Try GOLD - Free

Prog Magazine - Issue 164

Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD

Read Prog along with 10,000+ other magazines & newspapers with just one subscription

View Catalog

1 Month

$14.99

1 Year $149.99

$149.99

$12/month

(OR)

Subscribe only to Prog

Gift Prog

Cancel Anytime.

(No Commitments) ⓘ

If you are not happy with the subscription, you can email us at help@magzter.com within 7 days of subscription start date for a full refund. No questions asked - Promise! (Note: Not applicable for single issue purchases)

Digital Subscription

Instant Access ⓘ

Subscribe now to instantly start reading on the Magzter website, iOS, Android, and Amazon apps.

Verified Secure

payment ⓘ

Magzter is a verified Stripe merchant.

In this issue

RICK WAKEMAN
Dad jokes on hold as Rick displays his sensitive side on Melancholia

BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST
“If the album sells well I might have to reconsider playing live again!”

GENTLE GIANT
Derek Shulman’s journey from prog god to music biz hero

Arjen Lucassen
Musings on the end of the world with the Dutch prog polymath

COLIN EDWIN AND JOHN WESLEY JOIN FORCES AND SET SAIL WITH THEIR NEW PROJECT VOYAGE 35

The former Porcupine Tree members will be playing and touring their former band's early material alongside the band's original lightshow, Fruit Salad Lights in 2026.

3 mins

WRNTDP ANNOUNCES SIXTH ALBUM AND COMPILATION

Latest LP mourns the collapse of public services.

1 mins

NEW BIOGRAPHY ON PETER HAMMILL DUE

Upcoming book includes exclusive and revealing new interviews.

1 mins

KARNIVOOL ARE BACK WITH FIRST NEW LP IN 13 YEARS

In Verses sees the light of day next February.

1 mins

DREAM THEATER LIVE LP INCOMING

The LP celebrates Mike Portnoy's return to the band he formed 40 years ago.

1 mins

YES TO TOUR FRAGILE IN THE UK NEXT YEAR

They also revisit Fly From Here - Return Trip and hint at the release of new material.

2 mins

SOEN ANNOUNCE HEAVY NEW ALBUM RELIANCE

Upcoming release is previewed by emotive single Primal.

1 mins

SPOCK'S BEARD REUNITE FOR NEW LP

Prog veterans channel their post-tour energy into writing and recording.

2 mins

JHB GUITARIST DELVES DEEP

Nick Fletcher's fifth album, Mask of Sanity, is inspired by the psychologist Carl Jung.

1 mins

GREGOR MACKINTOSH

The long shadows cast by the genre-weaving music of Dead Can Dance have long enveloped Paradise Lost's guitarist Gregor Mackintosh.

1 mins

VIPER SOUP COMPLEX

Maltese avant-proggers eyeball the path to success via performance art.

2 mins

JESSICA MOSS

Fuelled by a burning social and political conscience, the Canadian violinist turns protest into music.

1 mins

SUEDE

Some of the more disparaging reviews of Suede's second album accused it of being pretentious, overblown and pompous.

2 mins

RAPHAEL WEINROTH-BROWNE

Leprous collaborator redefines the cello and pushes it to its progressive limits.

2 mins

THE WOOD DEMONS

If you go down to the woods today, be sure of a twig surprise...

2 mins

CONNOR KAMINSKI

YouTube shredder teams up with Jordan Rudess and more on his debut.

2 mins

ADAM WAKEMAN

He's played live with everyone from Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne to Tony Hadley this year, and before some rare shows by his band Headspace, the keyboardist reflects on a very busy 2025.

4 mins

Goodbye Stranger

When Supertramp co-founder Rick Davies' death was announced in September, the prog world mourned the loss of a great talent. We pay tribute to the British-born singer-songwriter by looking back over his remarkable career, which spanned nearly six decades, and place some of his best-loved songs under the microscope.

8 mins

"It's an honest, autobiographical album."

In a state of flux and floundering after the commercial flop of their first two albums, Supertramp were close to throwing in the towel in early 1973. Enter producer du jour Ken Scott, hired in a desperate attempt to harness the creative yin and yang of songwriters Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson. The result was Crime Of The Century, an album that changed everything, and set the group on the pathway to artistic longevity and blockbuster future success.

