Having been part of Peter Banks’s EMPIRE, multi-instrumentalist Mark Murdock has been coming back to that realm a few times, most notably with his project named THE NEW EMPIRE whose "Second Lifetime" album carried on the spirit of the late guitarist. And recently, with the help of Fernando Perdomo, an integral part of that endeavor, the veteran return to the same domain.
One of the most remarkable Canadian musicians – in terms of artistic creativity and visual image – Nash the Slash, also known as Jeff Plewman, departed this mortal coil more than a decade ago, yet his mask-and-shades legacy lingers on. Fondly remembered not only by fans of FM, the band he cofounded and on whose debut album, "Black Noise" from 1978, he played, but also by people that found a lot of adventurous rapture in listening to his solo records – remembered, loved and still serving as inspiration. Still, it’s surprising to see the “Nash the Slash Rises Again!” documentary hitting the screen soon, and even more so, a tribute album to the late enigma being released.
Last year saw an impressive reissue programme of Bob Catley‘s solo albums – impressive not only in sonic terms but also in terms of artwork that got replaced in favor of Rodney Matthews’s fantastic creations the singer’s been associated with since his MAGNUM days. However, the reemergence of the veteran’s late-’90s-early-’00s oeuvre will, on April 24th, receive an unexpected continuation in the form of a concert recording that didn’t seem to appear before.
“After two years of writing mostly rubbish, quite suddenly the music, themes and visuals fell into place”: this is how Richard Barbieri describes the road to his forthcoming record, the British soundmeister’s first offering in half a decade that passed since "Under A Spell" saw the light of day. Its follow-up “On High” wasn’t a full-fledged album – issued solely through Bandcamp, those eight cuts emerged from the cracks they fell through during earlier sessions – which would plug the gap in the musician’s discography, so the eleven numbers forming “Hauntings” are more than welcome.
Given how theatrical AYREON music is and how spectacular are the project’s performances are, the success of the shows staged in Tilburg in September 2025 to celebrate three decades of Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s mindchild was hardly surprising. Fans from all around the world flocked to Holland to be a part of the festivities, but those who couldn’t make it will have an opportunity to tap into that experience remotely, via live album titled “30th Anniversary: Amazing Flight Through Time” and scheduled for release on May 22nd.
