ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE Streaming New Song From “Give Your Brain a Rest from the Matrix” on Bandcamp

Rolling Stone Streaming RUSH’s “Headlong Flight”, Taken From Clockwork Angels

Head over the Rolling Stone website to listen to Headlong Flight, a new tune of progressive rock veterans Rush, who are about to release their 20th studio effort on June 12th. Click HERE to land the page on the Rolling Stone website from where you can find some more info and listen to the song.

MARES OF THRACE: Full Album Streaming At Exclaim! As Street Date Closes In

The Pilgrimage, the awaited second album from Calgary’s MARES OF THRACE, will finally see worldwide release via CD and digital download next Tuesday, April 24th. To count down to the release date, today Exclaim! Magazine is hosting a full album stream of The Pilgrimage AT THIS LOCATION.

MARES OF THRACE will take to the road across North America for a solid month in conjunction with the release of The Pilgrimage next week as well, the first show taking place only two days after the album’s release.

MARES OF THRACE Spring Tour:

4/26/2012 LBH – Kamloops, BC
4/27/2012 Funky Winkerbeans – Vancouver, BC
4/28/2012 Highline – Seattle, WA
4/29/2012 Voyeur Cafe – Olympia, WA
4/30/2012 East End – Portland, OR
5/03/2012 Broken City – Calgary, AB
5/04/2012 Amigos – Saskatoon, SK
5/06/2012 Negative Space – Winnipeg, MB
5/07/2012 Black Pirates Pub – Thunder Bay, ON
5/08/2012 Oddfellows Hall – Sault Ste Marie, ON
5/09/2012 This Ain’t Hollywood – Hamilton, ON
5/10/2012 Cafe Dekcuf – Ottawa, ON
5/11/2012 460 – Toronto, ON
5/12/2012 Club Absynthe – Montreal, QC
5/13/2012 Le Kaméléon – Quebec, QC
5/14/2012 Geno’s – Portland, ME
5/15/2012 St. Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
5/16/2012 Radio – Somerville, MA
5/17/2012 Cherry Street Station – Wallingford, CT
5/18/2012 Monty’s Krown – Rochester, NY
5/19/2012 Carabar – Columbus, OH
5/20/2012 Blind Bob’s – Dayton, OH
5/21/2012 Lager House – Detroit, MI
5/22/2012 Vibes Music – Indianapolis, IN
5/23/2012 Ultralounge – Chicago, IL
5/24/2012 The Heavy Anchor – St. Louis, MO
5/25/2012 Off Minor – Dubuque, IA
5/26/2012 Medusa – Minneapolis, MN

The first in a multi-album worldwide deal with Sonic Unyon Metal, The Pilgrimage sets a new bar for MARES OF THRACE, with nearly 43 minutes of material more creative, compelling and crushing than before. Recorded at Chicago’s Engine Studio with producer Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium, Pelican, YOB) and mastered by Collin Jordan at Boiler Room, The Pilgrimage has been killing at print and online media, radio and more, the band’s dynamic, unique brutality winning over journalists worldwide. The record took the #1 place on Earshot’s Canadian college radio Loud chart, and the band owns the main cover of the April issue of Beatroute Magazine. The duo also recently filmed a video for the track “The Perpetrator” which will be released shortly. A vinyl version of the album will see release in the coming months as well.

THINNING THE HERD: NYC Stoner Metal Unit Revamps Lineup And Prepares To Record

To whom it may concern:

New York’s groove-heavy stoner metal outfit THINNING THE HERD are preparing to record their sophomore full-length album in the Summer months ahead.

Following the release of their debut full-length Oceans Rise — out in April of 2011 via their own St. Mark’s Records, and several months of regional shows last year – THINNING THE HERD went through a major lineup shift. The trio is now comprised of new drummer is Rick Cimato (Nassua Chainsaw, God’s Green Earth) and new bassist Wes Edmonds (Memphis Native, Engineer), rounded out by founding guitarist/vocalist Gavin Spielman. The revamped lineup is currently writing new material with plans of recording the album with Steve Albini this July.

In the meantime THINNING THE HERD have booked several NYC gigs over the coming weeks, including shows for Friday the 13th (today!), 4:20 and a show May 26 for The Deli Magazine’s Best of NYC Festival.

