Any idea who these signatures on this Relayer CD may belong to? The band is Yes.

I've heard of Gentle Giant and Gong before, but have never listened to any of their music. I have about 40 Zappa records, every Rush album, every Pink Floyd album, and a handful of Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Modry Efekt (a Czech Prog band), and others. What else should I check out?

I was at Battersea Power Plant today.

Achievement unlocked. 🐷🐶🐖🐖🐖🐑🐷

Underrated vibes TBH

Enjoy this clip

We are super chuffed to officially announce the fall tour dates! We’re returning to some of our favorite venues, but we’re also really excited to add a bunch of new spots like the Boulton Center in Bay Shore, NY and the beautiful Wolf Performance Hall in London, Ontario.

For those of you keeping track, our 100th gig ever will be on this run: Théâtre de la Providence in Longueuil, QC.

Now, fall tour aside, we get requests from all over every time we post about upcoming shows, so we wanted to give you a picture of the long-term plan.

April 2027 will be two weeks in the Northeast. We’re finally going to be able add shows in Boston and Connecticut, plus we’ll be back in New Hampshire, Maine, Albany, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh.

July 2027 will be two weeks in Germany, Netherlands, and France. That’s just a tease for what’s coming in 2028….

October 2027 will cover a LOT of ground. We’ll start in North Carolina, head south to Florida (finally!), then work our way back up through Atlanta, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. The last show of the tour will be on Halloween night at Reggies in Chicago – and that will be EPIC fer sher fer sher.

And then, there’s 2028, our 10 year anniversary! More about that soon, but we’re finally going to be able to hit the US West Coast, more Canadian dates (including the Atlantic provinces), and if all goes as planned, an extended run through Europe.

So, thank you all for bearing with us as we grow, and we can’t wait to get back out there in September!

#frankzappa #musicisthebest #getonthebus

Found this nice collection of EX-/VG+ records in London today. I own a few of these, but not in this good of condition, so today is upgrade day. Or second copy day as the case may be.

VDGG is German, Octopus is Dutch, the rest are UK first pressings.

From DMME.net :

Current ASIA To Issue Album With A Ghost Of John Wetton​

One can rarely get excited when old ensembles, led by a sole member of a classic line-up, acquire new players and forge ahead – but it was not the case with ASIA, as this scribe discussed in a video. The current version of this band, with Geoff Downes at the helm, released the “Live In England” album last March that could convince even the biggest doubter in their strength, because having guitarist John Mitchell and drummer Virgil Donati on board meant the quarter meant business, yet the group secret weapon is singing bassist Harry Whitley, who made the prospect of the collective’s fresh studio recording so interesting. The results of their work, however, turn out to be even more intriguing.

While “Indigo” – their new opus, which, adorned in Roger Dean’s artwork, will see the light of day on November 6th – is filled with pieces penned by the current foursome, there are two numbers, penned by the late John Wetton, “Tattoo Indigo (Parts 2 & 3)” and “Chesapeake Bay”: the latter marked by the presence of Steve Howe, and the last portion of of the former, singled out as a bonus track, by the appearance of Mike Portnoy. And if this wasn’t enough, the ensemble plan to take the yet-unheard material on the road, starting with 2026 North American tour and going to Europe early next year. Exciting, indeed.

ASIA –
Indigo

1. The Traveller (Into The Light)
2. Change Of Heart
3. Arcadia
4. Is This The Life?
5. Tattoo Indigo (Part 1)
6. Tattoo Indigo (Part 2)
7. Tattoo Indigo (Part 3)
8. Life In The Sun
9. Hymn For The Fallen
10. Night And Day
11. Valencia (The Ghost Ship)
12. An Elegy
13. Chesapeake Bay (feat. Steve Howe)
14. On A Winter’s Night
15. Echo Of You
16. bonus track:
17. Tattoo Indigo (Part 3) (feat. Mike Portnoy)

......

Totally Karmachromatic

A recent post asking for dark or scary prog suggestions got me thinking.

