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HISTORICAL FACTS: 5 | History Defined

“It’s the moment the cracks appeared and their decline into preposterousness began. It sinks under the weight of its own self-importance”: What members of Marillion, Dream Theater, Asia and more think of Yes’ Tales From Topographic Oceans

It was the double-album that split critics, fans and the line-up who recorded it. We asked a range of prog stars for their thoughts on the 1973 release

Louder

“He couldn’t stand up so I hit him over the head with my bass. He fell to the floor. I ran away… I didn’t know if he was still alive”: The bassist who survived Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull and believing he’d murdered his bandmate on stage

Veteran admits he sailed close to the wind as he taught prog giants to drink – but he learned how much it means to play live with a band

Louder

What’s the greatest prog concept album of all time?

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is incredible, but were Genesis outdone by Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Rush, Marillion or even The Kinks?

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“I bumped into one of Queen’s techs. He said, ‘Steve, come down to the studio – the lads would love to see you’”: How Steve Howe ended up playing on a Queen track

The prog legend was asked to channel a flamenco icon for the spontaneous guest spot

Guitar World

“You can get to where you just want to keep your fanbase and make some money. We’re never going to compromise the art, and this is where it took us”: The former metalcore brats who astonished everyone with a prog concept album

Once talked up as “the next Metallica,” this American group rejected easy options and used their developing skills to craft a progressive metal record that arrived without warning in 2016

Metal Hammer

“For the few brave souls who invested, it was no easy listen. It was the most extreme music the young rock epoch had yet produced”: This 1969 album was a prog leap too far – and it wasn’t even by a prog band

Later regarded as a massively inspirational work, it was too demanding a prospect when American quartet made it

Louder

Cool new proggy sounds you must hear from Charlotte Wessels, Leprous, Hällas and more in Prog's Tracks Of The Week

Ace new prog from Altesia, Daniel Vincent Holosoil and All India Radio and more in this week's Tracks Of The Week

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“It’s a toxic environment. Somebody is going to tell us what we’re not doing right”: American prog metal giants blasted back at being trolled for sounding like themselves

Singer and guitarist shared their frustrations over being called out for their vocals, drum sound and production values as their 15th album arrived

Metal Hammer

Great new prog you need to hear from Gazpacho, Airbag, Pure Reason Revolution, Alex Henry Foster and more in Prog's Tracks Of The Week

Cool new proggy sounds from Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side, Firelighters, The Hirsch Effekt and more in this week's Tracks Of The Week

Louder

We pay tribute to Supertramp and founding member Rick Davies in the new issue of Prog, which is on sale now!

Prog 164 also features Rick Wakeman, Gentle Giant, Barclay James Harvest, Lunatic Soul, Arjen Lucassen, Jo Quail, The Emerald Dawn, Spriggan Mist and loads more...

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“It’s heraldic. It’s funny. It’s virtuoso and also really stupid! I wouldn’t change a note”: Simple ideas and happy accidents propelled a Dutch band’s second album to the pinnacle of prog. And yodelling.

Master craftsmen’s 1971 release was a unique fusion of ingenuity, passion and febrile chemistry – plus some tension – and they never looked back

Louder

“It was just a song that fitted the story. I didn’t choose the singer. Luck was on my side”: A science-fiction concept album has enjoyed nearly 50 years of popularity with help from a song written for a Lego advert

1978 single was the only one of four to enter the top 10, featuring the magic of one of prog’s most distinctive voices

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“We thought it would be hard to replace her, so we didn’t. There had always been changes and this was a big one, but our attitude was to soldier on”: The prog pioneers who evaded disaster and reinvented themselves in 1970

What happens when a band’s trademark vocalist leaves? In 1970, the answer for this band was to take the pain and rely on their other strengths

Louder

"A significant song of hope!" In 2010, with Yes forging on without him, Jon Anderson teamed up with old pal Rick Wakeman for The Living Tree album

Prog's take on the 2010 The Living Tree album by Yes alumni Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman

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“If you see him live, it’s insane! He’s just ripping his heart out in front of you”: King Crimson’s Jakko Jakszyk on his favourite prog vocalist – also loved by David Bowie, Johnny Rotten and the guy who did The Sooty Show

Known for a Marmite voice, personal songwriting and a powerful sense of drama, his influence runs deeper than most people realise

Louder

"We’re fortunate that people now appreciate what we do. It hasn’t always been that way. Nothing polarises people quite like we do, for some reason”: The mindset behind Rush’s final album, Clockwork Angels

In 2012 Geddy Lee discussed their 20th studio title – their only end-to-end concept record – from the aspect of a band who’d come to terms with their youthful years and transformed into a pop-culture phenomenon

Louder

“There was a sense of humour. We were taken very seriously by the world at large, but there was always an edge of fun”: The grimness of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here may have been overstated

1975 album remains a fan favourite – and despite their struggle to make it, the band insist the spirit of love shines through the grief and anger amid the theme of absence and their feelings about Syd Barrett

Metal Hammer

“You tour for so long. You’ve got a family, a mortgage, and you come home from America after eight weeks with £100. That’s unsustainable”: Dan Tompkins had to leave Tesseract – so what brought him back for third album Polaris?

2015 album saw the djent pioneers continue their move away from frenzied metal to thought-provoking prog, meaning the singer had to embrace a new way of creative thinking

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“He’s the only rock star who’s never done anything to be embarrassed about. He’s never put a foot wrong”: Why Peter Gabriel was the ideal inspiration for fictional prog icon Brian Pern

Simon Day and Rhys Thomas, creators of the TV mockumentaries, identify the Gabriel song that got them started and the one time the ex-Genesis singer refused them – but won’t name the band they wouldn’t allow to take part

Louder

“Proof they can go for the heart as well as the head, encouraging thought and emotional commitment”: Marillion’s 20 best songs as chosen by Prog readers (the band can’t believe Number 7)

Does the only album with four entries suggest there’s a definitive record from the neo-prog giants? Does the split between the Fish and Steve Hogarth eras reveal a preferred vocalist?

Louder

“The bad blood was there from the start. There was no cohesiveness and the atmosphere between certain people was very toxic”: Trevor Rabin was trapped in hell with Yes as they made Big Generator

The guitarist, keyboardist and unwilling producer saw the band’s internal relationships buckling under intense external pressure to make an album as successful as 91025

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“My first instinct was shock at how much like Pink Floyd it sounded. But I can’t deny how important that record is”: Radiohead, Yes, Can and Peter Gabriel feature in Rock Hall boss Jason Hanley’s record collection

The Hall of Fame’s director of education wore out his first copy of 90125, was blown away by OK Computer, devoured So and went on to discover Coheed And Cambria

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"There are so many elements I never expected to see or hear!" New Van der Graaf Generator film shines light on only US gig from the 1970s

Van der Graaf Generator - NYC '76 captures prog legends Van der Graaf Generator at their only US live show prior to 2009

Louder

“I’m not a massive fan of all things prog. But I must have listened to the Tarkus album a million times down the years”: Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French wants Emerson, Lake and Palmer to be remembered for ever

Glam metal guitar slinger had been a fan of The Nice but hadn’t even heard of Carl Palmer when the super-talented supergroup blew him away live

Louder

“I hoped we could go somewhere, with all of us making a living. I don’t have that hope any more”: Stubbornness, repurposed Kansas songs and letting a long-held ambition go helped Spock’s Beard make Noise Floor

By the time they delivered their 13th album in 2018, they’d already outlived many of their expectations. With line-up issues returning and the market having changed, they decided to focus on artistic achievement

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