Sonic Perspectives Podcastok

Polish artist Mariusz Duda is an unstoppable force of musical creation. Although he may best be known for heading the progressive rock and metal outfit Riverside, his career includes a progressive solo project titled Lunatic Soul alongside self-titled electronica work. His perseverance and continued dedication to honing his craft is evident in Rive…

Tarja Turunen has enjoyed a long solo career, one which began in 2007 with her breakout album “My Winter Storm.” More than ten years later, Tarja will release her best-of compilation, titled “Best Of: Living the Dream” on December 2. The album begins with new release “Eye of the Storm,” and is otherwise packed full of fan-favorites like “Until My L…

The combined forces of guitarist Jim Matheos (Fates Warning) and singer Steve Overland (FM) brought us one of the best albums of the year so far. Released on September 23rd, the self-titled debut album of Kings of Mercia counts also with the talents of Simon Phillips (drums) and Joey Vera (bass). Kings of Mercia was born out of writing sessions tha…

August 19th marked the release of the self-titled debut of SiX by SiX. The collaboration between Saga‘s guitarist Ian Crichton, singer, producer and bass player Robert Berry, and Saxon‘s drummer Nigel Glockler will impress the most demanding progressive rock fans out there. Six By Six was born when Robert and Ian started exchanging ideas and sewing…

A lone soldier on the front-lines of creativity, John Mitchell has been at the forefront of forward- thinking and progressive rock for decades now. As a member of such revered prog ensembles as It Bites, Arena, Frost* and his own projects Kino and The Urbane, he has become a uniquely vital contributor to the modern scene, while his credentials as a…

“Beer commercials, car commercials, and Cobra Kai.” I straight up thought that legendary drummer Mark Zonder’s reference point for his new band would have been Toto or Journey. There aren’t really any sonic similarities between them and A-Z, but they all share these very key traits: at their core, they’re expertly-written, hook-saturated pop songs …

John Norum is most famously known around the globe as being the lead guitarist and a founding member of the band Europe. Together they are Sweden’s most prominent rock export selling over 10 million albums worldwide with songs like “The Final Countdown,” “Carrie,” and “Rock the Night.” Recently the song “The Final Countdown” reached 1 billion views…

Derek Sherinian seems determined to make up for the lost time. Having spent nine years working with the super-groups Black Country Communion, PSMS and Sons of Apollo, and touring with Billy Idol, Joe Bonamassa and others, he is now focused on his solo career. 2020 saw the release of “The Phoenix”, Derek‘s first solo record in nine years, which did …

While the pandemic seems like a thing of the past at the moment and many artists are going on extensive tours, there are still albums coming out which were written at the height of Covid-19. That’s the case with Eric Johnson‘s two upcoming releases, “The Book of Making” and “Yesterday Meets Today”. Blue Élan Records will release both albums on July…

Vinny Appice is a metal legend, plain and simple. Having started his career playing with Rick Derringer and with his band Axis, Vinnie rose to fame after joining Black Sabbath on the Heaven and Hell Tour. With Black Sabbath he recorded the follow up album “Mob Rules,” before leaving to become the drummer of Dio‘s solo band. He was a mainstay of Dio…

Released on March 18, 2022, “Postcards from the End of the World” is the sophomore effort of Shining Black. The band was formed as a collaboration between vocalist Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Ring Of Fire, Royal Hunt) and guitarist Ölaf Thorson (Labyrinth, Vision Divine). Completing the lineup are Oleg Smirnoff on keyboards & piano, Nik Mazzuccon…

What do you do when your band is on a break, and you’re used to playing a million notes every night? If your name is Jordan Rudess, the answer is: you go out on a solo tour and play a million other notes per show. Dream Theater finished a successful run of shows in Europe and North America, promoting their latest release, “A View from the Top of Th…

For 37 years, TESLA continues to write, record, and tour to the excitement of their fans. In 2014 they released a stellar straight-up, hard-rocking album, “Simplicity” and then in 2019 released “Shock,” a rock album but with a bit more polished and shine. It was written and recorded while on tour in hotels, backstage, and on buses with Phil Collen …

Fozzy released their new album, “Boombox”, last May 6th, 2021. The album features two Top 10 singles, “Nowhere to Run” and “Sane.” “Boombox” sees Fozzy returning with a diverse, attitude-drenched collection of songs. It’s everything the band’s faithful followers have come to expect from the band while pushing their signature sound forward. Songs li…

