Sonic Perspectives

Los Angeles based, US Heavy / Power metal legends Steel Prophet are back with a new massive sounding heavy metal album The God Machine, released two weeks ago. Five years after the release of their latest album Omniscient the band recruited the all-star Heavy Metal singer / producer R.D. Liapakis of Mystic Prophecy / Devil’s Train and his uniquely ranged vocal skills to perfectly match the new songs. R.D. Liapakis is not just only the man behind the microphone though since he, alongside Steve Kachinsky is responsible for the songwriting and production process of the album. 

 The album starts with the absolute banger album title song “The God Machine”, featuring furious rhythms, fast riffing and catchy arena choruses preparing the ground for “Crucify” which along with “Dark Mask / Between Love And Hate” will catapult the listener back to the best NWOBHM years while “Thrashed Relentlessly” is the definition of US power metal riffing. Songs like “Damnation Calling” and “Lucifer / The Devil Inside” will bring in mind the mighty Black Sabbath era with Tony Martin. The album’s multidimensional yet classic heavy metal mark is ultimately revealed to the listener as soon as the power ballad “Buried And Broken” kicks in.

Our contributor Michael “MettleAngel” Francisco had the opportunity to speak with Steve Kachinsky about a myriad a topics related to the album’s creative process, how R.D. Liapakis ended up being the band’s vocalist and much more. Listen to their chat, or subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post STEEL PROPHET’s Mastermind STEVE KACHINSKY On New Singer R.D. LIAPAKIS: “He’s A Great Singer and I Don’t Think Our Fans Can Be Dissatisfied with His Performance” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Mark “Truey” Trueack created a stir in the prog world with the band Unitopia from down under, which he created with Sean Timms. After he and Timms went their separate ways, rather than form a new band per se, Truey went on to create a collective of rotating musicians called United Progressive Fraternity. First enlisting co-conspirator Steve Unruh, Truey then continues to bring in new guest artists to create music that supports environmental and social activism. Their second album, Planetary Overload – Part One: Loss has just been released with much more to come, and you can read our review of it at this location.

Truey explains “The more people that are involved to help us, whether it be from a musical, artistic, or a networking/media, the better our success will be in this. All

Planetary Overload represents the culmination of more than four years of collaboration with international guest musicians, a team of talented songwriters and arrangers, support from documentary film directors and environmental organizations, endorsements from climate scientists, and features the voices of prominent spokespersons such as Jane Goodall, Sir David Attenborough, Dr. James E. Hansen, David Suzuki, and others. The urgency of the message in Planetary Overload cannot be overstated – “Our entire survival depends on what action humanity takes in the next few years, and the United Progressive Fraternity is striving to create the best musically communicated albums ever made. Together we must make a change to save our distressed planet.”

In this extended interview, Sonic Perspectives correspondent Scott Medina talks extensively with Truey about United Progressive Fraternity’s mission, the creative process, the state of the world, and the numerous projects that are in the pipeline for the future. For those that love progressive rock and care about the planet, this is an exciting movement to be part of. Remember to subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on daily basis.

The post UNITED PROGRESSIVE FRATERNITY’s Mark Trueack: “If You Can Get the Message Across Quickly, and Complex Music to Support It, That’s the Best of Both Worlds” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Whitesnake, the mega-platinum legendary rock n’ roll band founded and formed by Deep Purple singer David Coverdale are embarking on their 2019 world tour, which will feature songs from the new studio record to be released in May 2019 on Frontiers Music SLR entitled Flesh & Blood alongside their biggest hits and songs from one of the greatest back catalogs in hard rock history, spanning more than 40 years.

The band has earned multi-platinum albums including Trouble, Lovehunter, Ready And Willing and Come An’ Get It through to the explosive hard rock of the revamped ‘Snake sound with the multi-platinum Slide It In and 1987’s self-titled mega-million-selling smash-hit album, Whitesnake. From these albums came multiple top 10 hits worldwide, including two No. 1 singles with “Here I Go Again” and “Is This Love” as well as the unforgettable hammer of “Still Of The Night” all leading to virtual 24-hour domination of MTV around the globe.

