Most people have heard of progressive rock (or prog rock, or simply prog) but the great majority of them treat it with mild disdain (at best) or outright hatred (at worst). Most of the criticism is a mindless rejection based on current trends and a misunderstanding of the genre; “dinosaur” is a common term of abuse, neatly parodied by Adrian Belew on King Crimson’s 1994 album Thrak
There is an increasing quantity of literature on the subject, ranging from the analytical or academic (Edward Macan, Rocking the Classics; Kevin Holme-Hudson, Progressive Rock Revisited) to the fairly straightforward lists (Charles Snider, The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock.) There are also thousands of fans out there who not only continue to attend concerts, but also contribute to a growing network of fanzines and on-line forums. Fans are even served by Prog, a glossy magazine from Future Publishing now in its tenth year, entirely devoted to prog in all its forms
The ProgBlog has been put together to encourage discussion about progressive rock music illustrated by personal observation
The award-winning ProgBlog
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ProgBlog DISCovery
The original aim of the blog was to promote discussion about all and any facet of progressive rock but from time to time, bands and musicians contact ProgBlog with new prog-related material that they want to expose to a wider audience; ProgBlog's album of 2017 An Invitation by Amber Foil was one such approach. The DISCovery section has been introduced to better serve the requirements of musicians who contact ProgBlog with the aim of increasing the audience for their music; without music there can be no discussion of music. Discover some new music here
The ProgBlog Diary
A list of recent past, present and future happenings in the prog world
UK lockdown restrictions eased - record stores now open
July - August - September acquisitions
Gig reviews: 2020 Porto Antico Prog Fest, Genoa 11/07/20
Melting Clock - Abracadabra Festival, Villa Serra, Comago (GE) 13/9/20
EP Review: The Last Cell - Veter (2020)
Veter is the third EP of Jean-Mark Perc's The Last Cell prog metal tetralogy, representing 'air' after 2018's Nautilus (water) and 2019's Continental Drift (earth).
His technical ability has always been impressive but his compositional skills seem to get better with each release. Veter strays into jazz rock territory, creating something that is more prog than metal. Recommended for any prog metal fan.
Read the review here
The latest ProgBlog DISCovery - Amaterazu (Portugal)
It might seem a little odd to add Amaterazu to the ProgBlog DISCovery pages when they’ve been releasing music since 2015 – Meeting of The Spirits from September this year is their fourth after the self-titled debut, the Sunsum EP from 2016, and Live at Carmo’81 in 2018.
Hailing from Viseu in Portugal (a 130km road trip south east of Porto) and basing the band’s moniker on the Shinto Sun Goddess Amaterasu, the trio of Ricardo Bernardo (guitar, vocals), Ricardo Silva (bass, keyboards, vocals) and João Lugatte (drums, percussion) came together from a number of pre-existing projects with different musical contexts and experiences in 2015 following a conversation about Japan, Mount Fuji and the elements that compose storytelling.
Read their story and more about new album Meeting of The Spirits here