#progressive-rock — Public Fediverse posts

Rush is my all-time favorite band, so their 2015 hiatus, brought on by Neil Peart’s declining health hit me hard. Peart’s passing in 2020 made it permanent, slamming the door on the Rush I grew up loving. That’s why stumbling across Crown Lands’ 2023 sophomore album Fearless—courtesy of this very blog—felt like a hemispherian void had been filled. The dynamic duo from Oshawa, Ontario, tapped into the essence of prime ’70s Rush better than anyone I’ve heard, much like Greta Van Fleet’s revival of the mighty Led Zeppelin. Naturally, when I learned their third LP, Apocalypse, was on the way, I rushed to the promo sump to claim dibs faster than you can say 2112.

Apocalypse expands the Fearless Chronology that began with “The Oracle” from 2022’s White Buffalo with the same sonic and aesthetic bombast longtime fans expect, while stretching Crown Lands’ sound into territory occupied by other classic rock titans. Taking place a century before the events of Fearless and once again rooted in the spirit of Rush’s “Cygnus X-1” series, Apocalypse often feels like a natural progression of its predecessor even if it doesn’t quite reach the same heights. Through straightforward, radio-friendly anthems, as well as the mammoth self-titled closer, the album’s narrative charts a manipulative, oppressive force that weaponizes fear (“Foot Soldiers of the Syndicate”), then spirals outward into dragons, warriors and interstellar tyrants plunging the world into chaos (“Blackstar”). Amid the destruction, more intimate threads of loss and longing surface in crestfallen ballads (“The Revenant,” “Through the Looking Glass”). Where Fearless opened with its longest track, Apocalypse flips the script, saving its epic for the finale. The 19-minute cut matches the ambition and scope of “The Oracle” and “Starlifter: Fearless Pt. II,” though the record’s bottom-heavy makeup leaves less to uncover in the tracks leading up to it.

It’s unusual to devote an entire paragraph to a single track, but “Apocalypse” earns the word count as its reach accounts for nearly half of the record’s runtime. The piece opens in classic Rush fashion as celestial synths, cascading tom rolls, and shifting syncopation give way to shimmering arpeggios and warm, fluid vocal lines. At first, the track feels poised to deliver on its promise, and as it unfolds, Crown Lands weaves in a myriad of compelling touches, including Pink Floyd’s patented stoner-rock solos and a gorgeous arpeggiated, space-drifting movement with a flute-laden motif that nods to the duo’s Indigenous roots. But the track’s momentum falters at several points, and the songwriting begins to feel choppy as the track progresses. The choral bridge at the six-minute mark is a great idea, yet it’s followed by an overly hectic section where Crown Lands’ instrumental prowess shines but the vocals grate, undercutting what could have become a more transcendent phase. Similarly, the astral section at eleven minutes, with its galactic, vocal harmonies and tribal tom flourishes, is another moment that is abrasive. Although it ends on a high note, “Apocalypse” feels like it needed more time to bake to fully come together.

The unevenness of the self-titled epic would be forgivable if Apocalypse’s remaining tracks consistently picked up the slack. But they don’t. Stronger songs like “Through the Looking Glass” and “The Revenant” rely on Led Zeppelin-esque refrains to cohere into some of their best material to date, while Bowles’ vocal approach primarily hampers “Foot Soldiers of the Syndicate”, “Blackstar,” and “The Fall.” Bowles’ high-register singing—which will no doubt remain as divisive as Geddy Lee’s—can feel forced or strained at times, pulling me out of the otherwise strong songwriting rather than deepening the immersion. Across several key moments, Bowles doesn’t feel fully locked in, leaning instead on playful, almost taunting huffs and puffs (“The Fall”) or siren-like shrills (“Apocalypse”) that never quite find their place. Still, while Crown Lands’ execution isn’t as consistently sharp as Fearless, Apocalypse still offers plenty of quality material for fans to latch onto.

I’ve enjoyed my time with Apocalypse, yet I can’t help but feel somewhat disappointed. Maybe it speaks to the consistency and appeal of Fearless, but this record simply doesn’t resonate in the same way its predecessor did. To their credit, Crown Lands takes risks and pushes into some new territory here, and some of those choices pay off. Nevertheless, Apocalypse lacks the cohesion to keep me coming back, outside of a couple tracks that have burrowed their way into my psyche. It’s a letdown, but one I’m inclined to chalk up to growing pains for now.

