I am primarily familiar with Daniel Tompkins as the lead vocalist for two bands: TesseracT and White Moth Black Butterfly. The first of these is a progressive metal band that is a mixture of Meshuggah-esque djent riffing and multi-layered and vocal-intense soundscapes. For its part, White Moth is much more an electronic pop band with … Continue reading
When he isn’t directing soap operas, Phideaux Xavier is a progressive rock musician who composes gleefully morose music, often about the world coming to an end in the wake of ecological disaster. His most recent double album, Infernal, explores themes of calamity in one of the best releases in 2018. He sat down with our … Continue reading
It has long been a favorite trope of music reviewers to begin an album review by presenting a list of comparisons to other artists or albums. This reviewer has resorted to that a time or two as well, but when an album and an artist such as this one comes along, that move becomes a … Continue reading
Opening for a legendary band when you are a relative unknown can be something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you are likely to be able to perform in front of significantly more people than you otherwise might have the opportunity to do, but on the other hand, the audience in attendance is … Continue reading
I have a vision about how English glam rockers, The Darkness, came to be. It involves brothers Justin and Dan Hawkins (lead vocals and guitars, respectively) sitting at home, enjoying some liquid refreshment and watching the classic comedy “Spinal Tap”. Daniel: “Oi, Justin, this is the funniest [expletive deleted] movie I think I’ve ever seen!” … Continue reading
For many a season, progressive metal bands sprouted and attempted to take root under the penumbral gloom of Dream Theater, with band after band mimicking DT’s approach: Long form songs, extended instrumental passages, technical expertise, shifting time signatures and sometimes uninspired vocal lines. The Dream Theater approach seems to have perhaps shifted to a back-seat … Continue reading
A good deal of ink has already been spilt over Steven Wilson’s new album, To The Bone. In blogs, online magazines and social media forums, a fair amount of alternating hand-wringing and canonization has been going on. Some have voiced despair that Wilson has, in some manner, jumped the shark, and abandoned the trajectory of … Continue reading
