Written interview!
Interview with Geoff Tate of Operation: Mindcrime
Geoff Tate recently released his second studio album with his band Operation: Mindcrime, named Resurrection (you can read my review of that album here). It’s a follow up of the album The Key, and the second part of the trilogy. Geoff and Iris did an interview via Skype in October, where they talked about the album, the tour and more! Continue reading
Resurrection is the second studio album of Geoff Tate’s project named Operation: Mindcrime, and is also part two of a trilogy story. The music is very catchy rock and metal, alternated with more progressive moments and twists, and contains the recognizable voice of mister Tate. The production isn’t too good sadly. Most of time it sounds very “clogged” when it comes to the mix, like you suffering from an ear infection that clogged up your ears, but somehow some bits and pieces sound fresh and more open. Too bad, because the music itself is good and enjoyable. The bass is heavy and present, which I quite like. It reminds me a bit of Queensrÿche’s early 2000’s music. It’s quite a long album because it’s over one hour long. Continue reading
Please don’t tell me it’s going to be the September tomorrow… Ah crap, it will! Anyway, let’s tell you guys what happened in the month August! Continue reading
A debut album from a Belgian female fronted gothic metal band. A tough genre to stand out from the crowd, because there are tons of female fronted metal bands out there (you can read another review of a female fronted metal band here). Most of the tracks on Vincere are quite up tempo, and are around three or four minutes long. The album itself lasts forty minutes, so it’s not a long album. Continue reading
You would say this would be a punk rock album by looking at the album sleeve, probably because of the steampunk-like British flag and the graffiti text on it. I never heard of this artist before, and I actually should be ashamed of it, because I found out this is music that I really enjoy listening to. This isn’t punk, but pure and wonderful prog rock/pop, and very accessible too. Some tracks could be even filed under soft prog, or something like that. It doesn’t contain long prog epics, but songs between three and seven minutes long. Continue reading
Let’s start this review with the album sleeve. The artwork is very cool and makes me curious. It does give hints that it’s probably progressive or symphonic metal. It is the debut album of a Dutch band named Beyond God, which is a female fronted metal band. I’m not a big fan of female fronted metal, because there are sadly a lot of bands who try to copy each other in this genre. The usual guitar riffs, orchestral bits and pieces, and don’t forget the huge, dark, swaying dresses (and the occasional bats)! Continue reading
Oh my, where to start? Well, I have to admit, I never heard of the band Big Big Train before, until I listened to Stacy Doller’s Prog Britannia show (which used to be on Progrock.com, and now on Progzilla Radio). I really liked the songs that I heard, so I started to do some research. I thought it was a pretty new band, but I found out that the band exists for quite a while! I also just started to work for Background Magazine back in the early summer of 2015. I got my first batch of albums, and it included the Wassail EP of Big Big Train. I was very impressed by that EP, especially because of the title track Wassail (you can read the review of that EP here). Continue reading
Oh yes, I had expectations for this album! I never heard of artist Trond Øie before, and this album Expectations seems to be his solo debut. The sleeve looks very good and I really like the artwork that is used. The album is on the short side-only four tracks making the album 25 minutes long, so it’s more of an EP. The music is OK, but there’s not really something happening. It’s more straight rock than progressive rock. The drums are straightforward, the guitars, bass and keyboard parts are simple. Continue reading
This is one of the bands who actually discovered me through my review work, and asked me if I was interested in writing an album review for their second album named Rise Of The Waterfowl. This was a though album to review, because these gentlemen made something quite brilliant. I love the album sleeve, the bright colours and the psychedelic look of it makes me curious… And the music fits the album artwork! Continue reading
Hey! Missed me? I haven’t posted some stuff in the last two days because I enjoyed the weather and also had a lovely time with friends yesterday. Now I’m busy again, writing some reviews for Background Magazine. Some reviews are also waiting to be published, and when they are I will post them here on my website too!
Now, time for some exciting news! My first, and also brand new show will be broadcast this Saturday (July 30th) on ISKC Rock Radio, at 9 PM CET (3 PM EDT)! It’s called Backstage with Iris, and contains the usual interviews and music, just like Purple Flower Progressive Hour. The interviews you will hear this Saturday are with Adam Holzman (Steven Wilson, Miles Davis), and a duo interview with Michael Bearpark (Darkroom, Tim Bowness, no-man) and Elif Yalvaç (Cloudscapes).
No worries, Purple Flower Progressive Hour will still exist, but probably as a ‘music only’ show. I’m also busy with another show named Beyond Backstage (with Iris), where you can hear interviews with people who do music-related stuff but aren’t artists. Yes, your roving reporter is pretty busy!
Well, that was it for now! Please keep an eye on the page for more exciting news! A big hug, as always!
Iris, aka Ier!
Grendel HeadQuarters 