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 Cumrbian prog rockers Gandalf's Fist, who's hard rocking Hell's Sacrament, featuring KK's Priest signer Tim 'Ripper' Ownes, walked away with over half of last week's votes. A great showing for Harp, former Midlake singer Tim Smith in second place and with Italian prog quartet Raised By Haze in third.
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.
MOON SAFARI - BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND ME
It's been a long wait, a whole decade in fact, but Swedish prog sextet Moon Safari are not only back, but with a follow up to 2013's quite excellent Himlabacken album. Himlabacekn Vol. 2 will be released by the band on December 8 through the band's own Blomljud Records Inc. As you can hear fom the ten-minute long Between The Devi And Me, the band have lost none of their trademark musical inquisitiveness and it's chock full of their wonderful vocal harmonies.
"The first single from the album is at it's core a story of self-exploration. It rides the pendulum swings of an unbalanced human mind from confusion to clarity. And it rocks, hard," the band say. "We've all wanted to quit at some point during the last decade. It's been a real test of our patience and our commitment to the music. But in the end, we were pardoned by the Gods of Rock 'n' Roll and we're back in great form. To hear the whole thing in one go is absolutely liberating, and well worth the wait. If this thing won't fly, nothing we'll ever do will."
CHELSEA WOLFE - WHISPERS IN THE ECHO CHAMBER
As one might expect from an artist as enigmatic as Chelsea Wolfe, her latest single, the shape-shifting Whispers In The Echo Chamber, is a dark ditty, full of unsettling soundscapes and her eerie vocal delivery. It's the second single to be taken from Wolfe's upcoming album She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, which will be released through her brand new record label Loma Vista Recordings on February 9.
“It’s a record about the past self reaching out to the present self reaching out to the future self to summon change, growth, and guidance," she explains. "It’s a story of freeing yourself from situations and patterns that are holding you back in order to become self-empowered. It’s an invitation to step into your authenticity.”
THE THIRD MIND - SALLY GO ROUND THE ROSES
You might not have heard of The Third Mind before, but after hearing their ten-minute take on Sally Go Round The Roses, you might want to hear more. Formed by US singer songwriter Dave Alvin the band features Victor Krummenacher (Camper Van Beethoven, Monks of Doom, Eyelids), The Third Mind also features guitarist David Immerglück (Counting Crows, Monks of Doom, Camper Van Beethoven), drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Better Than Ezra, John Cale) and vocalist Jesse Sykes. Although best known by most prog fans from Pentangle's cover on 1969's Basket Of Light, the song was originally a hit for one-hit-winder all-girl group The Jaynettes in 1963. This lengthy, pyschedelic take on the song is from the band's second album, The Third Mind 2, out today!
"Even though it was written in the early 1960s as a girl group pop/R+B song, Sally Go Round The Roses is often mistaken for a timeless folk song,” says Alvin. “I've always been attracted to its seductive, almost spooky, melody mixing classic bluesy simplicity with ambiguity and dread. While Sally Go Round The Roses has all the timeless qualities you find in traditional classic folk songs, it also possesses a perfect loose structure for some adventurous Third Mind style open ended improvisations. I love how Jesse's vocal captures the plaintive, heart wrenching warnings of the lyrics while the band's performance captures the collage of wild emotions hidden in those simple yet powerful lyrics.”
TORIZON - MARTYR
Brisbane prog metal trio Torizon take a stand against toxicity with Matyr, their latest inn a long line of impressive single releases, with vocalist Mish Sharma encouraging the band's fans to do the same. The band, who are looking to release their debut album next year, hit their local Gold Coast this weekend supporting Sydney metalcore band Bridge Left To Burn on the Bitter Endings East Coast Tour.
"The lyrics explore the victim grappling with the reality of the situation and deciding to leave; even though the trauma brain is persistent about staying because it feels 'familiar'," explains Sharma. "Statistically, the likelihood of adults with childhood trauma ending up in dysfunctional and abusive relationships is very high. As someone with complex PTSD - treated - I found myself in multiple abusive relationships. With the help of a great mental health care team, all my connections now are safe and supportive."
SAVE US - DRIFT
There's something undeniably catchy and epic about Drift, the latest single from newly formed quartet Save Us, that brings to mind TesseracT at their most melodic, not least in Californian singler Miguel Owls vocal delivery. The rest of the band, guitarist Chris Biddiscombe, drummer Benji Havercroft and bassist Aidan Puncy, all hail from the UK. Save Us will release their debut EP, Lucid, through Year Of The Rat Records on December 8.
"Drift dives into the constant battles of one's mental health, feeling lost, trapped and completely alone," the band say. "This song expresses the struggles of having your loved one be so close yet so far away and oblivious to those struggles, in other words Drift is a cry for help. Musically this song was originally written by Miguel to be a ballad but evolved when brought to the band. Chris developed the idea into the heavy chaotic driven sound it is today.
"I never thought this song would see the light," adds Owls. "It was a demo that was in the works for years before I even met the guys. Chris made this song better than I ever imagined it could be."
