Q1 Bigelf’s 1995 EP Closer To Doom was produced by Sylvia Massy. Which prog metal band’s debut did she also produce, and what was it called?
DAMON FOX: That should be Tool. I never followed them – was it self-titled?
A: It was Undertow, from 1993.
Q**2 **What was Duffy Snowhill’s first ever studio recording as the bassist in Bigelf?
DF: He played on our cover of Thin Lizzy’s Bad Reputation for a tribute album called The Spirit Of The Black Rose.
A: In 2001 – correct.
Q**3 **‘You think that your touch turns things to gold/But it’s more like stale bread turning to mould.’ Those are lyrics from which song?
DF: That’s a no-brainer – that’s Ironheel.
A: It is.
Q**4 ****Can you name the conductor of The Counting Sheep Orchestra, who appeared on Bigelf’s 2008 album Cheat The Gallows? **
DF: Good question. Christopher… it was a double-barrelled surname. No, no way.
A: Christopher Anderson-Bazzoli.
Q**5 **You played the High Voltage Festival in July 2010. Where was it, and can you name any two other acts who played the Prog Stage that year?
DF: Can’t remember the London park, but two of my favourite bands played – Focus and Argent. I collapsed with dehydration that day – got taken to hospital in an ambulance.
A: Nasty! It was Victoria Park.
Q**6 **What was your last festival show before the band’s hiatus in that same year?
*DF: *I think it was Summer Sonic in Tokyo. Dream Theater and Slash were there too.
A: Along with Jay-Z, Pixies, The Smashing Pumpkins and many more.
Q**7 ****Two-part question: John Wesley currently plays guitar with the ’Elf. What’s the title of his current solo album, and what’s his real name? **
_*DF: *_Disconnect – it’s my prog album of the year. And his real name’s John Wesley Dearth. A fine gentleman, one of the best I’ve ever met.
A: All good!
Q**8 ****Hex came out in 2003. What’s the longest song on the album? **
DF: I think it’s Bats In The Belfry.
A: Yes, at seven minutes and 43 seconds.
Q**9 ****Your current album is Into The Maelstrom. That’s also the name of a module for which role-playing game? **
DF: Dungeons & Dragons. It’s actually where I got the title from! I played it as a teenager and loved it. That’s a great question!
A: Correct.
Q1**0 **Your Mellotron Mk.II Music Console used to belong to which cult musician?
DF: Martin Kitcat from Gracious. I was such a huge fan. I met him and played him our stuff, and he called us “post-nuclear Beatles” – isn’t that great?
A: Really is.
General Prog
Q1**1 **Besides Robert Fripp, who also plays guitar in the current incarnation of King Crimson?
DF: I love their earlier music but stopped caring after Starless. I have no idea.
A: Jakko Jakszyk.
Q1**2 ****Starless And Bible Black takes its name from a line in a play for voices by which British poet? **
DF: I’d be guessing…
A: Welsh. Enjoyed a drink…
DF: Don’t know.
A: Dylan Thomas: Under Milk Wood.
Q1**3 ****Who produced Gentle Giant’s self‑titled 1970 debut album? **
DF: I’m gonna say Tony Visconti. I know he did Acquiring The Taste.
A: Quite right.
Q1**4 **Sticking with Gentle Giant, the band recently reissued 1974’s The Power And The Glory. Which star remixed the album?
DF: I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Steven Wilson.
A: He did!
DF: Did he? That was a total guess! He’s a lucky bloke. I’m gonna check that out.
Q1**5 **Which keyboard did Rick Wakeman use on Journey To The Centre Of The Earth?
DF: I’ll say a Hammond C3.
A: It was a B3.
DF: Gah! You know, the B and the C are the same except for the cabinet.
Q1**6 **Which manufacturer made the keyboard that was an early ancestor of the Mellotron?
DF: It could only be Chamberlin.
A: Correct.
Q1**7 **The Beatles experimented with Moog synths on one of their albums. Which one?
DF: Abbey Road. It was a Moog Modular IIIP. The last time all four Beatles were ever in the same room together was when John Lennon was adding Moog to I Want You (She’s So Heavy).
A: Good Fabs trivia there!
Q1**8 ****Which member of Styx formed the band Damn Yankees with Ted Nugent in 1989? **
DF: Tommy Shaw.
A: Correct.
Q1**9 ****One of Black Sabbath’s proggiest tunes is Spiral Architect. Which of their albums does it close? **
DF: I’m having a blank… oh, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
A: Correct.
Q2**0 ****Can you name all four members of Transatlantic? **
DF: Boom! Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Roine Stolt and Dave LaRue… no, no! Pete from Marillion.
A: Pete Trewavas, yep.
TOTAL SCORE 16⁄20
“My brain has turned to ash after the tour but you went easy on me, so thanks Prog! Has Mikael Åkerfeldt done this yet? He should – he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of prog!”
