Progressive rock
Kirk Hammett on Discovering Prog Rock and Having the First Metallica Solo Release
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Metallica’s Kirk Hammett gives Kyle Meredith a call to talk about his debut solo EP, Portals, and how it was birthed from his horror movie exhibition and when Metallica did S&M 2. Related Video The guitarist tells us about just discovering prog rock bands like Genesis, Yes, and Jethro Tull, as well as not being much of a fan of The Beatles. He also talks about what it means to have his EP be the first Metallica solo release, and the possibility of eventually playing these songs live. Advertisement Hammett also discusses if he would do a guest-packed solo album in the vein of Tom Morello’s recent releases, future pl...
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Indulges Classical and Prog Tendencies on His Excellent Debut Solo EP Portals: Review
For a band with a such a storied career as Metallica, it is rather surprising that the longtime active members haven’t ventured off into various solo projects. That said, if we were to have wagered which member was most likely to go it alone, our best bet would’ve been Kirk Hammett. For years we’ve been hearing about the guitarist stockpiling hundreds, if not thousands of riffs on his phone. Considering Metallica’s deliberate workflow, only so many of these riffs and melodies, if any, will actually make it onto one of their records. Kirk needed an outlet, and he found it with his debut solo EP, Portals. No, this isn’t Kirk’s foray into becoming a singer-songwriter. Rather, the four-song release is entirely instrumental and contains minimal traces of heavy metal. Hammett said he took a “Aud...
Greta Van Fleet’s Josh Kiszka Acknowledges Appropriation of Indigenous Culture
Greta Van Fleet singer Josh Kiszka has acknowledged that he appropriated Indigenous culture in the past. The vocalist was the target of a recent hashtag campaign (#SpeakUpGVF) calling for him to address and remove a series of photos on his Instagram page showing him and his friends wearing Indigenous garments back in 2017. The mission statement of the #SpeakUpGVF campaign read, in part, “Indigenous fans and those practicing allyship have tried to contact Josh and ask him to remove the photos and address the cultural appropriation, but he continues to stay silent and the photos continue to stay up. Remaining silent on this is upsetting and is ignorant as it upholds racist ideologies that Indigenous cultures are simply a costume, when they are sacred, and not open for appropriation. Fans cre...
Elder to Embark on Summer 2022 North American Tour
Elder have announced a summer North American tour, marking the heavy prog-psych rockers’ first extensive outing on the continent in roughly three years. They’ll be joined by Ruby the Hatchet, Belzebong, and Dreadnought on select dates. The trek kicks off August 3rd in Brooklyn, New York, and runs through September 10th in Boston (Ruby the Hatchet and Dreadnought will open the first leg, with Belzebong replacing the former for the second leg). An appearance at the Psycho Las Vegas Thursday pool party on August 18th highlights the run for Elder. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased via Ticketmaster. Related Video “For a band like Elder that normally spends about half of every year on the road, the past few years have been hard on us — but have far from broken our spirit,” commen...
Les Claypool on Covering Rush, New Primus and Delirium, and His Thoughts on Maynard’s Wine
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Les Claypool catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about Primus’ upcoming continuation of their A Tribute to Kings tour, where they play the 1977 Rush album A Farewell to Kings in full (get your tickets here). Related Video The legendary singer/bassist goes on to discuss his fandom for Peter Gabriel, XTC, and Jerry Reed before giving us an update on the next Primus release (an EP that will feature a 13-minute song), a project with Sean Lennon that has something to do with animation, “a twang thing” with Billy Strings, and the possibility of another Oysterhead album. Advertisement Claypool then heads back to 2002 to talk about ...
Kirk Hammett: Cliff Burton “Freaked Out” When Rush’s Geddy Lee Came to See Metallica Play a Show
Metallica have often cited the music of Rush as an inspiration for epic songs such as “Master of Puppets” and “Orion.” Late Metallica legend Cliff Burton especially idolized the progressive rock band, particularly fellow bassist Geddy Lee. During a recent Q&A session alongside photographer Ross Halfin and Metallica fanclub magazine editor Steffan Chirazi, guitarist Kirk Hammett reflected on the time when Lee came to see Metallica play. “Geddy Lee showed up at one of our shows on the Ride the Lightning tour,” Hammett told the audience at the San Francisco Elk Lodge as part of the Q&A for Metallica’s 40th anniversary celebration last month. “We played Toronto, and all of a sudden we got a message backstage that Geddy Lee was in the audience. And Cliff Burton just freaked out.” Advert...
