under the moniker Silver Sunshine, this progressive rock changed their musical style from psychedelic pop to progressive rock in 2008 and also decided a name change was in order too, settling on the new name of Astra. However, Do not be mistake Astra with the Italian progressive metal band that also goes by the same name.