Rating: Good
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: InsideOut Music
Websites: crownlands.bandcamp.com | crownlandsmusic.com | facebook.com/crownlandsmusic
Releases Worldwide: May 15th, 2026

Here’s the YouTube live stream of our show this evening, Wednesday 13 May 2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdfokfxRL5E

#alazarinmobius #theinvisibleband #interplanetaryliberationfront #progressiverock #spacerock #secondlife #cubase #livestream #bandcamp #youtube #music #progrock #livestreammusic #scifi #spaceopera #mastomusic #musodon

🔴 LIVE NOW ON VORTEX
📻 Vortex WaveSpiral 🌀 (Post Punk & Classical New Wave)
──────────────
🎵 Asia - Only Time Will Tell

▶️ Écouter / Listen : VorteX [Radio]
https://lesonduvortex.net

💬 Join us on Discord:
https://discord.gg/d82hJZBeDE

#VortexWave #Asia #ProgressiveRock #NewWave #80s

Porcupine Tree
[2007] Fear of a Blank Planet

#NowPlaying #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveRock #PsychedelicRock #Rock

New #review today: "The music across #ChoZenFew's thirteen tracks varies from gentle and melodic to flat out wild and chaotic, probably a little bit more of the latter than the former, straddling the line somewhere between rock and jazz with carefree abandon." #ExposeOnline #JazzRock #ProgressiveRock http://expose.org/index.php/articles/display/cho-zen-few-future-proof-3.html

Some bloody great bands here and great atmosphere. And beer. Good beer!
#MidsummerProgFestival #ProgressiveRock #ProgressiveMetal

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYMjcboCmpP/?igsh=bjUyNDEweHNjMGF5

Here is our sunny Sunday's prog review issue with reviews of Astral Kompakt, John Bassett, I Sincopatici, The Imperfectionist Collective, Phil Vincent, and Yrja. Enjoy!

https://www.dprp.net/reviews/2026/020
#prog #ProgRock #ProgressiveRock

New #review today: "Norwegian Mellotron junkies #35Tapes are up to their fourth album celebrating the venerable proto-sampler keyboard. Veil on Life presents six tracks of moody melodic music that leans towards #ProgressiveRock without really tipping over into the genre, but the classiness of the writing and arrangements should please listeners looking for a prog fix." #ExposeOnline #ArtRock http://expose.org/.../display/35-tapes-veil-on-life-2.html

Here’s the YouTube live stream of our show this evening, Saturday 09 May 2026:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpT8m8ZBjfs

#alazarinmobius #theinvisibleband #interplanetaryliberationfront #progressiverock #spacerock #secondlife #cubase #livestream #bandcamp #youtube #music #progrock #livestreammusic #scifi #spaceopera #mastomusic #musodon

Detieti – Spotonica
#Alternative #Experimental #ProgressiveRock #artrock #experimental #progressive #progressivepunk #psychedelic #psychedelicrock #rockinopposition #Moscow
CC BY (#CreativeCommons Attribution) #ccmusic
https://detieti.bandcamp.com/album/spotonica

Here’s the YouTube live stream of our show this evening, Friday 08 May 2026:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN9mp1xfKaw

#alazarinmobius #theinvisibleband #interplanetaryliberationfront #progressiverock #spacerock #secondlife #cubase #livestream #bandcamp #youtube #music #progrock #livestreammusic #scifi #spaceopera #mastomusic #musodon

Detieti – Red Barracuda
#Alternative #Electronic #Experimental #IDM #ProgressiveRock #artrock #progressive #progressivepunk #psychedelic #rockinopposition #Moscow
CC BY (#CreativeCommons Attribution) #ccmusic
https://detieti.bandcamp.com/album/red-barracuda

#NowPlaying the recent album "Wretched Heart" by the band #Spell from #Canada

#HardRock #GothicRock #ProgressiveRock #DoomRock #AlbumsOf2026

Personal Rating: 10 / 10
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommended Tracks: "Lilac", "Oubliette", "Take my Life", "Dark Inertia", "Unquiet Graves", "Exquisit Graves", "Iron Teeth", "Scavage Scourge", "Wretched Heart"

https://spellofficial.bandcamp.com/album/wretched-heart

Lunatic Soul
[2010] Lunatic Soul II

#NowPlaying #Ambient #ExperimentalRock #ProgressiveRock

@music

This is a rock song with almost no guitar for most of it.