“This whole trip was chaos,” confides a visibly exhausted Timo Kotipelto. The reserved but charismatic Stratovarius front-man and I are tucked away in a corner at the lobby of the Sonesta Midtown hotel, spitting distance from popular ProgPower USA breakfast spot The Silver Skillet. The pair and their band-mates are about twelve hours removed from t…

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators will be releasing “Live At Studios 60”, exclusive vinyl for Record Store Day on June 18th. It’s their first-ever double live LP featuring their entire 2022 album, “4;” plus performances of the group’s Top 5 Rock Radio Hits, including “You’re A Lie,” “World on Fire,” “Anastasia,” and “Driving Rain.”…

Michael Monroe has long been at the forefront of breaking musical barriers from Hanoi Rocks to his successful solo career. He returns with his highly anticipated album; “I Live Too Fast to Die Young,” due out on June 10th via Silver Lining Music. “I Live Too Fast to Die Young” Album Artwork In an era where the pandemic and war are seamless bookends…

Just over a year ago Evergrey released “Escape of the Phoenix,” an album that was not only the band’s greatest commercial success, but was also widely acclaimed as one of the best albums of 2021. At Sonic Perspectives, we rated it number one. While many other bands would have been content to rest and revel in the accolades pouring in, these Swedish…

Skid Row has always been one of the hardest working bands in the metal / hard rock circuit, but their touring schedule in 2022 is absolutely insane, even for their standards. With over sixty shows booked until the end of the year and hitting all corners of the world, it seems that nothing can stop these New Jerseyans. There’s also new music in the …

John5 is one of the hardest working musicians on the planet, and to prove it, he will be heading out on his Spring/Summer 2022 Sinner North American Tour before a Rob Zombie tour this summer. Johns‘ tour starts in California on April 19th and takes him through June, ending in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Supporting many of his shows along the way wil…

Some collaborations do take time to mature and to come into fruition. In the case of James LaBrie and Paul Logue, it took 11 years for their album to finally be concluded. Their story began in 2011, when James lent his voice to a song called “No Holy Man”, from Paul‘s band, UK melodic metal outfit Eden’s Curse. The pair remained in touch through th…

The march of time may bring about change, but the memory of those who lived the glory days of thrash metal in the 1980s don’t have to settle for a future that doesn’t possess the music they love, at least if Germany’s own thrash titans Destruction have anything to say on the matter. Having been left with little avenue for touring over the past 2 ye…

The career of music producer Terry Brown will always be indelibly linked to that of Canadian power trio Rush. Having worked with Jimi Hendrix, The Who and many others, Terry’s affiliation with Rush helped to shape the trio’s sound, and captured their wildest ideas into musical form, during what many define as their “golden era”. From the band’s deb…

PROGJECT also dubbed “The Ultimate Prog Rock Experience” is the brainchild of drummer extraordinaire Jonathan Mover. Jonathan is not only a session drummer to the stars but has performed with some heavyweight artists like Alice Cooper, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, GTR, and Marillion, to name just a few. The idea for PROGJECT came to fruition in 2019 wh…

There is no such thing as being too late to the party when it comes to hard rock, and few know this better than Kurt Deimer, who seemingly came out of nowhere a few months back and unleashed an EP’s worth of familiar yet highly unique odes to the aforementioned style. More discerning minds may well recall this enigmatic bass appearing in such noted…

Memphis May Fire need no introduction whatsoever. Their genre-defining take on metalcore that has spanned 16 years still has a grip on the metal world, and that grip doesn’t seem to be loosening at all. On June 3rd, the 4-piece will be unleashing their 7th record “Remade In Misery”, crushing any beliefs that the band is ‘going soft’. Diving back in…

ENVY OF NONE, the new band from Alex Lifeson (RUSH), Andy Curran (CONEY HATCH), Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne, will release its self-titled debut album on April 8 via Kscope. Through its 11 tracks, the group explores a wide array of styles, with enticing vocal melodies, pop hooks and atmospheric passages. The genesis of the band came from…

There is something to be said for sticking to one’s proverbial guns when times get tough, and few know that better than Cage and Death Dealer screamer Sean Peck. Sharing a birth year with the godfather of grunge Kurt Cobain, his would be a far different path of swimming against the tide of detractors of old school heavy metal in the West Coast of t…