I wasn’t aware of the sub-genre ‘dark prog’ until I got chatting to the proprietors of Genoa’s Black Widow Records shop. The shop itself is named after the original purveyors of dark prog, the UK’s Black Widow, a favourite of Massimo Gasperini.

Black Widow’s debut Sacrifice from 1970 is considered a prog classic, possibly due to the controversy stoked by the media surrounding the inclusion of occult themes, absent on subsequent releases, although they were quite innovative for a band with heavy rock leanings (c.f. Black Sabbath) with flute, sax and clarinet supplementing the usual rock instrumentation. Gasperini explained that they ticked all the right boxes for a rock band:

a powerful and hypnotic sound; gothic in nature; a spectacular live show. I think that the flute and clarinet add a folk element, so perhaps it’s not surprising that Gasperini also adds Comus to his list of dark prog bands, along with Atomic Rooster, Audience, Beggars Opera, Bram Stoker, Dr. Z, High Tide, Indian Summer, Kingdom Come (and other Arthur Brown projects) and Quatermass.

These groups represent the early period of progressive rock, and as far as the British incarnation goes, that might be part of the defining feature as there are often psychedelic and more blues-based influences; Gasperini is even willing to suggest that some Hawkwind, the first two King Crimson albums and the 68-76 incarnations of Van der Graaf Generator are dark enough to fit the description. The inclusion of flute is considered an important instrument in the genre, along with up-front guitar and Mellotron but the demonic band name 'King Crimson' and some of the dark themes of Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator, Necromancer from The Aerosol Grey Machine (1969) and White Hammer from The Least we can do is Wave to Each Other (1970) spring to mind.

Though there are worldwide examples like Akasha (Norway), some material by Amon Düül (Germany) and some Ange (France), Coven (USA), some Magma (France), Morte Macabre (Sweden), Univers Zero (Belgium), the examples that are most true to form are Italian, from both the classic period in the 70s and the present, and this is where Black Widow Records excel; not only do they have a great reputation for seeking out classics for re-issue, involving getting approval from the bands themselves for a re-release and working out who owns the phonographic rights, but also nurturing new talent.

Turin-based Abiogenesi released their self-titled debut in 1995, incorporating a blend of 70’s hard rock and a more melodic, modern symphonic prog sound. The main songwriter of the quartet, which has undergone a few personnel changes over the years, is guitarist and vocalist Toni d’Urso, who was influenced by groups as diverse as Black Widow and Camel and who drafted in guest musicians, including Clive Jones from Black Widow, to help create their particular brand of dark prog.

Jacula, (possibly from the Latin meaning ‘short, fervent prayer’) were formed in Milan in 1968 by the charismatic singer and guitarist Antonio Bartoccetti, electronic music pioneer Doris Norton (as Fiamma dello Spirito) and keyboard player Charles Tiring. They recorded their debut In cauda semper stat venenum in 1969, a private pressing of 310 copies that remained undistributed until an updated edition was released by Black Widow Records in 2001; their first record to appear was 1972’s Tardo pede in magiam versus which featured Norton’s ethereal voice, Latin texts, funereal organ and dark, disturbing sounds conveying esoteric themes. Though classed as prog, they were considered apart from the mainstream. The addition of drummer Albert Goodman in 1974 precipitated a name change to Antonius Rex and the album Zora, containing material closer to that of other Italian prog bands of the time, was released in 1977. The sexualised gothic artwork of Emanuele Taglietti adds to the dark prog tag.

Devil Doll, made up of musicians from Venice and Lubljana, were influenced by Jacula and old silent horror films. They released five studio albums between 1989 and 1996 but disbanded in 1997, leaving a legacy of stark and challenging music.

Malombra were one of the first of the new wave of Italian dark prog bands. Hailing from Genoa, their eponymous first album was released on Black Widow Records in 1993, only a year after the label had been founded. Described by one critic as a ‘baroque Devil Doll’, they took their name from Antonio Fogazzaro’s 1881 gothic novel set close to Lake Como. It was made into a silent movie in 1917 and remade in 1942 by Mario Soldati. An illustration of Genoa’s importance to the dark prog sub-genre, Malombra vocalist Mercy teamed up with former Zess bandmate Diego Banchero to form Il Segno del Comando, another moniker appropriated from a book by Giuseppe D’Agata turned into a successful giallo-fantasy Italian TV mini-series in 1971.

