Welcome to Prog's Tracks Of The Week. Eight brand new and diverse slices of progressive music for you to enjoy.
A massive 'well done' to German prog quartet Unprocessed whose Thrash certainly trashed the opposition last week, beating Trevor Rabin and Steven Wilson into secind and third places respectively.
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it?
The idea is to watch the videos (or listen if it's a stream), enjoy (or not) and also to vote for your favourite in the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn't be easier could it?
We'll be bringing you Tracks Of The Week, as the title implies, each week. Next week we'll update you with this week's winner, and present a host of new prog music for you to enjoy.
If you're a band and you want to be featured in Prog's Tracks Of The Week, send your video (as a YouTube link) or track embed, band photo and biog to us here.
So get watching. And get voting at the bottom of the page.
GONG - ALL CLOCKS RESET
All Clocks Reset is the second single to be taken from psychedelic adventurers Gong's upcoming new album Unending Ascending, which is released through Kscope on November 3. Accompanied by a suitably eye-popping video from long time live collaborator Fruit Salad Light. Unending Ascending follows on from 2016's Rejoice! I'm Dead!, of which the new album forms the second in a planned trilogy of releases.
“Angular guitars! Pointillistic horns! Cataclysmic words! With gods and monsters on their tail, Gong insist you take a trip on the kinetic mainline to experience the dissolution of both ego and sense of self through the universal vehicle of knotty psychedelic rock," the band enthuse. "The apocalypse never felt so good.”
MAER - POISONED WATERS
Maer are, of course, Marjana Semkina from Iamthemorning and Anna Murphy from Cellar Darling, and the beautiful Poisoned Waters is the duo's second single, following on from debut Sisters which was released back in October last year. Both Iamthemorning and Cellar Darling are out on the road at the moment, and play Summers End Festival this weekend , so expect some Maer songs from the pair.
"I always considered myself a person who likes a challenge," laugh Semkina. "But agreeing to release five grands worth of merch while shipping a bunch of t-shirts while trying to keep up with the day job before disappearing on "vacation" (lol) for three weeks might be a bit too much. We're too poor for any PR or ads and all we could afford was a simple but pretty lyrics video!"
TESSERACT - ECHOES
The new TesseracT album War Of Being has been described by prog as "not only TesseracT’s most accomplished record to date, but it’s one that adds greater extravagance." Echoes is the latest single from the album and the video continues to tell the story of the concept behind the album, the tale of the two main characters, Ex and El.
“The concept of Echoes is based around one of our main characters, ‘El’, and 'The Scribe'," explains singer Dan Tompkins, currently on tour in American with the band. "They play a major part in the concept and game as 'The Scribe' is a splintered part of 'El's ego that has the ability to control destiny and rewrite the past.
"This has always been a hard-hitting song and it adds a real dynamic to the album. As a standalone track it exudes feelings from the heights of euphoria but also the depths of desperation. There's a real sense of frustration and regret throughout, especially as the song climaxes with its brutal admission.”
HEAD WITH WINGS - GALAXY
"If Incubus had a proggy love child with Radiohead and that angsty kid grew up obsessed with film, gaming and concept rock," is how US trio Head With Wings have been described. Obviously you can make yourn own minds up listening to Galaxy, the new single from the band's forthcoming concept album Without Intervention, which is released on October 20.
“Galaxy is the main protagonist of our new album, Without Intervention," explains singer Josh Corum. "In the music video, she’s a popular variety streamer that streams on a fictional platform called UWATCH. She signs a contract with The Dream Broker Group (a somewhat nefarious talent agency) after hitting 1 million subscribers and while the video focuses on Galaxy’s ascension, we also witness the deterioration of an obsessed fan, whose addiction to her content takes over every aspect of his life.”
MYRKUR - VALKYRIERNES SANG
Danish folk/prog/metal artist Myrkur, otherwise known as Amalie Bruun, returns with her brand new album Spine, which is set for release on October 20th via Relapse Records. Spine finds Myrkur at her most atmospheric and melodic, while Valkyriernes Sang adds some uptempo rocking courtesy of Bruun's black metal roots, but remains an uplifting listen all the same.
"I wrote this song after diving into different interpretations of the old Norse sagas again, particularly Njál's saga and the poems about the valkyrier - Spydsangen (‘The Song of the Spear’),” she says. “I have always been fascinated with the figures of Valkyrier in Norse mythology, their power, their role in the battles, in Valhalla and with Odin."
NYTT LAND - RISE OF MIDGARD
Rise Of Midgard, the brand new single from Siberian dark folk duo Nytt Land, is taken from their upcoming ninth studio album Torem, which will be released through Napalm Records on October 6. The song is as strikingly unsettling as the video, and has been inspired by the sound of Siberian nature. Their musical roots are deeply connected with mythology, historic themes and ancient shamanic culture. In the Finno-Ugric languages of the indigenous peoples of Siberia, Torem means "Great Sky" - the Great Sky on which ancestors sit, and where the souls of people and animals are reborn in the form of birds. This is also the place where the shaman makes his first journey to learn the wisdom of the Great Spirit.
"Rise Of Midgard marks the appearance of the image of birth to the shaman, the uprising from the body of the giant Ymir of the middle world (Midgard) as the highest creation of the Gods in their power," the band explain.
PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS - UNDERNEATH THE ORPHAN MOON
The catchy, melodic Underneath The Oprhan Moon is the new single from US prog rockers Pattern-Seeking Animals who release their fourth album Spooky Action At A Distance through InsideOut Music on October 27. The band feature Spock's Beard singer Ted Leonard and bassist Dave Meros and former drummer Jimmy Keegan, alongside keyboardist and producer John Boegehold.
"Because this is our fourth release in less than five years, my intention was to shift gears and not go over ground that's already been covered," explains Boegehold. "In addition to using different sounds, textures and musical styles, we approached the vocals, especially backing vocals from a fairly different angle. In addition, the album was recorded, mixed and mastered at a different studio with a different engineer than our previous three releases.”
"The subject matter of the lyrics include a Norse king contemplating life while being conquered, an aging seeker on the path toward enlightenment, aliens hunting down humans trying to evade capture, the life of a conflicted soldier before and after WW1, a pregnant teenager leaving a bad situation at home, a reluctant hero victorious in her final battle and a guy’s girlfriend who leaves him because of his conspiracy theories.”