THINNING THE HERD April Shows:

4/13/2012 St. Vitus – Brooklyn, NY w/ Black Black Black
4/20/2012 Fontana’s – New York, NY
5/26/2012 Spike Hill – New York, NY @ Deli’s Best of NYC Festival

Stay tuned for more info on the band’s forthcoming recording plans as well as more tour dates to be announced throughout the Spring and Summer months.

http://www.tthmusic.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/THINNING-THE-HERD/51282363616
http://www.reverbnation.com/thinningtheherd

Dr. Space’s Notes on Motorpsycho and Ståle Storløkken – The Death Defying Unicorn

This is the latest release by the creative Norwegians known as Motorpsycho. It is a double LP with a fantastic inside artwork, like nothing they have ever had in any of their other records. They are joined by keyboardist, Ståle Storløkken. They just keep progressing and really pushing themselves and challenging the norm.

This is a real progressive orchestral rock record. It is inspired by Owen Chase’s The Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex, In the heart of the Sea by N. Philbrick, and the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. It opens with a very special orchestral jazz ting that leads into the psychedelic rock monster, The Hollow Lands, with these cool orchestral sections that come in and out. It really rocks at times as well.

Through the Veil Part 1, starts with a really jazzy horn section (Trondheim Jazz Orchestra) and then a heavy bass line kicks in and the band really get a groove going with some cool guitar lines. Bent sings very confidently with a bit of effect on the voice. A little King Crimson like part comes in eventually as there is a lot of interaction with the horns. The keyboard solo at the end of this track is super cool. Great song.

Side B starts with Part 2. It starts intensely and then gets a bit bluesy and relaxed and spaced out with a solid bass line holding it all together. Doldrums is a short keyboard horn piece that is pretty spacey and leads into the song Into the Gyre. It is a pretty melodic normal track at first but then goes into Gentle Giant like material except for the intense violin soloing as the track really gets psyched out. Another short Storløkken compostion closes side B.

Oh, Proteus – A Prayer starts side C with a slow growing spacey mysterious orchestral piece but with vocals by Snah and Bent. Sculls in Limbo sounds like a monster crawling out of the sea to attack. La Lethe is mostly an orchestral piece with high emotional content as it slowly grows with some really cool horns. It takes a long time before the rock band takes over as they are a bit dwarfed by the large sound of the orchestra. At the end a fantastic sax solo is played as the mood of the piece really shifts towards a happy feeling. Oh- Proteus – A Lament is a very short piece bringing back the sound and feeling of the opening of the side.

Side D starts with the melancholy number Sharks, with nicely arranged horns and strings (Trondheim soloists 9 of them). It really grows over time and becomes very intense. Mutiny appears very abruptly out of Sharks and is another progressive hard rock track, which the record really needed at this point. It gets really cool with the orchestra battling with the horns who are taking on the drummer, who is really rocking. Into the Mystic brings things down again and closes the storybook with an uptempo track.

Musically they have really nailed it as far as bringing across a really emotional piece of music that you could easily see set to a play or movie. The live concerts on this tour will be pretty cool and special. Sorry I did not get to see any of them.

Prog Tuesday: Comus – First Utterance

It’s difficult for me to think of any folk album that’s quite as memorable and unique as Comus’ debut, ‘First Utterance’. Although they were something of a one-album wonder, this UK act has gained a fair deal of love and admiration from the progressive community, as well as a recent wave of interest in light of Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt’s fandom. While many remember folk from this period to be softened by hippie love and drug-induced compassion, ‘First Utterance’ has stood the test of time particularly because it went against those norms. Instead of a pleasant campfire singalong, Comus whisks the listener away to a dark and primal realm of tribal mysticism, violence, and mental illness. For all of its creepy atmosphere however, there’s something remarkably beautiful about the music that Comus has made here. I have no problem calling this one of my favourite albums of all time.

Comus takes no time to get things started; seconds into the opener ‘Diana’, a listener will have already heard the strangeness that dominates the band’s sound. Although traditional folk instruments are used, they’re delivered in a very quirky, even charming way. As the album rolls on, there are more conventional sections where acoustic bluegrass skills are sported, but the backbone of these songs lies in the strange sounds Comus are able to make with the acoustic guitar, a violin, or a flute. There is not conventional rock drumming on this album, but tribal beating that commends the primal horror vibe that the music gives off. As dark as the tone for this album is, the music itself enjoys some very upbeat moments, although the out-of-tune freaky garble is never far behind.

