Prog Rock Community in Second Life
This weekend it happens again. North America switches to 'Daylight Saving Time' while Europe stays in the 'Normal Time' for another two weeks before it switches as well. Which means that in these two weeks, all events given in SLT time take place for Europeans one hour earlier. Just hurry, and don't be late!
On this occasion I am playing a theme: Time!
Transatlantic is a progressive rock supergroup, consisting of guitarist Roine Stolt (Flower Kings), keyboardist and vocalist Neal Morse (Spocks Beard), drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) and bassist Pete Trewavas (Marillion). Since 2000 they have released 5 albums so far. Their 5th album has been released this year and bears the title 'The Absolute Universe'. The album exists in three versions: The extended version, the abridged version, which is a new but shorter recording of the same material, and an ultimate edition, which contains both versions. This weekend's featured album is the 'Extended Version'. Like their previous albums, also this one contains symphonic prog of the finest sort, with nods towards King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, Supertramp, Gentle Giant and the Beatles.
Steve Rothery is the guitarist of Marillion, who in 2014 released his solo debut album. The instrumental album features guitarist David Foster, bassist Yatim Halimi from Panic Room, keyboardist Riccardo Romano from Italian band Ranestrane, as well as guest appearances of Steve Hackett and Steven Wilson. The result are seven songs in a relaxed atmospheric and also somewhat melancholic mood. The music was inspired by images of the ghost town Pripyat close to Chernobyl, which was evacuated after the nuclear disaster.
Also on the programme are songs from other side projects of Marillion members, like Edison's Children with Pete Trewavas and Mark Kelly's Marathon, plus a track from the latest album of Fish.