06/01/2025
The new issue of Prog features Big Big Train, Leprous, Official Frost*, Tim Bowness and Devin Townsend in the top 20 albums of 2024. There's also an extensive interview with Swallow the Sun and reviews for Wheel, Jonathan Hultén and The Pineapple Thief.
So, a little earlier than usual, but subs copies have been posted in the hope issues don't get lost in the Xmas rush, so we're revealing the cover of issue 156 of Prog today. If you're not a subscriber, this issue won't be on sale in the shops until December 31 (Jan 24 in the USA).
We celebrate the 50th anniversary of YES (official)’s 1974 album Relayer on the cover of the new issue of Prog. It was their lone record with keyboard player Patrick Moraz, and found the band at their most experimental, veering towards the jazz fusion that so appealed to singer Jon Anderson at the time. Both Anderson and Moraz reveal the secrets of the album that gave us just three tracks, but what amazing pieces of music they remain, while there's input from Alan White from an interview the magazine conducted before his death.
Elsewhere Marillion tell the story of 1997’s This Strange Engine; Clannad Irish Band reveal the secrets of their BAFTA-winning 1984 album Legend; David Surkamp of cult US prog rockers Pavlov's Dog looks back over a fascinating career; and we pay tribute to the late Peter Sinfield, best known for his contributions to King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
KLONE, Swallow the Sun, Dilemma, Mercury Rev and And So I Watch You From Afar bring us up to speed with their latest releases.
There's a free digital sampler from the excellent Nice Weather For Airstrikes label and four Yes postcards reflecting the Relayer era.
Prog 156. It's on sale on December 31.