Where I think many of the album’s detractors may stake their bid is with the vocal work on the album. There are multiple vocalists on the album, and even more vocal styles at that. With ‘Diana’, we hear the music presented by a strange warble that sounds like something a goblin would chant to his forest tribe. ‘The Herald’ is the most beautiful piece here, with Bobbie Watson’s higher pitch virtually defining what the term ‘haunting’ can mean. The lyrics are almost unrelenting dark and disturbing, as if the band is pitching six or seven different ideas for cult horror films. Rape, murder, and severe mental psychosis are never too extreme for Comus. Of course, many listeners may be put off by the fairly grim nature of the lyrics, but in all truth, the disturbing lyrical themes are a hell of a lot more interesting than the typical acid folk tripe about loving your fellow human, or dancing with beautiful people, man.

As this and many other reviews will indicate, ‘First Utterance’ is a love-or-hate album, and for good reason. The band takes quite a few risks here, and as a result, it was panned at the time of its release. In hindsight, it’s seen as one of the great underground gems of progressive folk, and I would even say that it’s the best thing to have come out of folk rock in its time. Listeners with a mind twisted enough for itshould find an experience here that will be damned near impossible to forget.

THE LASERS EDGE to Release Entire FREAK KITCHEN BACK CATALOG

The Lasers Edge is pleased to announce a release campaign of the entire FREAK KITCHEN back catalog, beginning with 2009’s Land of the Freaks. Although extremely popular around the world, access to FREAK KITCHEN’s music in North America has previously been limited to expensive imports through specialist dealers. Europe’s best kept musical secret is a secret no more!

FREAK KITCHEN is a progressive power trio consisting of three renowned virtuoso musicians: MATTIAS “IA” EKLUNDH (guitar/vocals), CHRISTER ORTEFORS (bass), and BJORN FRYKLUND (drums). The band was formed by IA in 1992 and since then they have conquered audiences around the world with their high energy performances.

The members of the band are road dogs, performing constantly as FREAK KITCHEN and individually as clinicians

FREAK KITCHEN’s music is an amalgam of styles – equal parts hard rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock blended together with a healthy dose of Zappa-esque humor. Land of the Freaks features quite a bit of inspiration from Indian music and finds the trio joined by two guest musicians - V. Selvaganesh and Neyveli S Radharkrisha.

Land of the Freaks is cerebral guitar driven progressive music that is essential for fans of

Frank Zappa, Bumblefoot, and Steve Vai.

Land of the Freaks Track Listing:

1)      God Save the Spleen
2)      Hip Hip Hoorah
3)      Teargas Jazz
4)      Sick? Death by Hypochondira
5)      Ok
6)      Honey, You’re a Nazi
7)      The Only Way
8)      Murder Groupie
9)      The Smell of Time
10)  One Last Dance
11)  Do Not Disturb
12)  Clean it Up

For More Information Please Visit:

http://www.freakkitchen.com
http://www.facebook.com/freakkitchen
http://www.lasercd.com

Streaming Two Tracks From the BARR’s Upcoming Album “Atlantic Ocean Blues”, Out On April 25th via Transubstans

Psychedelic folk with the motives coming from pop and singer/songwriter touches could easily be considered as endangered species in last three decades. Living its golden age during 60’s and early 70’s, this subgenre has been treated as neither here nor there. While residing in a deeper underground than all black metal community or being marginalized by sequence of circumstances, it’s still giving the signs of life. The band to praise, Barr, is coming from the different parts of Sweden and except I got their sophomore album and press material from the folks at Transubstans Records and a profile on MySpace, I couldn’t find absolutely any info regarding these folks.

Anyway, the album’s name is Atlantic Ocean Blues and it’s made of eight tracks, clocking something less than 43 minutes. Drawing all its inspiration from a wilderness, this album is an ode to nature, a call for the revival.

Hear two tracks from Atlantic Ocean Blues in the player below.

IHSAHN “Eremita” Release Date Confirmed

Good news we received today afternoon from the PR wire:

Candlelight Records today confirms June 19 as the North American release date for Eremita, the anticipated fourth album from Norwegian-born vocalist/guitarist IHSAHN. Recorded and produced at Telemark’s Ivory Shoulder Studios, with additional tracking completed at Notodden’s Juke Joint Studio and Seattle’s Envisage Audio, Eremita was mixed by Jens Bogren (Opeth) at Fascination Street Studios in Orebo, Sweden. Alongside IHSAHN, the album features performances from drummer Tobias Ornes Andersen (Leprous), saxophonist Jorgen Munkeby (Shining – Norway), guitarist Jeff Loomis (ex-Nevermore), and vocalists Devin Townsend, Einar Solberg (Leprous), and Heidi S. Tveitan (Star of Ash). The album’s packaging has been created by award-winning Spanish designer Ritxi Ostariz.