8 mins

"The best thing he's ever done!"

Songwriting partnerships walk a delicate line between inspired and volatile. During Supertramp's most commercially successful period, Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson's working relationship created some of their best-loved material. We look back on Rick Davies' finest musical moments and discover what Hodgson considers to be \"the best thing\" Rick ever did.

7 mins

Time Is Relative

Barclay James Harvest's co-founding singer and guitarist John Lees has been leading his iteration of the prog overlords since the band split into two separate entities in 1998. With a new studio album - their first in 12 years - having recently landed, Lees joins Prog to chew over the band's legacy, the perils of playing to 250,000 fans by the Berlin Wall, and why the door has seemingly been left ajar for future live dates and, whisper it, even a reunion.

7 mins

Sacred Sounds

Since her 2010 debut album, acclaimed composer and virtuoso cellist Jo Quail has demonstrated that the melancholic-sounding stringed instrument has a place beyond the realm of classical music and spooky movie scores. On her latest album, Notan, she strips her breathtaking and otherworldly sound back to its purest parts, and its orchestral companion is due next year. She tells Prog why less is sometimes more.

5 mins

Elegy In Sound

Prog's favourite dog whisperer Rick Wakeman has taken an unexpected path on his latest release, Melancholia. The virtuoso musician explains the inspiration behind his new piano album of originals and reveals his exciting plans for the English Rock Ensemble, which include a \"full-on\" prog record with a tribute to his old friend David Bowie.

6 mins

Green Awakening

The Emerald Dawn have placed the climate emergency at the centre of their sixth album, The Land, The Sea, The Air. Ally Carter and Tree Stewart tell Prog how the first volume of this ambitious two-album set came together and how a new-found love of fusion has bolstered their sound.

5 mins

Breaking The Habit

After releasing four solo albums under his own name, Riverside frontman Mariusz Duda has turned his attention back to Lunatic Soul. He's rightly proud of The World Under Unsun, an ambitious new double album that he refers to as his “calling card”, but could it spell the end of this particular outlet? He tells Prog why he's gone big and bold on his eighth release under the LS banner and reveals his plans for the future.

7 mins

Living On The Edge

Luke Machin is one of modern prog’s brightest sparks, but with his solo debut as Soulshine he wanted to do something completely different. The soul-heavy, genre-twisting album features a healthy number of guest spots from prog luminaries as it teeters off the edge of the genre's borders. That, says the guitarist, was intended and Prog catches up with him to find out more.

5 mins

I Wanted To End Humanity!

It's the end of the world as we know it, but Arjen Lucassen feels fine. So fine, in fact, that he's written what's described as \"the soundtrack to humanity's final days\". Thirteen years after his last proper solo album, the Dutch polymath has gone apocalyptic on Songs No One Will Hear with a little inspiration from some of his favourite sci-fi-themed records. He tells Prog what he'll be doing when the asteroid hits and his future plans for Ayreon.

7 mins

Motivational Radio!

Ten years ago two prog fans with a background in broadcasting teamed up to launch the UK's only dedicated progressive rock radio network. As Progzilla celebrates a decade of airtime, station founders Stacy Doller and Cliff Pearson discuss the past, present and future of one of the few broadcasters that'll play Supper's Ready in its entirety!

7 mins

No Reservations

After 10 wildly eclectic albums, Between The Buried And Me are changing tact. In The Blue Nowhere, the fictional hotel in which their latest concept album lives, the best and worst of humanity can be found. A gradient of genres conveys its chaos and calm, making for their brightest and boldest record to date. Prog checks in to find out more.

5 mins

Bewitched And Bedazzled

Pagan folk-rockers Spriggan Mist were virtual unknowns in prog circles. Then came their breakthrough set at HRH Prog, which launched them as one of the most must-see live acts. With the release of their seventh studio album, The Glare, Prog sat down with husband and wife founders Baz and Maxine Cilia to talk faeries, festivals and friendly feuds.

