Bleeding Edge Interviews

When you talk about the top drummers in rock music, and especially prog rock/metal, Mike Mangini's name is absolutely certain to come up.  When you're part of arguably the biggest prog band in the world, you come with a loads of skill and credentials.  And when the biggest prog band in the world announces a new tour with top level artists like Devin Townsend and Animals as Leaders, it's a VERY big deal.  Mike spent some time talking with me about his approach to drumming, touring, and he drops a few hints about what we can expect to see in these very exciting shows.

So, Diana Studenberg and Moonhead of Trope joined me, so we could geek out over 80's music, music production perfectionism, the underrated dangers of donkeys, and what their lives have been like since Eleutheromania was released.

Oh, yeah... we also talked about their upcoming PROGGIER sophmore effort, due for release in September!  It was fun!

When you've reached the point of celebrating your 20th anniversary in any business, you quite likely will take stock of what you've accomplished. And you may also look forward to what you still want to achieve.  Mariusz Duda and his band mates in Riverside have a lot they want to say about the future of the band in ID.Entity, their latest album and the first since the band hit the 2-decade mark.  I got to talk with Mariusz about the inspiration behind the album and what he hoped to express with the band's newest collection.

Jason Bieler took the prog world by storm in 2021 with Songs for the Apocalypse and now he's back with Postcards from the Asylum, his latest collection of unique, genre-bending, star-studded songs. He's been releasing tracks at a trickle over the past 18 months, and now the new album is finally coming out!  Will there be a tour? Listen to this, the 20th Episode of Bleeding Edge Interviews, and find out!

If you haven't yet discovered We Came From Space, now is the time! Taking a blend of eclectic influences and merging them in to a uniquely poppy and proggy sound, they are poised to hit big with their latest release, Overlords.  I spent some time with Bill and Dave, talking about the new albume, their influences, lizard people, and the differences between British and American prog. (Spoiler - The answer is both simple and profound.)

The lads of Haken are back with a new album entitled Fauna and a globe-spanning tour in the works! Join me and half the band as we talk about everything going on with them these days!

YYNOT is an "original progressive rock band with a marked propensity for playing vintage Rush covers."  That's their description, and I would agree that's the best wording I can think of.  Billy Alexander (guitar) & Tim Starace (bass) joined me to talk about the band, a little about their latest album (Light and Shadows), and a lot about their upcoming concert, The Bubba Bash, on 1/7/2023. This incredible all-start event will feature YYNOT along with a line-up of rock and prog elite, and will be dedicated to Neil Peart with proceeds going to benefit Cedars-Sinai and their research into the treatment of glioblastoma cancer.

James Lascelles is the force behind the conceptual heart of Wheel, one of the fastest rising bands in the world of progressive metal, brining a signature blend of social consciousness and literary inspiration to the concepts that inform the band's complex compositions.  Find out what and who inspired him and Wheel to create the music that has made them rising stars in the prog world.

Call them a "super group" or simply call them one of the finest progressive metal bands on the planet.  Either way, it's hard not to be seriously impressed by Soen, and especially their talented guitarist, Cody Lee Ford.  This conversation with Cody covers the upcoming North American tour, including the first US dates for the band; their lastest album Atlantis, which takes a bunch of songs from their catalog and reinterprets them; and their future plans, including festivals in the Spring and Summer and the next studio album.

Steve Rothery, guitarist and founding member of legendary band Marillion, joined me for an extended conversation about touring, creativity, longevity, and legacy after 40+ years in the music business. We also discussed the amazing success of An Hour Before It's Dark, their latest album and the themes of the album, from cynicism to hope.