Whitesnake’s current lineup features, aside from Coverdale, Reb Beach (guitar), Joel Hoekstra (guitar), Michael Devin (bass), Tommy Aldridge (drums) and Michele Luppi (keyboards). Sonic Perspectives collaborator Rodrigo Altaf is not one to spend time “crying in the rain”, but in a “slip of the tongue” he was able to slide in an interview with Joel Hoekstra, where they discussed the writing sessions of the new album, his role as guitar player of Cher and the Trans Siberian Orchestra and much more. Listen to their chat below, and subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

Interview made possible by The Hard Rock Live Event Center at the Seminoles Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, where Whitesnake will be playing tomorrow, Thursday 25th, 2019 as part of The Flesh & Blood World Tour. Tickets are still available at this location.

The post WHITESNAKE’s JOEL HOEKSTRA: “The Choruses of Many Songs On The New Album Beg to be Sung by the Crowd” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

At this point in time, Judas Priest is not just a band, but a British institution. One of the forefathers of the movement that came to be known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they are now more popular than ever. Having been through ups and downs in the music industry, lineup changes and all kinds of hardships that any band goes through, they always seem to come out stronger. Evidence of that can be demonstrated by the fact that they are ready to embark on the third North American leg of the current tour, promoting the critically acclaimed 2018 album Firepower.

Kicking off on May 03rd at the Hard Rock Live Event Center at The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, the upcoming 32 dates will have Uriah Heep as the opening act, and will count on different production and different setlist than the previous treks of the Firepower tour. The band has been very vocal about the fact that they are digging deep into their catalog to bring out songs they haven’t played in a long time, or maybe never before. Quite frankly, if you’re a half respectable metal fan, this tour is one not to be missed.

One of Rodrigo Altaf’s long-standing dreams was to interview Judas Priest, and this Sonic Perspectives collaborator had his dream come true when he spoke with their bass player Ian Hill about the upcoming tour. You’ve already read our review of Priest’s amazing album Firepower here , and now you can check out the chat with Ian Hill on the link below. Listen to their conversation or read the transcript, and subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

Interview made possible by The Hard Rock Live Event Center at the Seminoles Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, where Judas Priest will be kicking off their “Firepower 2019” tour next Friday May 3rd at 8:00 PM with Uriah Heep as special guests. Tickets for what promises to be a great night of metal are still available at this location.

Ian, thank you so much for talking to us today – how are the preparations for the upcoming dates in North America?

They’re going really well, thanks! I’m in my own studio at home at the moment, just going through some of the songs that we were going to be playing. We have a bit of time before we get together as a band and kick all the new songs that we’ve been learning around and then see which ones we’re gonna fit into the set.

There’s been talk of you guys playing some deep cuts on this tour, right? Is there a song in particular that you’re looking forward to play?

Oh, there’s a whole load of them! [laughs]. There’s some stuff we haven’t played in a long time! Then there’s the new record as well, which I’m very much looking forward to playing. Hopefully we’ll get them all in, you know, we have ten or eleven new songs here. We want this to be a fresh experience because we’ve already been to North America twice on this tour. The production going to be different too, you know, so it will be something very new.

For me it’s amazing that FIREPOWER is such a solid album at this stage in your careers – the songs you play live from that album fit like a glove with the older material, right?

It fits right in, yeah! It’s a very strong album. I remember when I first heard the rough demos of the album, which I got from Glenn [Tipton, guitar player], Richie [Faulkner, guitar player] and Rob [Halford, singer] and thought to myself ‘this is going to be a great album!”.

Will Glenn be travelling with the band this time around as well? How’s he doing health-wise?

He’s about as good as you can expect him to be. The problem with Parkinson’s disease is that at the moment it’s uncurable. New treatments are coming through all the time, but it’s not something you can control. As far as the tour goes, Glenn will come out when he can and when he’s feeling fit enough. I can’t say for certain, I don’t want anybody going ahead and buying a ticket based on me saying he’s going to show up. Because he might not being able to, you know. He will when he can, and will come out and play some of the encores maybe, but I’m afraid I can’t promise.

You’ll have Andy Sneap filling in for Glenn on this tour – what’s the plan for his role? Are there talks of making him a permanent member at some point in time and have him and Glenn contributing?

It’s early days at the moment. He’s doing great work, but his first calling is as a producer. I know he’s put a lot of projects on the backburner while he’s filling in for Glenn on this tour, and obviously he’s going to have to fit those in sooner or later. However, when it comes to Priest, it’s up to him, really, if he can afford the time. I don’t know how many years we’ve got left [laughs], but he’ll make a decision when the time comes. He really jumped into the role, and had two or three weeks to get a complete set of songs together and he pulled the rabbit out of the hat and did a tremendous job. He’ll be filling in on this North American leg and we’ll take it from there – we’ll sit down and talk, and see what he wants to do.