Instead you get Rachmaninov on the piano, sci-fi sounding synths, and the dystopic space-opera feel a lot of #Muse songs had during this period of their discography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxVC8mdOeNQ

#music #progressiverock #originofsymmetry

Here’s the YouTube live stream of our show this evening, Wednesday 06 May 2026:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXxWU_d_qh4

#alazarinmobius #theinvisibleband #interplanetaryliberationfront #progressiverock #spacerock #secondlife #cubase #livestream #bandcamp #youtube #music #progrock #livestreammusic #scifi #spaceopera #mastomusic #musodon

Mark 8th May in your calendar - for @DXMacGuffin's #ProgTuesday:

#Karcius: Darkest Heir

https://karcius.bandcamp.com/track/darkest-heir

#ProgressiveRock #ProgressiveMetal

FFO #TheAnchoret #NeilMorseBand #PorcupineTree

Scott Rich brings us another overview of a band's discography. In this episode in the On Focus series, Scott puts the spotlight on Andy Tillison's The Tangent.

https://www.dprp.net/features/2026/in-focus-tangent
#prog #ProgRock #ProgressiveRock

Wow, thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words, Dean Wolfe ! 🙏🥰
Please take a moment to check out his lovely review of our debut album 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDTwRDOKoP0

#ProgressiveRock #ProgRock #RockProgressif #ProgressiveMusic #SymphonicProg #RockProgresivo #RockProgressivo

Starten wir den Tag mal mit klassischem Prog:
Rick Miller - Fill the night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4F3iK0qiLA&list=RDx4F3iK0qiLA&start_radio=1

#music #rock #prog #progressive #progressiverock

Free download codes:

Imaginary Kings - Dreams from an Empty House

"Melodic Instrumental Progressive Rock"

https://getmusic.fm/l/Lf5hgt

#bandcampcodes #instrumental #progressiverock #postrock #prog #progrock #progrock #music

Your Sunday prog reading has arrived! Check out these reviews: Chaos Over Cosmos, Echoverse, Exometry, Dusan Jevtovic, Soft Hearted Scientists, and Neil Wighton. Enjoy!

https://www.dprp.net/reviews/2026/019
#prog #ProgRock #ProgressiveRock

Free download codes:

Peter Rand - Cheshire Ghosts

"Cheshire Ghosts has an overall prog / symphonic / quirky feel. It paved the way for future albums with Imperial Measures and Môr, and features musicians from there and from Imaginary Kings."

https://getmusic.fm/l/afbsDv

#bandcampcodes #rock #progressiverock #artrock #progrock #melodicrock #aor #rockpop #music

New #review today: "After the blast of musical energy that was Explode My Head, #RobHarrison gives us Overflow, which goes contrary to expectations by starting out rather quietly. “Tributaries” begins as a gentle tune..." #ExposeOnline #ProgressiveRock #ArtRock http://expose.org/index.php/articles/display/rob-harrison-overflow-2.html

"Your Wildest Dreams" is a 1986 single by the #progressiveRock band #theMoodyBlues, written by #JustinHayward. The song was first released as a single and later included on the Moody Blues' 1986 album #TheOtherSideOfLife. Written by Hayward as a lookback toward his first love, the song features a #synthpop style that marked a stylistic departure from the band's standard lush pop sound. When released as a single.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pur5BdRPkzw

Here’s the YouTube live stream of our show this evening, Friday 01 May 2026:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqqhOU0LydQ

#alazarinmobius #theinvisibleband #interplanetaryliberationfront #progressiverock #spacerock #secondlife #cubase #livestream #bandcamp #youtube #music #progrock #livestreammusic #scifi #spaceopera #mastomusic #musodon

Rick Wakeman & Son
The YES Suite
(instrumental)
With Oliver Wakeman (?).

A medley of Yes pieces.
Once upon a time Rick Wakeman as the pianist of Yes had long blond hair.
Now his son has.

<https://youtu.be/rBjwLGR2q88>

#FridayMusic
#ProgressiveRock
#RickWakeman
#WakemanWithWakeman
#Yes

Here’s the YouTube live stream of our show this evening, Thursday 30 April 2026:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfKjgqOtxgs

#alazarinmobius #theinvisibleband #interplanetaryliberationfront #progressiverock #spacerock #secondlife #cubase #livestream #bandcamp #youtube #music #progrock #livestreammusic #scifi #spaceopera #mastomusic #musodon