Rambling Man's Reviews

Photo credit: Richard Sibbald  Yesterday, Rush made a spectacular announcements in regards to their FIFTY SOMETHING TOUR . They will continue the tour in South America, the UK, AND Europe next year.  Last year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame® Inductees, GRAMMY® Award-nominated icons, and RUSH Co-Founders Geddy Lee [bass, keys, vocals] and Alex Lifeson [guitar, vocals] announced their return to the stage for a very special tour in Canada, USA and Mexico in 2026 in celebration of RUSH’s music, legacy, and the life of late drummer and lyricist Neil Peart . The response was met with enthusiasm. The initial 22 dates sold out immediately, encouraging additional shows, resulting in a total of 58 shows across 24 cities, with over half a million tickets sold for 2026.  I n early 2027, the dates will be the first time the band has played in Europe in over a decade, and 17 years since visiting South America. The dates will see the band performing 24 shows across 13 countri...

     [Photo Credit: Patric Ullaeus] Gothenburg ’s masterminds of melancholia, Prog Metal act   EVERGREY , hope to bring some cheer for their fans with the announcement of their fifteenth album, Architects Of A New Weave , which will be released on June 5, 2026 via Napalm Records , just days before the band takes the stage as special guest to  Iron Maiden , for two shows on their Run For Your Lives World Tour . The band will soon follow up this news with a music video for their first single, but you will need to stay tuned for when. Personally, I am interested in discovering what music they will bring. Lead vocalist  Tom Englund   explains the story about Architects Of A New Weave: “We’ve literally never had this much trouble picking singles. And honestly? That’s the best problem we could possibly have. Every song on this record is fighting to be the one you hear first—because we poured everything into making an album we’re flat-out obsessed with...

Photo Credit courtesy of Jimmy Fontaine Edited by Anselm Anderson Coheed and Cambria have announced a five-date UK tour in support of their new album The Father of Make Believe, which is out now via Virgin Music Group. Their tour begins in October at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England. The tour will visit venues in Cardiff, Wales, Manchester, England and Brixton before finishing in Nottingham. This follows a co-headline arena tour with Mastodon , a headline set at 2000trees Festival this July, and a co-headline US tour with Taking Back Sunday this August and September.  Coheed and Cambria was formed in 1995 by lead vocalist and guitarist Claudio Sanchez, along with guitarist Travis Stever, after the breakup of their previous band, Toxic Parents. They later added drummer Josh Eppard to complete the trio, which is known for its unique blend of progressive rock and heavy metal. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, all based on a science fiction storyline created ...

  Photo Credit: OOB Records Words by Anselm Anderson Multi-instrumentalist Peter Lawson shares the story of a 17th-century witchfinder and his accomplice on his latest EP, "The Witchfinder." The EP is inspired by the true story of Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne, two witch-finders intent on causing chaos and destruction during the Civil War in 17th-century England. They hunted down suspected witches under the Witchfinder Act of 1542 before presenting them for trial. Lawson produces over half an hour of seven tracks, using traditional medieval instruments like the bodhrán and mandolin to depict their horrible deeds. Lawson combines folk, blues, and progressive music elements to craft a distinctive style that resonates with the essence of that period. The darker electronic elements come into play with a distorted monologue in the opening track "Saint Vitus Dance," which captures the innocence of the time before tragedy struck. The narrative turns unexpectedly in ...

 Words by Anselm Anderson Prog metal act ElevenWire has released their debut effort Blood Red Sun  via OOB Records. The album has nine prog-rock fusion tracks with jazz, metal and beautiful atmospheric soundscapes. The album follows a dystopian concept based on the emergence of AI (Artificial Intelligence) ruling the planet. The trio of brothers, John and Robert Hughes, along with long-time buddy Jim Armstrong, capture the tone of this nightmarish scenario through subliminal guitar interplay, string arrangements, and soaring keyboards reminiscent of the late Jon Lord. In modern times, it is rare to hear a progressive rock release that sounds like the luminaries of the 1970s, such as Rush and Genesis. The release was mixed by guest drummer Eric Gillette at his studio in Tulsa, OK, USA. This further assists in the development of an immaculate work full of quality songwriting, thought-provoking lyrics, and harmonic vocals. The album opens with the melancholic string arrangements...

  WORDS BY ANSELM ANDERSON Prog Metal band Questing Beast hails from New England, USA. They recently released the first in a trilogy of records entitled Birth. T he Ten Tracker is a concept album based on the World's End, a scornful god and an interdimensional system. The lyrical content and subsequent music would have impressed many fantasy novelists like George R.R Martin, Frank Herbert and J.R.R Tolkien. Formed in 2019, the quintet of vocalist Joe Harris, guitarists, Joe's sister Jane and Shane Malouf- Pieterse, drummer Christian Kincaid and Warbringer bassist Chase Bryant on bass has spent the past three years writing, recording and mastering their modern-day masterpiece: a mixture of heavy metal, deathly growls, jazz passages and elements of opera. 'Birth' was produced by Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, MA. Each track Is brought to life in a unique and bombastic fashion, enlightening and frightening us. The doom-stricken riffs of 'A Comet's T...

Words Were Written by Anselm Anderson The Skys  are a highly revered rock outfit from Lithuania, who have toured extensively around the world to critical acclaim. The band has several albums to date, including Automatic Minds,  the band's latest studio release; which was produced by Grammy award-winning  Dom Morley  ( Amy Winehouse). Communication  is one of the singles from the album that features The Voice USA contestant  India Carney  on vocals. The track combusts between a multitude of harmonic lines and heavy beats that are reminiscent of the prog music  Pink Floyd and Genesis  were so fond of producing.  The opening sequence begins with an apparent transmission before breaking into the eerie vocals that repeats " We all see through cancer". The hypnotic bass lines then join in tandem to create a dreamlike atmosphere that builds through each bar until the counterpoint to male vocals enters with ...