Eremita begins a new musical chapter for the highly regarded musician; his previous album, Norwegian Grammy Award Nominated After, forming the final part of a planned trilogy on its release in early 2010. Offering nine new songs to his growing worldwide audience, Eremita is the longest and most spirited of IHSAHN’s solo recordings. Reflecting on the recording process IHSAHN notes, “this is right where I want to be musically, with lots of room for dynamics and expressive variety. Tobias and Jorgen have really added to the organic vibe I was going for and have contributed to the overall feel with their fantastic musicianship. And to have Devin, Jeff, Einar and Heidi adding their special moments, I am very privileged to be able to work with such a talented group of people. I really feel this is some of my most inspired work yet.”

Exhibiting IHSAHN’s highly-trained guitar and keyboard skills, Eremita (latin for hermit) is a journey that is sure to find an expanded audience for the revered 36-year-old. Guitar World senior editor Brad Angle says, “with Eremita IHSAHN proves yet again that he is one of the most influential, progressive and enduring musicians to emerge out of the classic Norwegian black metal scene.” MetalSucks editor Vince Neilstein says, “IHSAHN just keeps getting better and better with every album he releases. He’s really come into his own as one of the most talented musicians and songwriters in all of metal, and his distinct, singular sound has come a long way from his days in Emperor. I cannot wait to hear this record.”

A special two-minute video preview for Eremita, featuring audio segments from the record and exclusive footage filmed during the album’s creation, is available HERE.

IHSAHN’s prodigious and prolific talents have been at the forefront of heavy music for the past two decades. He began his career at age thirteen as a member of what would become fledgling black metal crew Emperor. As a band, Emperor would both define and refine metal, pushing the boundaries of what was considered possible within the most arcane of art forms and taking some of the most adventurous and extreme music of all time to a huge global audience. With albums like seminal In The Nightside Eclipse (recorded when IHSAHN was only seventeen), and Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk, Emperor obliterated all-comers and became one of the most revered metal bands in history. After the release of their final masterpiece, Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire & Demise in 2001, IHSAHN announced that the band were to part ways to enable himself and his colleagues to pursue new creative avenues.

IHSAHN performed live for the first time on U.S. soil last autumn at ProgPower. The sold out three-Day festival was the perfect stateside avenue for the musician. On confirmation of the performance IHSAHN noted, “I am very excited to get the opportunity to play at ProgPower. Given the nature of my material, I believe this festival will be a great place to present it live.” Festival organizer Glenn Harveston comments, “IHSAHN’s ferocious intensity combined with his amazing musicianship completely won over the crowd. It was the best set of the fest for me.”

Eremita will be available on standard CD and a limited edition deluxe digibook (featuring an exclusive bonus track).

Eremita Track Listing:
1. Arrival
2. The Paranoid
3. Introspection
4. The Eagle And The Snake
5. Catharsis
6. Something Out There
7. Grief
8. The Grave
9. Departure
10. Recollection (deluxe edition only)

IHSAHN plays Ibanez Guitars, Blackstar Amplifiers, Line6 effects, and performs/edits his music with software from Steinberg and Native Instruments.

http://www.ihsahn.com
http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com

Streaming Mangoo’s “Neverland”, Album Out On June 26th on Small Stone

Yesterday I’ve been thinking about the bands that combine the doom’s fuzziness with progressive rock and while my quest ended up with three top-of-the-head bands, being Ancestors, Bristol’s ANTA and Chapel Hill’s Bitter Resolve, like out of nowhere emerges the Finnish band Mangoo.

Although they do not list progressive rock as one of the ingredients, there are bits of it, enough to be mentioned. Neverland is the band’s second album, first they released on Small Stone Records, made of 13 numbers clocking on precisely 60 minutes. If you’ve ever wondered how fuzz pop sounds, then Mangoo is your choice.

No matter of all that genre hodge-podge, these felas manage to tame the raw energy that’s erupting from every riff. Borrowing all what is good from the genres’ greats, this band doesn’t lack for originality (probably the most hated word in the world of music nowadays). They are proudly showing their references and loosing them within their own walls.

Mangoo’s Neverland is due on June 26th on already mentioned Small Stone Records, so in case I gave you many thoughts about this record, no need to despair. Simply look below, hit the play button and taste progpsychestonerfuzzpop.

Links:

http://www.mangooloid.com
https://www.facebook.com/Mangooloid

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