Rush Pinball Machines Officially Unveiled: Watch Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson Record Dialogue
Stern Pinball has unveiled its new Rush machines, including three cabinet variants. Last week, we reported that Stern’s first pinball machine of 2022 would be themed after the iconic progressive rock band. At the time, only a short teaser trailer was available featuring a list of songs and a CGI version of the Fly By Night owl. Now, Stern has given fans a first full glimpse at the Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition Rush cabinets as well as detailing gameplay and the revolutionary Insider Connected feature. Related Video The company set out to “reflect the energy, excitement, and experience of a live Rush concert” as players “travel with Rush through time.” The game will be guided by exclusive concert footage and custom dialogue from Rush members Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, along with fellow...
Rush Are Getting Their Own Pinball Machine
Rush are the latest legendary rock band to get their own pinball machine. Stern Pinball announced that their first machine of 2022 will be themed around the iconic prog act, sharing a short teaser video featuring a list of featured songs. Although a mockup design for the machine and play field have yet to be revealed, the teaser does depict an impressive CGI rendering of the Fly By Night owl — the kind of graphics one would expect to see on a modern pinball machine as you’re racking up points. Most importantly, the video reveals at least 17 songs that will be featured in the new game — a large playlist compared to other band-themed pinball machines. Fans and players will hear classic tracks such as “Tom Sawyer,” “Spirit of the Radio,” and “Limelight” alongside deeper cuts like “Subdiv...
Styx’s James Young on Rock Leading Listeners in a Positive Direction
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS STYX’s James “JY” Young catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about Crash of the Crown, a socially reflective new LP from the Chicago-born rock band. Advertisement Related Video The guitarist takes us through an album that musically resonates with every era of the band, and Tommy Shaw’s lyrics that show a responsibility to lead listeners in a positive direction while singing about some of the atrocities of the past few years. Young also reflects on his own playing, how his guitar furthers the songs’ stories, and his early fandom for Jimi Hendrix. The two also discuss this year being the 40th anniversary of Paradise Theatre and how it still speak...
The Mars Volta Unearth Lost Album Landscape Tantrums: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-23T04:00:11+00:00“>April 23, 2021 | 12:00am ET The Mars Volta have unearthed Landscape Tantrums, which contains unreleased material from the sessions for their 2003 debut album, De-Loused in the Comatorium. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. The eight-track collection is part of La Realidad De Los Sueños, an 18-LP vinyl box set containing the Texas prog-rock band’s remastered discography that sold out immediately after its announcement in early March. De-Loused in the Comatorium was produced by the renowned Rick Rubin with guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, who formed The Mars Volta with singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala after they both quit At the Drive-In in 2001. The...
A Beginner’s Guide to The Mars Volta in 10 Songs
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-20T18:45:52+00:00“>April 20, 2021 | 2:45pm ET As cliché as it sounds to say, The Mars Volta were truly a one-of-a-kind band. Formed by vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López after the break-up of their previous outfit — Texas post-hardcore/art-punk troupe At the Drive-In (of “One Armed Scissor” fame) — the ensemble quickly and consistently built upon those foundations to incorporate wildly bizarre and wholly idiosyncratic fusions of progressive rock, free jazz, Spanish rock, psychedelia, avant-rock, ambient, and more. While influences like King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Can, Fela Kuti, Miles Davis, Mr. Bungle, and Frank Zappa were apparent, The Mars Volta suc...
The Mars Volta Announce Staggering 18-LP Box Set with Unreleased Material
After an eight-year hiatus, an impressive new archival release from The Mars Volta is on the horizon. La Realidad De Los Sueños is a staggering 18-LP box set that arrives April 23rd and contains the experimental rockers’ entire studio discography alongside unreleased material. After breaking up in 2013, guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala focused on their other project At the Drive-In. But earlier today, the band teased a mysterious something-or-other with altered artwork from De-Loused in the Comatorium. This unleashed a frenzy of speculation among fans in places like Reddit, but few imagined anything as robust as an 18-disc deluxe drop. Translating to “the reality of dreams,” La Realidad De Los Sueños takes is name from lyrics in “Concertina...