4 mins

DEREK SHULMAN

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it's Derek Shulman. The Glasgow-born musician is best known as frontman of progressive rock trailblazers Gentle Giant and before that, the psychedelic pop outfit Simon Dupree And The Big Sound. But his career didn't end there - he went on to enjoy a hugely successful second chapter as a record label executive, playing a key role in signing and developing major acts including Bon Jovi and Dream Theater. Now, with a newly published autobiography, he looks back on six decades navigating both sides of the business, reflects on the importance of 'authenticity', and marvels that his music has found a new generation of listeners.

10+ mins

GAZPACHO

Feeling lucky, punk? The Norwegian art-rockers explore randomness, chance and more focused songwriting on their 12th album.

3 mins

PETER HAMMILL

The Charisma & Virgin Recordings 1971-1986 UMR A retrospective colossus from prog's eternal outlier.

2 mins

ARCTANGENT FESTIVAL

Named after a mathematical calculation, ArcTanGent is a haven for prog-leaning music fans, and 2025 brings another kaleidoscopic lineup that twists the genre's tropes through a modern lens.

5 mins

JO QUAIL

There's no pomposity to the opening with the release of Jo Quail's seventh studio album, Notan. Even though her music is elegant and refined, the cellist has no airs or graces - she's seen soundchecking herself and chatting with the audience pre-show, a white hoodie slung over her long black dress.

2 mins

IHLO

Hot on the heels of the recently released Legacy, Scotland’s Ihlo return to London for a sold-out show celebrating its launch.

2 mins

AURI

As the moonlight pierces through the stained glass windows of the Union Chapel with the stage illuminated by lanterns, Johanna Kurkela takes to the stage in a dazzling ballgown, opening the show with Those We Don’t Speak Of before the rest of Auri join her on this autumnal night.

2 mins

PENDRAGON

According to Pendragon's Nick is Barrett, \"The reason we've survived is because we've never been that popular.\"

2 mins

SYMPHONY X

During the encore of Symphony X's LA concert, vocalist Russell Allen - a California native - tells the sold-out crowd why he left his home state 35 years ago. After finishing high school, he says, he began working as a knight on horseback at a local medieval-themed dinner theatre. When the company opened a sister location across the country, Allen was one of the employees sent east to help get the new business up and running. It was supposed to be a six-month deployment, he explains, but while he was there he “met a Jersey girl” and never returned.

1 mins

A SUNDAY IN SEPTEMBER

We're off to Balham in south London for the sixth annual A Sunday In September, a 'boutique' all-dayer in the delightful music room of The Bedford.

2 mins

PEARL HANDLED REVOLVER

Whether it’s the post-punk band causing chaos on Camden Lock or the Wooten-esque jazz-funk bass lines echoing from a Chalk Farm bar, all roads seem to be guiding the musically curious to Camden tonight.

2 mins

PELAGIC FEST

Once a record label showcase held now and again in Berlin, Pelagic Fest has flourished into a bona fide annual getaway for progressive music fans. For the second year in a row, it's taking up two days at Muziekgieterij, a club in the sleepy Dutch city of Maastricht renowned for its sound quality and state-of-the-art light shows. The bill is dominated, as ever, by artists signed to the Pelagic roster, but with This Will Destroy You and Ihsahn headlining, this is by far the biggest and most diverse lineup to date.

3 mins

PETE LAMBROU (VLMV)

The great and good of progressive music give us a glimpse into their prog worlds. As told to Grant Moon.

2 mins

Read all Stories from Prog

Prog Magazine Description:

Publisher: Future

Category: Music

Language: English

Frequency: Monthly

Prog is an international magazine devoted to progressive music in all its guises. From the classic pioneers of the 70s through the 80s Marillion-helmed revival, to the impact of the likes of Radiohead and Muse in the 90s and today’s vibrant and ever-developing scene spearheaded by the likes of Steven Wilson, Opeth and Anathema. With our strong network of contacts the magazine gets behind the big stories of yesteryear and brings you the best coverage of what’s happening today with exclusive and informative interviews. The website brings you all the latest news from the world of prog. Astounding sounds from amazing, intelligent and thought-provoking music.