Looking back on such a lengthy career, you’re the only guy from the original lineup – do you find that through the years your role in the band has changed? Meaning, do you think you have more of a say in the decisions than before?

Not at all. We’ve always been a very democratic band. Ideas come forward from all of us, and we sit down and discuss it. If someone’s really adamant about doing something or about not doing something, we’ll go with it. In general, the majority votes and that will be it. However, no, my role hasn’t changed at all.

I’m curious as to why you never released albums with other bands, or did any side projects? Did you ever feel the need to branch out and maybe play other styles of music?

I didn’t really. If I did, I’d probably go back to my roots and play some blues, because that’s what I was brought up on. If I ever feel inclined to do something like that I’d put together a blues combo and release something along those lines. You never know! [laughs]

In one of the North American legs you had Saxon and Black Star Riders as support acts, on the next one there was Deep Purple and The Temperance Movement, now you’re bringing Uriah Heep.   I need to ask you because this would be my dream lineup – what would it take to have Priest, Maiden and Saxon on the same bill?

Probably divine intervention! [laughs] It really would be great to get a bill like that together. It would be absolutely tremendous to see three iconic British bands like that together touring. It’s something that has been talked about for a long time now, and we never had the chance. Again, you never know!

You probably have so many memories of amazing crowds – Donnington, Rock in Rio – would you be able to pick a favorite show, or the highest point in your career?

It’s a tough call! We played some immense shows. We played the US Festival in California back in 1983 and around 350,000 people showed up, and that was absolutely immense. Then of course, there’s the Live Aid thing we did in Philly. On the other hand, we want to get to the smaller places and get close to the fans, which is what we’re doing on this leg. We’re looking forward to getting that energy from the fans.   

Is there any album in your discography that you look back on and think it could have come out differently?

That’s another difficult question. Going back to any album there’s always things you’d change here and there, but you never know unless you have a time machine and get back to the time you recorded it [laughs]. Obviously, things like our first album Rocka Rolla could have been mixed better, let’s put it like that. There’s always things you would like to have been done better.

How would you compare yourself to your contemporaries such as Steve Harris, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire – do you think about music in those terms, as a competition?

Not at all. We do what we feel and what comes from ourselves. I’ve been very lucky in as much as our fans enjoy what I do. However, I don’t look at other players and think “oh, he can play quicker than me, or he can play a different scale” or what have you. I do what I do and what I think is necessary for the song and go from there. Otherwise, everybody would end up being in a jazz band [laughs]

This upcoming tour is the third North American leg, and you’ll probably have some rescheduled dates touring with Ozzy soon. Can we expect a follow up to Firepower being recorded this year still?

That’s very much in the cards, we’re already discussing that. If I know Glenn, he’s already sitting at home knocking riffs and chord sequences out! We might get back home to an album’s worth of material [laughs]. Yeah, and there were some very strong ideas that were left out of Firepower which we never got around to completing. So it’s very much on the cards. When that will happen, I don’t know. We’ve got this leg to come and the Ozzy shows as you mentioned which have been rearranged to February. Next year is going to be our 50th year celebration, so probably some time after that. We’ll see when we can get our heads to it.

Ian, thank you so much for your time today, and I wish you a great tour ahead!

Thanks Rodrigo, bye for now!

The post IAN HILL of JUDAS PRIEST on the Follow Up to Firepower: “We Have a Lot of Unused Material that Was Very Solid and Could End up on Our Next Album” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

With a career that spans back to the early 80s, Minnesota-based singer Lance King has gained global recognition for his impeccable timbre, mile-wide range, and towering persona while fronting such luminary bands as Pyramaze and Balance of Power. Fresh off the release of his second solo album, ReProgram, King was a good enough chap to join semi-regular Talking Perspectives panelist Austin Kokel and humble host Gonzalo Pozo for another lengthy chat about life, music, and everything.

The trio discusses artists whom they believe deserve a bigger audience, and the names mentioned range from Scottish black metal natureboys Saor, Christian-themed Danish rockers Phonomik, and the Argentine tango master Astor Piazzolla. The three also recommend Vitral, Chaos Frame, and Aeternam before King Lance gives us the lengthy skinny on his storied career, going into detail on his guest appearance at Crimson Glory‘s magical Tribute to Midnight at ProgPower X, which saw him share the stage with Mark Boals of Royal Hunt and Yngwie Malmsteen; Sean Peck of Cage; Chris Salinas of Zero Hour and Power of Omens; and many, many others. We also get to hear him sing the praises of former Iced Earth frontman Matt Barlow, who succeeded Lance in Pyramaze.