Il Segno del Comando are probably the best of the modern purveyors of dark prog, but the best known and most successful protagonists are Goblin, who rose to fame on the back of the critically acclaimed 1975 giallo film Profondo Rosso. The soundtrack, originally put together in ten days after Claudio Simonetti’s band Cherry Five was asked to step in following a disagreement between director Dario Argento and original composer Giorgio Gaslini, has sold over a million copies. Cherry Five were influenced by King Crimson and Genesis and played extended compositions on the jazzy side of prog, though their underrated eponymous debut included tracks called Country Grave-Yard [sic] and The Swan is a Murderer; they changed their name to Goblin to fit in with the horror genre, in keeping with the material they were providing music for and went on to provide the score for other Argento films, Suspiria, Phenomena, Zombi and Tenebre. It’s interesting that Death Dies from Profondo Rosso sounds as though it was inspired by the bass guitar figure leading up to Vivian Stanshall listing the instruments used on Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, and that the overture of Tubular Bells was used in classic horror film The Exorcist.

Other recent dark prog masterpieces include Il Mostro di Firenze by Una Stagione all’Inferno, an album based on the true story of Il Mostro di Firenze (The Monster of Florence), a name applied by the Italian media for a series of eight double murders that took place between 1968 and 1985 in the province of Florence; and 2026’s Segreti nel nero, an album of progged-up theme tunes from Italian mystery and horror TV series, updated and expanded from the self-titled 2012 release L’Ombra della sera. I was at the album’s launch gig and was told by vocalist/keyboard player Alessandro Corvaglia – the band is actually La Maschera di Cera who adopt character names from the TV series – that these shows were remembered fondly by his generation.

Steve Hackett and his band live in Exeter, Devon in 2009.

I'm not sure how many people on this sub will have heard of Diagonal, a band formed in Brighton, UK in 2006, let alone heard any of their music. 4 is their last studio album and it's the best of the three that I own.

The sound references a warm late 60s production and the group themselves cite King Crimson, Caravan and Amon Düül II as musical inspiration - which I don't think is an accurate description, though I'm sure fans of all three bands will find something to enjoy. It's gentle psyche/space rock for lengthy periods but they also know how to provide an odd meter and throw in some nice jazzy passages.

Why not check them out for yourself? Here's a link to Amon, the second track on 4:
https://youtu.be/nahGLEtGVFw

There's a south east England record fair that revolves around a few venues every month. It was held in Canterbury on 4th July where I found these reissues of two obscure releases, *Ben* by Ben (Vertigo, 1971) and *Axis* by Axis* (Riviera, 1973).

Ben were based in Canterbury and only ever made this one LP, an adventurous instrumental jazz rock album containing just four tracks, the first, a multipart suite part credited to 'K.Jarrett'!

The Axis LP is the third and final album release by Greek band, who had relocated to France. It's a mixture of styles, in the same vein as *666* by Aphrodite's Child (who had also moved to France) switching from heavy rock to avant-prog, deconstructing a heavy rock riff into improvised jazz, and also has flourishes of Canterbury-like organ.

Both LPs are suitable for anyone with adventurous tastes

The riff is not quite identical; totally different arrangement and texture. But every damn time I hear this song (2), I'm like, "Hey, that's Genesis..."

(1) "Dance of a Volcano" (1978) by Genesis (original)

(2) "A Classic Arts Showcase" (2004) by ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead (studio version unavailable for free streaming; this is live in 2007) This band has cited Yes and Genesis among its key influences, particular for the album on which this song was originally released.

I don't know about anyone else, but I love finding things like this. Unexpected connections between different musical worlds.

Any other examples like this, newer bands pulling riffs directly from 1970s progressive rock?

(3) Bonus "Main Street Wizards" (2003) by Guided by Voices doesn't map to a specific riff, but has the 1978 Genesis vibe all over it.