Austin and Gonzo then pick Lance’s brain about the material, inspiration, and writing process of ReProgram, a laudably focused and varied record that Austin saw fit to award an 8.5 in the Sonic Perspectives album review section. Lance discusses how his personal philosophies, fronting bands with two lead guitarists, and a close encounter with death helped shape the sound and identity we hear on ReProgram, and somehow manages to force our bewildered panel to defend the concept of sex robots. But you’ll have to listen to get the juicy details.

This episode’s panel then wraps things up with an analysis of Devin Townsend’s monstrous new record Empath, citing the mastery of composition, performance, production, and marketing that have made what was literally supposed to be a pop album impossible for retailers to keep in stock. So pop open a brew, start rewiring your house, and brace yourselves for another Talking Perspectives that clocks in at over two hours after several rounds of editing.

The post TALKING PERSPECTIVES: “Unknown Band Deserving A Bigger Audience / LANCE KING – ReProgram / DEVIN TOWNSEND – Empath” (Episode No. 23) appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

At 68 years of age, and soon to be 69, Steve Hackett seems unstoppable. Coming off of a tour celebrating the Genesis classic Wind and Wuthering, he recently released his 26th studio album, At the Edge of Light. In his own words, the new effort is more than just a collection of tracks. “I love experimenting with sounds and ethnic instruments, and thereby taking my ideas into other musical territories, to go where I have not artistically been before. This is essentially British music but it’s being developed in foreign soil, as it were.”

At the Edge of Light represents the master guitarist’s commitment and passion for a global perspective on the music he writes and performs. A natural sequence to his previous solo album The Night Siren, it incorporates artists and instruments from all corners of the globe, and the end result is diverse and colorful, much like the different landscapes he travels through on his extensive tours. Steve broadens his musical palette at a point in his career where his peers are usually resorting to the same tricks, and reaches out to the listener offering a global celebration, as mentioned in our review.

Fresh out of rehearsals for this current tour, where he is celebrating the Genesis album Selling England by the Pound and his solo effort Spectral Mornings, Steve took time to reflect on the new album with our interviewer multi-faceted interviewer Rodrigo Altaf. Listen to their conversation below, or subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post STEVE HACKETT Reflects on His Recent Album: “I Wanted to Include Friends From All Over the World and Celebrate What’s Best on All Corners of the Earth” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer John Mitchell wears many hats, but he wears them all well. A member of such mainstay progressive rock bands as Arena, It Bites, KINO, and Frost*, Mitchell‘s more recent project Lonely Robot has turned many heads since its 2015 debut album, Please Come Home.

April 26th will see the release of what is the finale in what has become a trilogy of Lonely Robot albums, this one entitled Under Stars. The album once again features drums by long-time collaborator Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson), plus bass contributions from Steve Vantsis (Fish), with all other instrumentation on the album delivered by Mitchell himself.  Of the record, John comments: “It is the final part in the astronaut trilogy, and was recorded over an intensive month and a half period. This time I wanted to reference my love of 80’s synthwave pop a little more, so beware the 808! The title is derived from belief that we as humans spend far too much time not noticing the beauty around us and far too much time tethered to technology.”

Sonic Perspectives writer and interviewer Austin Kokel was granted a space visa to go sailing across the stars with John Mitchell where they spend 30 minutes talking about the new album, the state of the music industry, Mitchell’s go-to drummer Craig Blundell, the upcoming Space Rocks event in London, and Mitchell‘s creative process, both alone and with colleagues like Jem Godfrey of Frost* and Kim Seviour.

Listen to the interview below, or subscribe to our podcasts however you listen to podcasts for this interview, Talking Perspectives episodes, and more.

The post ARENA / LONELY ROBOT’s Mastermind John Mitchell: “I Like Making Music, I Think It’s What I’m Good At” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

It’s not every day that you get to chat with a couple who not only share their lives, but also amount to unbelievable musical pedigree. Jane Getter has a 20 year career as a solo artist, and has performed with a myriad of world renowned artists including Ursala Dudziak, The Roots The Jam, Kenny Garrett, Mike Clark, Regina Carter, Michal Urbaniak and many more. In addition, her husband Adam Holzman is a notorious jazz keyboard player; who was hired by Miles Davies in 1985 and stayed with him for four years, eventually becoming his musical director. He has participated, produced, arranged and performed with artists like Ray Manzarek, Michel Petrucciani, Steps Ahead, Grover Washington Jr., Lenny White, Ray Wilson, and more recently Steven Wilson, to name a few. 

Turns out that Jane has been immersed in an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to fund her sixth studio album under the Jane Getter Premonition moniker. The many different kinds of music Jane loves and appreciate come together organically in the band’s eclectic style, from rock to jazz, metal to singer-songwriter, world music to blues and funk to classical. His band-mates are among the best players you can find out there: besides hubby Adam Holzman holding the keyboards department she’s got guitar hero Alex Skolnick (Testament, Alex Skolnick Trio, Planetary Coalition, Savatage, Transiberian Orchestra), drummer extraordinaire Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa, Alan Holdsworth, Steve Vai and James Taylor), prominent bassist and trumpeter Mark Egan (Pat Metheny, Gil Evans, Stan Getz, Sting) and four strings master Stu Hamm, known for his live and session work for numerous artists including Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Guitarist  guitarist Vernon Reid, founder and primary songwriter of the rock band Living Colour will guest on the album, as well as many other musicians handling vocal duties.

Jane Getter Premonition‘s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign can be visited at this location.

Since we are always willing to support hard-working and talented artists we took the opportunity to sit with Jane and Adam to speak about everything going on in their musical spectrum. Our sleepless interviewer Rodrigo Altaf called from the cold Toronto and the trio chatted for almost an hour in revealing conversation you can now enjoy below. Listen, or subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post JANE GETTER And ADAM HOLZMAN Talk Upcoming Album: “My Upcoming Record Will Be a Natural Progression From “ON”, with a Better Balance Between Instrumental Passages And Sung Tunes” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Familiar to any friend of melodic, heavy sounds Iron Savior is the band around mastermind Piet Sielck, a staple in the power-metal scene of the last decades. In 1996 the multi-talented artist, who made a mark among others as a guitarist and producer, founded this solo project. The line-up carousel rotated steadily, but over the years, the outfit gained more and more full character of a band.

In 2019 finally the time has come to turn over a new leaf, the Hanseatic Metal-Institution has unleashed the martial titled album Kill Or Get Killed! with ten brand new songs. The fact that the artwork and the lyrics seem unusually grim in contrast to the earlier concept albums is no coincidence. “We just were up for something new, and I was inspired by the book The Star of Pandora a sci-fi novel about the destruction of humanity by an alien civilization,” explains Piet. Apart from that Iron Savior stick to their guns. From the first tune of the eponymous opener “Kill Or Get Killed” they are bringing the message home that they will take no prisoners like the dreadful creature at the front cover.

Expert interviewer and contributor to the Sonic Perspectives team Michael “MettleAngel” Francisco sat down with Piet Sielck to talk at length about the new record, the cool bonus track the band recorded for the Japanese version of the album, the possibility of a North America tour and more. Listen to their chat, or subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post IRON SAVIOR’s Piet Sielck: “Patrick Is a 100% Power Metal Drummer and That’s What We Need in IRON SAVIOR” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Call it hyperbole if you wish, but with prog-rock in America often associated with older bands and often equally experienced fans I don’t think there are many bands more important to the next wave as New Jersey’s own Thank You Scientist. And coming from a Pennsylvania resident you know I mean business when I actually compliment anything coming out of our loveable trashy neighbor. The seven-piece has a new double album called Terraformer due out on June 14th and launch a new tour of North America on April 12th. You can get info on both of those items at the band’s site here.

Normally an interview will inform the listener, and I hope this will, but I must request the before listening you consider checking out the promotional video for the album below, being aware that it may not be appropriate for work. Or for kids. Or anywhere where anyone might see your monitor at some point. But I won’t judge you for watching.

Then you can proceed to listen to the interview, where contributor Nick Andreas sits with Thank You Scientist founding member and bandleader Tom Monda (guitars) and Ben Karas (electric violin). Part of the discussion was about the material surrounding the new album Terraformer, including the making of that video and why such a creative approach can be as important as the music the band is making. We also talked about the band’s new hotline, 1-833-BRGN-BOY, which is real and regularly updated, a few recent special live shows, and a few other odds and ends. Listen to the chat, or subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on daily basis.

The post THANK YOU SCIENTIST’s Tom Monda and Ben Karas: “We Weren’t Specifically Looking for a Nude Senior Citizen BUT…” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.